Soon it became clear that Deathwing planned to steal some of the red dragonflight’s unhatched eggs for himself, and Korialstrasz nearly fell to despair.
After Rhonin stumbled upon the Dragonmaw, the red dragon found hope once again. Taking on the form of a powerful high elf mage named Krasus, the dragon promised the human all the aid he could muster to free the red dragonflight.
Rhonin had been stunned to find that an orc clan still had this much power after the Second War, and he was determined to break its strength. He rallied a small group of friends—including the high elf ranger Vereesa Windrunner and the dwarf gryphon rider Falstad Wildhammer—and rushed to Grim Batol to free the red dragons.
When they arrived, the battle was already under way.
The moment the Dragonmaw had left Grim Batol and set out for Dun Algaz, Deathwing attacked and slaughtered countless orcs. He had no desire to keep them or the adult dragons alive. Only the red dragonflight’s eggs were of use to him.
Unfortunately for Deathwing, his brazen assault had unintended consequences. As the battle unfolded, Alexstrasza broke free of her chains. Before Nekros could kill her with the Demon Soul, she devoured him whole, taking vengeance for the horrors inflicted upon her. Then she turned her wrath upon Deathwing.
And she was not alone. Ysera, Nozdormu, and Malygos soon joined her in the fight against Deathwing. Though they had rebuffed Korialstrasz’s calls to help Alexstrasza, the Dragon Aspects had not ignored him. They had decided to keep a close watch on Grim Batol in case an opening presented itself. Deathwing’s attack against the orcs gave them one.
As the five Dragon Aspects grappled in the sky, Rhonin and his mortal allies focused their attention on the orcs and the Demon Soul. Rhonin found a flaw in the ancient artifact and destroyed it. In that moment, the power trapped within the relic escaped, returning to the Dragon Aspects.
Deathwing could not stand against the newly empowered dragons. He suffered terrible wounds and was forced to flee. He would not be seen again for many years to come.
The red dragonflight was free again. Many of the Dragonmaw orcs had died in the battle, and the terrified survivors had scattered into the wilds. They would remain a threat on Azeroth, but they would never truly regain their former power.
When Deathwing retreated, Lord Daval Prestor suddenly vanished from Lordaeron’s royal court. His daughter, Onyxia, was left behind to carry on his work, and she relished it. The relationships between Lordaeron and other Alliance nations were continuing to deteriorate. Onyxia decided to spread her influence to the southern kingdom of Stormwind.
ALEXSTRASZA BREAKS FREE OF HER BONDS AND UNLEASHES HER VENGEANCE ON THE ORC NEKROS SKULLCRUSHER
She took on the guise of a noblewoman named Katrana Prestor and infiltrated Stormwind’s royal court. Lady Prestor worked to tangle up the city’s rebuilding efforts, and she meddled in local politics to keep the kingdom isolated from Lordaeron and the northlands.
Deathwing’s son, Nefarian, chose to work from the shadows. He contacted the so-called “true Horde” in Blackrock Mountain, manipulating the orcs into allowing the black dragonflight to use the location as their new base. Nefarian established a hidden laboratory there, hoping to achieve his father’s dream of rebuilding the black dragonflight. To that end, he conducted grotesque experiments with the blood of different dragonflights, much of which he harvested from living dragons.
For ten thousand years, Deathwing’s fellow Dragon Aspects had lived without the full measure of their power, and the sudden return of their strength was physically and mentally exhausting. As they acclimated to this change, they came to a troubling conclusion. For too long, the Aspects had withdrawn from the world. They could not afford to do so anymore. It was time to take up the charges that the titans had bestowed upon them once again.
Nozdormu, the Aspect of Time, returned to safeguarding the sanctity of the timeways. He was soon horrified to learn that a mysterious force was trying to change momentous events in history; the ripple effects of this could lead to the destruction of reality itself.
Ysera, the Aspect of Dreams, spent more time in the Emerald Dream, the mystical vision of an untouched, wild Azeroth that helped guide nature in the physical world. But with her returned power and senses, she noticed that darkness and despair were creeping into hidden parts of the Dream, in the form of corruption called the Emerald Nightmare.
Neither of them knew it, but both threats were sparked by the Old Gods. The touch of Yogg-Saron (and later, N’Zoth) was gradually corrupting the Emerald Dream, and the timeways were under assault by the infinite dragonflight. These shadowy creatures came from one of Azeroth’s potential futures, though their identity remained a mystery to Nozdormu.
Malygos, the Aspect of Magic, was the least affected by the return of his power. During the War of the Ancients, Deathwing had slain most of his followers and driven the blue Dragon Aspect to the brink of madness. Malygos had hidden himself away in his lair, the Nexus, engulfed by grief and pain. With the return of his strength, his addled mind regained a sliver of clarity. It was not enough to completely break him out of his lethargy, but it did change him. For the first time in ages, Malygos began roaming the Nexus, surveying the state of his lair and his followers.
Alexstrasza, the Aspect of Life, needed time to recover after her traumatic ordeal. She and her flight sequestered themselves away to heal, both physically and emotionally.
Though most of the Dragon Aspects were eager to put the past behind them, it would be many years before they fully recovered.
The forces of evil would not wait for them to be ready.
During the Second War, betrayal had split the Horde in two. The orc warlock Gul’dan had broken away from the faction and sought out forbidden power in a place called the Tomb of Sargeras. He had taken two clans with him, the Stormreavers and the Twilight’s Hammer, the latter led by the two-headed ogre mage Cho’gall. Gul’dan’s treachery severely weakened the Horde, leading to its eventual defeat. In the end, the Legion would punish him for his greed.
When Gul’dan ventured into the Tomb of Sargeras, demons were waiting. They ripped apart the warlock and many of his followers and left their bones to rot in the massive tower.
Cho’gall and some of the Twilight’s Hammer clan narrowly survived and fled from the tomb. They had no reason to continue their allegiance to the Horde or the Legion. In truth, they answered to different masters.
They answered to the Old Gods.
The Twilight’s Hammer were unlike the Horde’s other clans. They wielded shadow magic rather than fel, and they worshipped the powers of the Void. The Twilight’s Hammer were fanatics who believed in the Hour of Twilight, a dark prophecy that foretold the end of all things. Cho’gall and his followers saw themselves as the agents of this apocalypse. The only questions were where and how it would happen.
On Azeroth, they found answers. Cho’gall and his followers heard the whispers of the Old Gods. These entities shared visions of the past with the Twilight’s Hammer. They revealed how the world had once been—they revealed the Black Empire and its terrible glory.
Cho’gall and the Twilight’s Hammer could help restore the Old Gods. They could break their shackles and build the Black Empire again. Its rise would herald the Hour of Twilight.
Cho’gall had once believed that the Horde was the key to bringing about the apocalypse. After Gul’dan’s death in the Tomb of Sargeras, he realized that was not the case. The two-headed ogre abandoned the Horde and led his followers on a pilgrimage to Kalimdor. He sensed the presence of an Old God somewhere on the distant continent, and he was eager to meet the entity and bask in its terrible power.
It was a slow, dangerous journey from the Tomb of Sargeras to Kalimdor. The Twilight’s Hammer gradually worked their way toward the southern edge of the continent, where dark whispers emanated from beneath the surface. Cho’gall did no
t know the land, and many threats lurked in Kalimdor. He meditated for months, submerging both of his minds in the chaotic will of the Old Gods. Though they were locked in enchanted prisons, millennia of inattention had allowed them to extend their influence across the world in small ways. The Old Gods urged Cho’gall onward, guiding him through the strange land and helping him avoid its dangers.
Cho’gall and his servants established a base in a cave system beneath the deserts of Tanaris. To the east lay Ahn’Qiraj, the prison that housed the Old God C’Thun. Cho’gall sensed he was close to his master. Unfortunately for Cho’gall, he would not reach the entity any time soon.
Before long, important members of the Twilight’s Hammer began to disappear. Then others were found dead. At first, Cho’gall had suspected treason from within. And then he finally discovered the truth: he caught a glimpse of someone cutting the throat of one of his most trusted lieutenants.
It was the half-orc assassin named Garona.
Long ago, Gul’dan, Cho’gall, and their closest followers had ensorcelled Garona and used her as their personal weapon. During the Second War, she had escaped and broken free from their control. Garona harbored unending hatred for her former masters, and she had tracked Cho’gall across an ocean to seek her vengeance. The Twilight’s Hammer bolstered their defenses and laid traps, but Garona had been studying the region for months. The cave complex was not their home; it was her hunting ground.
Night after night, new victims were found. Cho’gall was furious, but he had no choice. His clan fled the area and searched for a new place to continue their dark work.
Despite the machinations of the black dragonflight, the human kingdoms slowly returned to their old prosperity, even if their relationships with one another were not as strong as they had once been.
Varian Wrynn, the young prince who had escaped the Horde’s destruction of Stormwind City in the First War, was now king, and he was widely considered to be a strong, fair, and visionary leader. He oversaw the rebuilding of Stormwind and married a noblewoman, Tiffin Ellerian. They had a son, and they named him Anduin in memory of the hero Anduin Lothar, the venerated commander who had perished in the Second War.
Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, one of the commanders who had defeated the Horde at sea, still felt grief for the losses he had suffered in the Second War. He maintained order on the high seas with an iron fist and hunted down pirates and brigands who dared to prey on his territory. His young daughter, Jaina Proudmoore, grew weary of his darkened disposition and opted to receive her schooling in Dalaran. After several years, she began to study arcane magic with the Kirin Tor, and she eventually became an apprentice to the legendary archmage Antonidas.
King Terenas Menethil II of Lordaeron had a son named Arthas, and he saw that he was trained in the ways of warfare and righteousness. Arthas Menethil became a master swordsman under the tutelage of the dwarf Muradin Bronzebeard, Ironforge’s ambassador to Lordaeron. The young man was also tutored in the ways of the Holy Light by the revered paladin Uther the Lightbringer. When the prince turned nineteen, he was inducted into the Order of the Silver Hand to become a paladin himself. Though he was headstrong and stubborn, he distinguished himself as a brave hero and never shirked even the most dangerous of tasks. When Amani trolls sent warbands to raid the borders of Quel’Thalas, an allied nation, Arthas was there to hunt them down and bring them to justice.
Arthas was often the center of attention among Lordaeron’s nobility, especially when he courted Jaina Proudmoore. Their romance created rumors and gossip, but in the end, Jaina was committed to her arcane studies, and Arthas was focused on his future as king.
They parted ways to pursue their individual ambitions, but they never let go of their feelings for each other.
JAINA PROUDMOORE AND ARTHAS MENETHIL IN THE GARDENS OF LORDAERON’S CAPITAL
Far from the human nations, the Lich King was rapidly growing his power and building a truly terrifying army. Most of Northrend’s inhabitants were easily corrupted by the plague of undeath, and his forces swelled in number.
But it wasn’t long before the Lich King faced his first real test. An ancient race of insectoids called nerubians lived in Northrend, and they were monstrously fierce in battle. Their grand kingdom, Azjol-Nerub, stretched far beneath the frozen tundra. The nerubians were aware of the Lich King’s presence, and they had no intention of allowing him to conquer them. Any attempts to spread the plague of undeath in their home were ruthlessly snuffed out by the nerubians’ leader, a powerful warlord named Anub’arak.
The Lich King saw no way to subvert their defenses. So he settled on smashing the nerubians into rubble instead.
For years, the Lich King’s undead army fought a war of attrition against the insectoids. Each one who fell was added to the Lich King’s ranks, and when the end came, he was delighted to raise Anub’arak himself as a powerful undead minion. The former ruler was now a slave, and though he chafed at his leash, he could not free himself from it.
The Lich King was so impressed by the nerubians’ resistance that he adopted their architectural style as his own. He infused their jagged ziggurats with magic, causing them to soar in the skies over Northrend. In time, these necropoli would become feared sights across Azeroth.
Now the Lich King was unopposed in Northrend. And yet, it was still not time to unleash the plague of undeath on the Eastern Kingdoms. Adding creatures like Anub’arak to his ranks had taught him the value of corrupting powerful minds. He would need such allies to complete the work ahead. Moreover, the Lich King secretly hoped that he could win these servants to his side and use them to break free of the Legion.
The Lich King spread his consciousness across the world, seeking individuals who would be tempted by the power he could offer. Several answered his call.
One of the most powerful creatures who heard the Lich King’s call was formerly a leader among Dalaran’s ruling magocrats, the Kirin Tor. Kel’Thuzad had once been a respected and admired scholar of the arcane arts. In recent years, his studies had veered into the dark realm of necromancy—the manipulation of life and death.
His actions weren’t simply frowned upon; they were expressly forbidden by laws almost as old as the Kirin Tor itself. He had been censured repeatedly, stripped of much of his formal power, and was on the verge of being exiled from Dalaran altogether.
Kel’Thuzad was enraged by what he saw as the Kirin Tor’s closed-mindedness and outdated precepts. Azeroth had just been invaded by creatures from another world. Dalaran itself had been raided in the aftermath of the Second War. The Horde’s death knights, undead warriors infused with necromantic power, had infiltrated the city. Kel’Thuzad had seen them firsthand. He had no intention of leaving that form of power unstudied, now that he knew what it could do.
The Lich King offered answers to all his questions, as well as access to the deepest secrets of the necromantic arts. He initially concealed his ties to the Legion, presenting himself as a being in command of his own destiny.
Kel’Thuzad was in awe of the entity. He abandoned his duties in Dalaran and made the journey to Northrend to witness the power of the Lich King. He saw the ruins of Azjol-Nerub; he met the conquered ruler Anub’arak; he even observed the terrors that lay within the corrupted ziggurat called Naxxramas.
It was more than he had bargained for. Kel’Thuzad briefly thought to escape, but the Lich King’s servants made it very clear that the time for second thoughts had passed. Kel’Thuzad would serve the Lich King; the only choice left to him was whether he would do so alive or undead.
Kel’Thuzad was forced to crawl to the Frozen Throne in Icecrown to accept his “reward.” The Lich King promised that loyalty would be repaid with power beyond imagining. He charged Kel’Thuzad to go to Lordaeron and gather an army of loyal followers. In time, they would be called on to spread the plague of undeath among the region’s populace.
&n
bsp; Kel’Thuzad obeyed. His reluctance fell away, and his desire to serve the Lich King grew. The power he had received was truly awe-inspiring.
When Kel’Thuzad arrived in Lordaeron, he did so as a holy man, preaching the hope of a new religion. He won over the lower classes with demagoguery, playing on their disillusionment with Lordaeron’s government. He proclaimed that he could ease the pain of the downtrodden, give hope to the hopeless, and lead the destitute to eternal life. The lies came easily to him. He had seen the power of undeath. Now that he was bound to the Lich King, he no longer feared it. He even hungered for the day when he would cast off the shackles of life and ascend to a greater undead form.
For the rich, Kel’Thuzad took a different approach. He enticed nobles and landowners with offers of great power—and immortality—if they joined his cause. Some voiced concern about what seemed like a “people’s movement” geared toward toppling the established order, but Kel’Thuzad eased their fears. He said the lower classes were no threat; they were simply a tool that the privileged could use to destroy their rivals and secure more wealth.
As the years passed, Kel’Thuzad recruited more and more people to his cause. Few truly understood the horrors that awaited them all. Only individuals whom he was certain he could turn to darkness learned the truth about the plague of undeath and what it would do to humanity.
In time, Kel’Thuzad’s followers would become known as the Cult of the Damned.
World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 3 Page 3