A Savage Nature (Warcraft)

Detheroc meets the raucous battle cries with a roar of outrage, the trapped Nathrezim clearly not intending to go down without a fight. And yet… even with that said, it’s obvious he’s not going to survive this. The battle might still need to be fought, but the ending is predetermined. It’s only a matter of seeing how many Detheroc takes down with him before he goes, but even that isn’t likely to be that high of a number given Cenarius’ presence.
 
The Forest Demigod not only has Detheroc locked down, keeping him from escaping the Moonglade while the defenders of Nighthaven harry and harass him from all angles, but he’s also providing support and defense to those fighting, healing any injuries that Detheroc’s nasty claws and blasts of felfire DO manage to cause.
 
Seeing all of this and recognizing that the battle has a foregone conclusion, Rognak also hangs back, staying by Cenarius’ side and even sheathing Wolfsong on his back as Maiev and Naisha both surge forward. Instead of entering the fray directly, Rognak sinks into something of an Active Meditation, a technique that Cenarius had taught him a couple months back. Tranquility washes over the area, healing the courageous combatant engaging the dreadlord and keeping them in fighting shape.
 
As Rognak channels the powerful piece of Nature Magic, he lets his eyes drift shut for a moment, trusting that the others have this handled. He needs this time to think… because frankly, things that didn’t make sense before are suddenly beginning to click together. It’s like he finally has enough pieces of the puzzle to see the bigger picture for what it really is.
 
Detheroc had given him the final few pieces, of course. The Nathrezim might not even realize how much he gave away with his gloating words. After all, he had no way of knowing all that Rognak knew, in the end. He had no way of understanding Rognak’s strange, unique set of circumstances. If he… or worse, his masters, caught wind of Rognak’s situation, then it would be bad. Very bad.
 
But at the same time, the orc druid wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Having the foreknowledge he did had helped him quite a lot over the years. And he would continue to make use of it, even now.
 
Finding Detheroc leading the Naga in place of Illidan Stormrage had been weird enough, but to hear that he was searching for the lost shards of Frostmourne had been even stranger. Mostly because… well, Rognak’s second set of memories assured him that by this point in time, the Lich King and the Burning Legion should have been at odds.
 
However, that wasn’t always the case, obviously. The Lich King and the Scourge were originally the Burning Legion’s creatures through and through. The schism between the two groups wasn’t set to happen until AFTER Archimonde’s failure at Mount Hyjal. Not until the Deceiver, Kil’Jaedan, reached out to the Lich King to try and utilize him further in a bid to continue the conquest of Azeroth despite the defeat of his peer.
 
Rognak’s memories of another life where his world was nothing but a video game assured him that when Kil’Jaedan tried to get in contact with the Lich King… Ner’zhul would have refused him, and ultimately that would have in turn led to Kil’Jaedan seeking out Illidan Stormrage and forcing the Demon Hunter, newly ‘ascended’ to demonhood via the Skull of Gul’dan, to go to Northrend and destroy the Frozen Throne and the Lich King.
 
Obviously, that didn’t happen here. But it wasn’t Illidan’s death that was the point of divergence for these events as Rognak had initially thought. No… it was Arthas’. With Detheroc’s words, Rognak was able to piece things together and figure out what must have happened. When Arthas died and Frostmourne was shattered, it must have gravely wounded the Lich King.
 
Privately, Rognak had hoped that the loss of Frostmourne would ultimately result in Ner’zhul’s death as well… but it would seem he wasn’t that lucky, unfortunately. Still, the Runeblade’s destruction must have been singularly harmful to the Lich King, because the only way ANY of this made sense is if Ner’zhul had bowed his head and asked for help when Kil’Jaedan came knocking.
 
Yes. Rognak could see it well enough in his mind’s eye. Kil’Jaedan reaching out to Ner’zhul, only to find the Lich King dying. It must have left the Deceiver in as close to a panic as a creature like him could get. And so, when Ner’zhul had been forced to swallow his pride and beg Kil’Jaedan for help… the Eredar Lord had went about trying to fix things. Namely, he’d contacted Detheroc over in Lordaeron at the very least and set the oafish dreadlord to securing and retrieving the shards of Frostmourne so that the Runeblade could be reforged and the Lich King made whole again.
 
Far from seeking to kill the Lich King… Kil’Jaedan was now trying to SAVE the Lich King. And that… that changed everything.
 
“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
 
Rognak’s eyes snap open just in time to see Detheroc held down by entangling roots from Cenarius, his arms and legs pulled apart so that he had no way of defending himself as Maiev Shadowsong leaped up into the air and brought her Umbra Crescent down upon his neck, shearing his head from his fat, grotesque body.
 
The Nathrezim dies messily, but Rognak focuses on more targeted healing towards those that his Tranquility wasn’t enough for before turning to Cenarius, feeling… ill at ease, even with their victory.
 
“Cenarius, this isn’t the end. This is only the beginning.”
 
The Lord of the Forest knows most of what Rognak knows, of course. They’d focused the majority of their talks about the future on what Rognak knew of the situation in the Emerald Dream, to be fair. Dealing with the Nightmare Lord and his Emerald Nightmare was far closer to home for the Forest Demigod than anything else.
 
But Rognak HAD mentioned at one point that Arthas was merely a servant of a greater power, and that the Lich King lay in the Far North, in the frozen reaches of Northrend. He’d voiced his belief that Frostmourne, the most powerful Runeblade ever created, had housed a vast portion of the Lich King’s strength, and that by shattering it, they might have dealt with the threat before it could truly grow legs. Certainly with Arthas’ death, they’d altered the threat beyond anything recognizable, or so he had assumed.
 
And yet… Cenarius looks out at the battlefield for a moment longer to make sure Detheroc’s death sticks, before finally turning to Rognak and letting out a sigh as he nods.
 
“Hm, indeed. His words were… troubling to say the least. This Master Kil’Jaedan that he spoke of. Do you know of him?”
 
Rognak blinks, belatedly realizing that Kil’Jaedan hadn’t actually been part of the War of the Ancients ten thousand years ago… so Cenarius wouldn’t know him in the same way he and the Night Elves had known Archimonde the Defiler.
 
Nodding slowly, Rognak grimaces.
 
“Mm, yes. He is known as the Deceiver… in the same way that Archimonde is known as the Defiler. It was he who infiltrated my people’s homeworld of Draenor. It was he who turned the orcs into the Horde all for the sake of his vendetta against the remnants of his own people, the Draenei.”
 
Cenarius soaks this in for a moment before slowly inhaling and exhaling.
 
“So then… if Archimonde is Sargeras’ right hand, this Kil’Jaedan is his left?”
 
Rognak frowns at that, considering the comparison for a moment before shaking his head.
 
“It’s the other way around, I think. Kil’Jaedan… Kil’Jaedan is the Burning Legion’s second-in-command. Archimonde and he joined Sargeras at the same time, but the Deceiver stands above the Defiler in the Dark Titan’s esteem.”
 
THAT gets the Lord of the Forest’s attention, his eyes widening as he processes that declaration. Rognak is pretty sure it’s true, though the exact memories are a little fuzzy. Still, he’s confident that Kil’Jaedan is a massive threat… even if the Eredar Lord shouldn’t be ON Azeroth in person in the same way Archimonde was. He makes as much clear to Cenarius.
 
“I don’t believe Kil’Jaedan is actually on Azeroth. But that doesn’t make his current machinations any less dangerous than Archimonde’s were. Once news of Detheroc’s defeat reaches his allies, they will send a much greater force after us to try and take back the shards of Frostmourne. No matter what, this is not the end.”
 
For a moment, Cenarius stays silent. Then, finally, the Forest Lord nods.
 
“History does not repeat itself word for word. But it does often rhyme, doesn’t it? Ten thousand years ago, the War of the Ancients was decided by a small band of Night Elf rebels… aided greatly by a human and orc who were far from home. And more recently, it was Night Elves, humans, and orcs who fought back the Burning Legion, alongside several other mortal races.”
 
Rognak blinks at the reference to Broxigar and Rhonin’s time travel and the part they’d played in the War of the Ancients compared to the much more recent Battle of Mount Hyjal. But he stays quiet as Cenarius continues speaking.
 
“This, from what you have told me, seems to be much the same. The players are missing, but the stage is still set. One way or another, there are forces at work trying to save the Lich King… and thus there must be forces at work trying to destroy him. Staying here on Kalimdor and trying to wait out this storm… it will only provoke greater and greater reprisal, you are correct.”
 
Cenarius’ eyes blaze as he looks to Detheroc’s remains. Like all Nathrezim, the fat dreadlord has left no body, only his stretched out armor laying on the grass near the edge of Nighthaven. The battle against the Naga had not been without its casualties. Nighthaven would recover just as Nendis would, but they were still both tragedies, to say the least.
 
“… I will not allow Kalimdor to come to any further harm. Our goal in this instance is obvious. We must journey to Northrend and destroy the Lich King once and for all. Only then can this Kil’Jaedan’s plans be stymied.”
 
Rognak grimaces, even as he hears the resolve in Cenarius’ voice. The Lord of the Forest is right, of course. And yet… part of Rognak worries all the same. Is it even possible to kill the Lich King? He REALLY doesn’t want to find out what happens if they destroy the Helm of Domination in the same way they shattered Frostmourne.
 
His second set of memories have a rather… derisive view of some of the later elements of the games he’d apparently played in that second life. There’s this concept that floats around in Rognak’s mind every once in a while called a ‘retcon’ and he won’t lie… it confuses the hell out of him, while also throwing into doubt much of the foreknowledge he has regarding this world’s future.
 
But then to be fair, the more he changes, the less worth his foreknowledge has anyways. Killing Fandral and stopping the Night Elves from isolating themselves in large numbers on Teldrassil had already dramatically changed several future events for instance. To say nothing of what the deaths of Malfurion, Illidan, and Arthas all meant for the future of Azeroth as well.
 
In the end, Cenarius is right. Rognak knows that the Lord of the Forest is right. Removing Ner’zhul from the board, ending the tormented orc spirit’s agony and suffering once and for all… it can only be considered a good thing. And even if they don’t destroy the Helm of Domination, removing it from play this early on could also only be a good thing.
 
Though, even as Rognak straightens his back and flares his nostrils, finding his own resolve… a whisper echoes in the back of his head all the same.
 
There must always be a Lich King…
 
A disquieting thought to say the least. But… they would cross that bridge when they got to it. Still, before he can open his mouth and muster up a response, a voice suddenly cuts into their conversation.
 
“This isn’t over, is it? Detheroc was a monster controlling monsters to be sure… but he spoke of a Master. And of a creature called the Lich King.”
 
Rognak stiffens and turns along with Cenarius as Maiev Shadowsong and her second Naisha both approach. The latter Night Elf gives Rognak an appreciative nod that he returns, pleased that he was able to save the Warden’s life. Even if she’d proven her words true… she was certainly no bargaining chip, nor a damsel in distress needing a hero, no matter what Detheroc had thought.
 
“… You are correct, Warden Shadowsong. Detheroc might have been working alone here on Kalimdor, forcing him to resort to using mind control to turn the Naga into his shock troops… but he has allies. And once they learn he’s failed, they will seek to rectify his mistakes themselves. Before that happens, we must go on the offensive. To that end, I shall go to meet with the High Priestess, in order to begin the creation of an expedition to Northrend, where the Lich King sits upon his Frozen Throne.”
 
Right. They would need supplies and resources, all of which the Night Elves could provide far better than Rognak’s people. While their new lands were certainly proving to be far more prosperous than they could have been in another version of events, there was no denying that the orcs were still settling into their new home even now. The Night Elves on the other hand, for all that they’d lost in the Invasion of Kalimdor, still had plenty to go around.
 
Though Rognak would endeavor to get word to the Warsong Clan, and bring as many of his Warsong Druids to Northrend with him as he could possibly get ahold of. Despite initial hiccups with their tutelage, the orc druids that he and Cenarius had managed to teach in these past several months had proven to be quick learners once they got past their initial hurdles. Far quicker than most Night Elf Druids in fact, who could spend decades on the training that Rognak’s fellow orcs had already managed to complete.
 
Regardless, he-
 
“Then we will come with you to Northrend. I shall send word immediately for a new contingent of Watchers to meet us on the way to the High Priestess.”
 
Rognak blinks, a little taken aback by Maiev’s words. He’d gotten so lost in his own thoughts that he’d missed her and Naisha exchanging meaningful looks, and now he’s so surprised that he finds himself blurting out a question before really thinking about it.
 
“Are you certain? It will be incredibly dangerous.”

The moment the words leave his mouth, he feels like a fool for speaking them. However, the expected caustic response never comes. While Maiev does stiffen for a moment at his questioning, she glances at Naisha and instead of biting off his head, simply gives a single solid nod in response.
 
“I can think of no worthier cause. The Lich King will be stopped. This, I swear on my name and as Warden of the Watchers.”
 
And with that… it’s settled.

-x-X-x-

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