The Dark Times Will Pass - Book 2

9. SHATTRATH

Finally, Ocel made good on his word and an audience with the naaru had been granted. Sarah was travel to Shattrath and speak with A'dal.

Erik had demanded he go along with Drew, Ocel and Sarah; he could not be deterred, no matter what. He had grown very fond of Sarah, and the lad, Drew. He felt quite paternal about them both.

They all agreed to leave from Erik's cottage so not to draw attention. Ocel and Khadgar arrived together. There was a definite tension in the air between Khadgar and Sarah. She merely offered a curt nod of her head in greeting to the Archmage and sharply turned away. The corners of his mouth twitched in a bittersweet smile, before he grunted, ran his fingers through his hair and looked skyward.

Ocel emitted an exasperated huff on witnessing the acerbic salutation between the two. There was an obvious pain behind her eyes and he gathered it was from her having been despatched from Azeroth by his friend almost two years earlier. Having bore witness to Khadgar's continued inner conflict during that time, he could interpret his emotions easily enough. Khadgar he could handle, but Sarah - he wasn't sure. He just hoped the two could at least iron out any differences they had so this expedition would go smoothly.

Khadgar conjured the portal which would take them to Outland, and their destination Shattrath City. The outcome of this meeting would decide what their next move, if any, was going to be. He had to admit, he was curious how it would go. Khadgar and the naaru had formed a deep mutual respect. He had offered his aid on many missions, and been impressively influential in his efforts to aid the Sha'tar, with whom the naaru were strongly affiliated.

They arrived at the Terrace of Light, the middle level of a three-tier city. Sarah and Drew could not help but smile as they passed the banks with their built-in auction houses. The draenei guards on their eleks, elephant-like mounts, watched wordlessly at everyone walking by going about their business. A flight master who offered passengers a lift to various locations throughout Outland stood proudly beside his gryphons, waiting for the next customer to approach.

Raising their eyes to the top tier, Sarah and Drew marvelled at the red and gold banners of the Scryers. Mainly it was the home base in the city for members of the Horde, although Alliance soldiers could affiliate with them also, it just meant that they would not be trusted by the opposing Aldor. It was founded by a blood elf called Voren'thal, when he and his regiment were sent by their regent, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider to lay waste to the city. On crossing the bridge however, instead of attacking, Voren'thal laid down his weapons and asked to speak with the naaru, saying he had had a vision in which he saw the naaru were the only hope for his peoples' survival. He swore fealty to the naaru from that day onwards. That defection had resulted in the largest loss to Prince Kael'thas forces.

On the opposite side, lay Aldor's Rise. This was home to a particular faction of draenei, mainly those who opposed the Scryers. Again, either Horde or Alliance could offer their allegiance at the cost of the opposing faction distrusting them. The Aldor, an ancient order of priests who revered the naaru, had been initially lead by the Prophet Velen. He was an eredar who hailed from the planet Argus and had escaped the planet with many loyal followers after the fallen titan Sargeras corrupted two other eredars, namely Kil'jaeden, Velen's one time best friend, and Archimonde. The faction was now lead by High Priestess Ishanah.