[Sub-Plot Topic] The Betrayer Returns (Kouzai and RoseThorn Only)

"Imprisoned for ten thousand years..."

Illidan lay in the darkness of his cell.  Chains shackled him down.  Three feet of iron and several bars separated him from his freedom.  Hundreds of feet of rock and stone; the mountain of Karabor, stood between him and the outside world.  He had been stuck in here for so long.  So long since he had seen the light.  So long since he had seen his traitor of a brother.  So long since he had seen his people.  Since he had seen his love...Tyrandé...

"Banished from my own homeland..."

Illidan could still see her beautiful blue skin.  Her white, glowing eyes, her long flowing blue hair.  She was the picture of beauty.  Strong and determined too; she was the one who put the ending shot through his shoulder blade.  The shot that stopped his rampage in his former home in Ashenvale.  Illidan remembered...remembered how Malfurion had taken his "love" from him.  How she chose his brother over the clearly stronger twin.  How his own people, the ones who called for Illidan to lead them, who proclaimed him their leader, their saviour, betrayed him.  Tried to kill him.  Locked him down here...called him "Betrayer".

What did that word even mean?  It was a matter of perspective.  Everything he did!  Everything he said!  It was all to protect himself, his people!  The people who betrayed him!  The love who betrayed him!  He wanted to protect her!  Illidan let out a massive roar and yanked on his chains.  In his anger, he broke one.  A wicked smile crossed his face as he kept pulling against his restraints.  He felt them break more.  Illidan remebered drinking from the Well of the Old Gods.  How the whispers that once crippled him, told him secrets to unlock powers none had ever used before.  How to corrupt demons of the Burning Legion and turn them against their masters.

How to wield Fellfire and destroy all that stood in his way.  It was for safety!  It was for peace!  He used his enemies methods against them! And still....those eyes....Malfurion's eyes...his own brother...the scorn...the disdain.  The hatred!  Illidan shouted again, freeing himself with one final jerk.  He slammed his fists into the iron door and kept punching until he was through.  Again and again his fists rang clangs through the tunnels of the ancient Spirit Prison.  No one had come for him.  They had forgotten...Illidan had not...  But...what was that he felt?  A human outside?  What was a human doing in these lands??  It must be killed!  Illidan would protect his people!  His new people...the spirits who had kept him company in this prison.

"And now you dare enter my domain..."

It was a half hour, two broken knuckles and several bleeding sores before Illidan was through the door.  He used his powers to heal himself.  The powers gifted to him by the Old Gods.  Once he crossed the threshold from his cell into hallway, the magic that bound his powers and rendered them useless had left him.  He could summon his blades; and so he did.  He summoned them, shattering the bonds and locks that held in all the demons locked in the prison with him.  Spirits and Spiritborne came rushing in minutes later.  They were no match.

Illidan sliced through them like a knife through cheese.  Purple blood splattered the walls.  Brains splattered his arms up to his elbows.  Intestines he had ripped out and hearts he had torn out and stomped out littered the stone floors of the prison.  Two hundred of the finest Spiritborne warriors lay dead within an hour.  Not a scratch upon Illidan.  Not a single scratch.  None could match his power.  They were weak.

"You are not prepared..."

Illidan burst through the main doors of the prison.  His wings stretched.  Green light shone from his eyes.  His tattoos glowed with the same green, demonic light as his eyes.  His purple skin turned grey from his time imprisoned.  It had been too long since he was out, but his blind eyes needed no time to adjust to the light.  With a wicked laugh, Illidan saw the human, standing at the base of the mountain.  No doubt sent here to destroy him by the Spirit King or his brother.  Very well.  Then she would be killed as well.

Illidan shot up into the sky, and glared down at the human below.  He roared at the top of his longs, howling to the sky.  He was free and he would have his revenge upon all who wronged him!  But first...he would deal with the child who stood at the base of the mountain, waiting for him.

"YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!"

Illidan swooped down, bringing forth his twin blades and aiming and deathly slash towards his enemy.  He would rip her heart out and eat it by the end of the day!

Shava looked up at the massive creature that stood on top of the mountain roaring into the sky, making the mountain itself shake, almost in fear.
But Shava stood her ground even as rocks began to fall around her.
The two locked eyes and the creature swooped down and drew two long twin blades and Shava's eyes widened. They were very similar to her own twin blades.
But she shook her head and quickly jumped backwards as the creature landed on the ground, sending stones and boulders flying everywhere.
She shielded her face from the flying debris and glared in the creature's direction.
Shava was rather shocked when the creature began to swing one of the swords towards her. She quickly dodged the blow and when she was a somewhat safe distance away, she dropped her swords onto the ground and dropped down onto one knee.
"I'm not here to kill you Lord Illadan. Please listen to what I have to say. I promise it will be of great interest to you."
She kept a close eye on him.

"Human, you know not to whom you speak," snarled Illidan, "While I appreciate the use of the term Lord...your notions are false.  Humans are not welcome here--while I may not like my people, I dislike your kind even more."  Illidan let out a howl of rage and opened his wings, flying towards his opponent, going in for a second strike.  He was halted however as the Old Gods spoke through his head.  Rage filled Illidan more.  He hated the whispers, the snide comments, the suggestions that came from the Old Gods.


No.  No Illidan did not want to listen.   The faint whispers in another language.  He understood them perfectly though.  They spoke to him.  Told him things.  This girl served them.  Illidan did not.  Not...not anymore.  Not since...no, no he didn't want to.  He wasn't going to listen to them.  If she was a servant of those damned Old Gods, Illidan would kill her doubly.  He raised his blade and charged again.


What Illidan hated most was that they always, always spoke in unison, all at once, all in the same time.  Illidan wasn't sure how many Old Gods there actually were, but he knew of at least 5, and though he knew their names, he dared not think them, let alone speak them.  With a snarl Illidan clawed at his skull, hoping to get the whispers out.  But it was no good.  They wormed their way into his head, and the whispers were starting to work.  A single one spoke now.  The one who had turned him in the first place.


The demonic Old God knew how to warp Illidan's mind. It knew what buttons to push. It knew what to say. Someone once said, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Whoever said that made a deal with the Old Gods. The Old Gods were the first beings every created by the first god, En'no-gyoja. But they became drunk off their own, limitless power, and so En'no-gyoja was forced to seal them away, but not without a great cost.

En'no-gyoja was left mostly crippled, and with much less power than he had before. He had not the power to kill these beasts, merely lock them away. What was once the spitting image of En'no-gyoja became warped, twisted creatures. Who knows where they were now, for wherever they were they did not intend on staying there long. They had been trying to claw their way back for millions of years. Recently they'd been getting close.

All they needed was one last shove against their restraints and they would be free. Illidan, this woman, the Burning Legion and all the other allies of the Old Gods were to provide that last shove. Illidan was told of their plans. The usual plan. Create chaos and discord, feed the powers of the Old Gods with it, and allow them to return to this world to destroy it and remake it in their image.

Simple. In exchange, Illidan and the others would have a place in that new world as rulers. Illidan resisted at first; it was a simple plan, but it was not his ideal plan for his new found freedom. But then the Old God promised him limitless power. It promised to make Illidan its equal, to rule alongsie it. Giving Illidan the power to not only destroy his brother, his people and Ashenvale, but the whole Spirit World as well.

Illidan was sold. He agreed. There was just one condition. He had to work with this newcomer. This stranger. According to the Old God, they were to work together. Alone they were strong, but together, they were unstoppable. Illidan didn't care if he had to work with a monkey. He just wanted his power. Limitless, unstoppable power. Illidan smirked and looked at the girl as he stood up and dissolved his blades into green smoke.

"Who are you child?" asked Illidan coldly, "What nursery or orphanage did the Old Gods pull you from? Tell me, were you still suckling on your mother's breast when they found you? When you answered the call?" Illidan's lip curled into a sneer, and his fanged teeth showed through the crack in his smiling lips.

Shava looked up at Illadan. She could clearly see he was in some sort of pain and even more so enraged. She made sure her own blades were nearby just in case she needed them again. She was ready to attack when he suddenly made his blades disappear in a green mist. She chuckled and an equally cold and twisted smirk pulled at her lips. She knew this was it. This was the moment that would make history, an endless war where the thirst of war would never be lost and chaos would reign forever!
She spoke loud and clear
"I do not need the help of the old Gods to bring me to you! I come of my own free will, from the home of my mother and father. I left everything I knew behind to come here."
She clenched her fists and yelled
"I want to bring about an endless war to the world! A war where the great benders and warriors will never remain idle and the thirst of battle will never be lost!"
She raised her hands and made lightning crackle between them
"Think of me however you wish. You may think of me as a lowlife human, but I don't wish to remain so for long."
Her eyes burned with a sinister glow and she waited for a response.
Illidan... If anybody, or anything was going to bring about war and chaos to the world, it was him. There was no doubt in Shava's mind.

The girl knew how to return a quip.  She could take Illidan's snide comments and respond with a calm, cool, collected tone that Illidan admired.  The coldness in her words.  How they hung upon the air like ice.  It was admirable.  This girl was not just some child; she had been chosen for a reason.  Illidan's remarks were a test.   She had passed, as far as he concerned she was his equal...well, not in power, but in leadership, perhaps.  Illidan smirked and looked at this girl.  He could see her evil intent.

He could feel her power too.  She was strong in her own right.  Not as strong as most of the Spiritborne Illidan knew, but then again, the Spiritborne he knew were at least 10,000 years old.  Then again, Spiritborne were Spirit Benders, and Spirit Benders grew stronger with age.  And Spiritborne, being Spirit Benders who had spent ten centuries drinking in the energy of the Spirit World, were unnaturally strong when compared to humans, so it was unfair to compare this girl to Illidan's kind.  But perhaps among her own kind instead.

"What did you have in mind girl?" asked Illidan, "What have our masters commanded of us?  Are we to free them?  Or is it more subtle than that?"  Illidan could feel something across the void, across the Spirit World.  A great destructive force that had woken up; something that wanted nothing more than to destroy and serve its masters.  "So Magmaros has been freed?" sneered Illidan, "And he is our distraction?"



Malfurion roused himself from his sleep.  Tyrandé felt her husband wake beside her and rush to the balcony of their home within the boughs of the ancient Ash Tree where most Spiritborne had carved their homes into. Malfurion had felt a disturbance somewhere in the Spirit World. Being a Spirit Caller and well in-tune with the Spirits of the realm, Malfurion was able to sense these things.

When he realized where the disturbance was coming from, he shook slightly where he stood. He shook with a mixture of rage and fear. Illidan was free. The Betrayer was free. Malfurion's own brother was free. "He has escaped," was all Malfurion could force from his mouth. He punched the railing with a heavy fist. "He has broken free and we must destroy him."

Tyrandé stood behind her husband and hugged him. "Two hundred of our greatest warriors guarded him...they are dead now, aren't they?" she asked. Malfurion did not respond; it was answer enough for Tyrandé. She was not sure how her old friend and brother-in-law was able to escape, but he had and Malfurion was right. He had to be put down. Now.

"Come, let us arm ourselves. I shall rouse Ash'Alah," said Tyrandé calmly, yet with strength, "We shall defeat him together, as we did in the past." Malfurion was not one to argue with Tyrandé, even if he really wanted to. He knew once she made up her mind to join him, or to do just about anything, her mind never changed, and she would fulfill her objective regardless of who stood in her. So be it; they would take down Illidan together.

Shava smirked and said "I think introductions are in order first Lord Illidan." Shava stabbed her swords into the ground and said "My name is Shava Nari, and I will be the last thing people see before they are turned to dust."
Inside, she was shaking with excitement but didn't let it show to Illidan. She knew that together, they could bring about the endless war and take down even the most powerful Gods.
Anything that stood between them whether it was a crippled elder or a suckling child, they would be turned to ash by their power.
Shava felt her own power welling inside her, desperate to be unleashed and turn everything in her path to nothing but smouldering embers.
She looked up to Illidan and said "Whoever or whatever stands in our way, won't be alive for much longer."
But she had a question "Tell me. Who will be the first to try to block our path? And the first to fall?" She smirked.

The girl was eager and willing; good qualities.  But perhaps she overestimated her training and her powers a touch.  Illidan knew the first two people who would be here to stop him.  In fact...if Illidan's eyes "saw" correctly...they were already on their way.  Excellent.  They would be here soon.  His own brother, Malfurion, and the love of his life, Tyrandé.  The woman who had scorned him.  Who had betrayed him.  She chose Malfurion because....because he was stronger.  Even when Illidan gained more power, still she chose Malfurion.

Still Malfurion was the better man.  Still he defeated Illidan.  Malfurion could not win.  Not anymore.  Not this time.  Now it was personal.  "Leave child," was all Illidan said as he looked towards Ashenvale, miles and miles in the distance.  Far from where the two of them stood.  One hour.  No longer.  They would be here then.  "Leave now," Illidan said again, "You are a child to us; to them.  You will lose.  Spirit Benders grow stronger with age.  Together they are both over 10,000 years old."

"Even I could not defeat them before now...but perhaps....this time..." Illidan's voice trailed off.  He turned and glared at Shava and commanded she leave once more.  She would be out of place here.  This was a battle, a personal battle, between giants.  Behemoths.  Between people on equal footing.  A girl who had barely entered her second decade and couldn't bend the power of Spirits was no match against the first humans.  The first tribe of people created by the gods.  Who left behind their humanity for the Spirit World, and drank its power in for 10,000 years.

Who extended their lives beyond the normal 150 years of a Spirit Bender.  Who grew stronger, less human, more spirit within the Spirit World.  Their home.  Shava was a toy to them.  She would be an easy play thing.  As if to prove a point, Illidan summoned several Felfire Hawks, a corrupted demon that once served Lord Magmaros.  The powers of the Old Gods that coursed through Illidan's veins had turned their red flames green.  Felflames.  Then, to prove another point, Illidan summoned a Dragonkin Pit Lord.  Mannoroth the Destructor.  One of Magmaros's old Generals, before Illidan used his powers to corrupt him.

"I shall catch up...and then I will show you the Well; perhaps then you will grow stronger...but for now, flee, I will find you.  You need not tell me where, I can see everything." That was the last thing Illidan said before he and his minions flew off towards the direction his brother and sister-in-law were coming from, off to confront them to the possible death.  With Malfurion, it truly was do or die.

Shava watched Illidan fly off and glared in his direction. He had told her to leave and that he would catch up. "Dammit all to Hell..." She cursed
She rubbed her temples as Illidan's figure vanished into the distance. Fine then. She would go and wait for him to return. Shava was curious, to say the least, at what Illidan was so passionate about fighting. She was debating whether to watch from a safe distance or to take her chances and go closer. But the second option wasn't a good one. If something happened between these monstrous beings and Shava got hurt or killed, then she would never be able to fulfill her goal.

Not wanting to tempt Illidan's temper, Shava obeyed and walked on in the opposite direction, far from where the confrontation would take place.
But his words rang clear in her mind "I will show you the Well."
'The Well from which the Old Gods drink?' She thought. If it was true, then she would not only be the most powerful human, but someone who could stand on equal footing with the Gods themselves.
The mere thought brought a cold smile to Shava's lips and she looked back towards the direction that Illidan flew off to and eagerly waited for the battle of the Gods to begin.

Malfurion and Tyrandé arrived within a few hours. When they reached the base of Mt. Karabor they found Illidan, his blades drawn, his tattoos glowing green with Fallen energy. The magic of the Old Gods. Green. Corrupt. Wicked. Feeding on life, all life. Fallen Energy, or Fel, promised great power, but exacted a greater toll. It was an evil magic. The magic of the Old Gods. It had to be stopped before it corrupted the Spirit world.

Malfurion stepped forward, standing in front of Tyrandé, looking hard at his brother. Malfurion wasn't sure but it seemed his brother had grown more wicked and deformed during his years in imprisonment. "How?' was the only world Malfurion could force through his lips. He couldn't understand how Illidan broke free. How the binding chains failed. How he had regained his powers. How he had managed to slaughter 200 of the strongest Spiritborne Warriors. Wardens and Callers, fully trained by Malfurion himself.

Tyrandé watched quietly from behind her husband, Ash'Alah waiting by her side, ready to pounce. She drew her bow and strung it with an arrow. She kept the point low, but was ready to fire if she needed. She didn't trust Illidan. Not anymore. Not since he tried to destroy Ashenvale. Then...then there was the Third War against Lord Magmaros where Illidan nearly killed half of the Spiritborne trying to corrupt a Pit Lord and turn him against the Burning Legion.

Illidan was too corrupted and wicked to be trusted. Plus he had tried to kill Tyrandé because she preferred Malfurion. Because Illidan believed she loved Malfurion for his superior strength. In truth, Tyrandé loved Malfurion for traits Illidan would never know. Mercy, kindness, gentility, bravery. Illidan had none of these traits...not anymore. Not since he drank from the Well of the Old Gods...wherever it was he found it. The wicked artifact.


Illidan glared at his brother, and sneered when he asked how. "I have powers you know not," explained Illidan wickedly, "Powers you will never know. Powers you're too afraid of. You are weak." No doubt Malfurion would retort with something clever...something that would only act as a whip to Illidan's sore ego. Something that would set Illidan off. Good, the wicked beast needed to kill something soon. His lords, his master, they commanded it.

Illidan laughed and undid his red blindfold. The cloth fell to the floor slowly. With the cloth gone, burning green flames appeared in the empty sockets where Illidan's eyes should have been. "My sight is new...brother...," laughed Illidan, "Didn't you know? Did you ever wonder what was beneath this blindfold? My masters burned my eyes out and...well, now I can see anything and everything. Beyond what I could see before. I want you to try and defeat me now."

Shava's eyes widened at the massive Gods in the distance. Even that far away, they were still absolutely huge. She smiled as they spoke, their very words seemed to shake the earth. She could feel the tension in the air, crackling like lightning, ready to explode. And she was there to witness it all. She moved to a large craggy rock jutting out of the ground and leaned against it.
She felt her body break out in goosebumps.
She heard him mention that object again 'The Well of The Old Gods'
Shava had heard it in stories before but she wasn't sure if it really existed. But now she was sure it did. Illidan had drank from it and next it would be Shava's turn to drink from the well and gain the power of the Old Gods.
Her goal was close and hand and all she had to do was wait for Illidan to take out these two behemoths for it to all be set in motion.
A wicked smile pulled at her lips.