Chapter 5 A Two-Pronged Approach

If it were possible, Onyxia would also want to escape and hide away somewhere. However, her father had once been known as the Earth-Warder, sharing a profound and unbreakable bond with the earth itself. As long as she remained upon Azeroth, there was nowhere she could hide.

The bloodline and power of the black dragonflight all originated from Deathwing, Neltharion. The very moment he plunged completely into madness, the entire black dragonflight was inevitably tainted.

Onyxia understood that the roots of that corruption were concealed deep within her own body, though they were not as blatantly obvious as those of her father and brother.

If she truly wished to hide, she had to secure the protection of a powerful entity while purging the source of corruption from her being.

Yet upon Azeroth, who would risk the wrath of Deathwing to harbor a pure-blooded black dragon? The other four aspect dragonflights perhaps possessed the capacity to do so, but they would never show leniency toward a black dragonflight that had committed such grievous wrongs.

From the very moment of her birth, Onyxia's fate had been sealed. She was merely a tool for the black dragonflight, and as a female dragon carrying the bloodline of Deathwing, her value far exceeded that of an ordinary dragon.

Right now, she only wished to complete the task assigned to her by her father and find a safe place to hide before the world plunged entirely into darkness.

"Sigh..." At this thought, the Countess leaned wearily against the cushions, resting her delicate, fair cheek upon the palm of her hand.

Some of the shrewder humans had already realized there was something amiss with her identity, but they simply failed to connect her to a creature as wildly implausible as a black dragon. Instead, they suspected she might merely be a spy dispatched by some rival nation or faction.

Had the magocracy of Stormwind not been severely weakened following the massive upheaval involving Medivh, she would never have been able to maintain her disguise until now.

That the black dragon princess had managed to survive safely for so long without being hunted down or dragged back for a forced purification by other dragons hostile to her kind was entirely attributable to her extreme caution.

She realized that Stormwind was no longer as secure as it had been right after its reconstruction. Back then, the entire nation was consumed by the monumental task of repairing the deep wounds inflicted by the orcish wars, leaving no spare time to monitor the petty maneuvers of a countess.

Yet now, the state of the Kingdom of Stormwind had improved vastly, and King Varian was gradually beginning to turn his watchful gaze toward the nobility of Stormwind.

This was precisely why Onyxia was in such desperate haste to eliminate the king. Should she fail to kill him, or at least temporarily prevent him from returning to Stormwind, it would not be long before her true nature was utterly exposed.

She simply had not anticipated that the faction of useless nobles who had sworn allegiance to her would prove to be so utterly foolish as to allow Varian to reach Kalimdor safe and sound, even permitting his queen and son to escape to Lordaeron for a "vacation."

This was nothing less than the most transparent act of refuge imaginable! Had those fools failed to realize that the moment Varian returned, he would turn his blade upon them?

Varian was currently in the Dustwallow Marsh; although a few dragonkin soldiers were hidden there, relying solely on them to eliminate an entire army of human soldiers was entirely unrealistic. She had no choice but to target the side that was easier to resolve.

Onyxia decided to pursue a two-pronged approach. Aside from ordering the Blackrock Orcs to march out from the Burning Steppes to assault the Stormwind forces in Redridge Mountains, she also had to capture Varian's sole fatal weakness.

Namely—his wife and son.

"I must travel to Lordaeron myself... to ensure nothing goes wrong."

If she could secure control over Queen Tiffin and Anduin, Varian, who loved his family deeply, would inevitably reveal a fatal flaw, granting Onyxia the opportunity to resolve her troubles.

***

"Have the mages of Dalaran lost their minds studying magic? In an emergency of this magnitude, they still need to hold a committee meeting to discuss it?!" Upon returning to the inn where they were staying, Mograine wore an expression of intense indignation and bewilderment. He and Arthas had hit a brick wall with the Kirin Tor.

Arthas remained silent, his brow deeply furrowed as if lost in heavy thought.

"Your Highness, we should have led the troops straight in and forced Dalaran to open its gates so we could conduct a thorough inspection."

Mograine's attitude was exceptionally hardline. He had never particularly liked those pompous, pedantic old mages of Dalaran anyway, believing that their unnaturally long lives had completely addled their wits!

"Calm yourself first, Mograine. Doing that would likely provoke a localized war, and that is precisely what the demons would love to see."

Arthas attempted to placate the enraged High Lord. "Ever since its founding, Dalaran has operated under its council system, with the highest-ranking Council of Six governing the entire city."

"Although we have warned them of the hidden danger posed by the demons, vetting an entire magical kingdom is a remarkably tedious and cumbersome undertaking. It is only natural that they are somewhat reluctant."

"Give them a little time. We can use this very opportunity to quietly investigate on our own whether any suspicious phenomena have surfaced recently."

Mograine looked as though he wanted to retort, but he was interrupted by a sharp series of knocks at the door.

"Enter."

The door swung open, and a handsome high elf arrayed in magisterial robes walked in with a warm smile.

"It has been a long time, my friends."

"It has indeed, Kael'thas. Thank you for coming to assist us in investigating these suspicious events," Arthas greeted his old friend, then turned to introduce him. "Mograine, this is the prince of Quel'Thalas, Kael'thas Sunstrider."

Mograine offered Kael'thas a brief, formal knightly salute. "Good day, Your Highness. I am Alexandros Mograine of the Silver Hand."

"Good day, Lord Mograine," Kael'thas replied, wearing a smile as refreshing as a spring breeze. "The Council of Six actually mentioned both of you during their debate just now."

"I suppose it was nothing short of mockery and sarcasm: *Look at those two arrogant paladins, thinking they know more about detecting demons than we do! How could any demons possibly have infiltrated Dalaran?*"

Mimicking the tone of an elderly mage with impressive accuracy, Arthas prompted a helpless, wry chuckle from Kael'thas, who defended them, "I admit that our current system has a few minor flaws, but the Archmages of the Council of Six are still fundamentally fair-minded."

"Perhaps, but our focus right now must remain on the case. Since the mages are temporarily uncooperative with our plans for a large-scale sweep, we have no choice but to conduct our own investigation. Will you join us, Kael?"

Arthas spread his hands in a gesture of resignation. Who cared how fiercely the Council of Six argued in their meetings? In the end, that stubborn old man Antonidas would always insist on having his way—after all, he was the Grand Magus.

"I would very much like to join your efforts, but I have pressing matters on my hands that I simply cannot walk away from right now," Kael'thas said with a hint of apology, his duties as a member of the Council of Six keeping him exceptionally busy. "However, I have sent another archmage to assist you—one whom you should also recognize."

"An archmage I know?" Arthas briefly searched his memory. He knew far too many archmages to easily guess which one Kael'thas meant.

Yet it certainly wouldn't be a member of the Council of Six; they would never personally embroil themselves in a scandal that could tarnish Dalaran's reputation—with the exception of one particularly unusual individual among them.

With an air of deliberate mystery, Kael'thas smiled. "Tomorrow morning, he will be waiting for you at the fountain in the center of the city. You will find out who it is then. His power and knowledge will prove invaluable to your investigation."

"Understood. But Kael, I must issue you a warning: Quel'Thalas is very likely in the exact same predicament."

"Quel'Thalas?—That is impossible. The Ban'dinoriel shield inherently repels demons. There is no way one could simply stroll right into Silvermoon City."

"Never underestimate a dreadlord. You possess the Sunwell, which makes it the premier choice for the Burning Legion to construct a portal. I am deeply concerned that the demons have set their sights upon it," Arthas said gravely.

"I understand. I will have Silvermoon City step up its guards around the Sunwell," Kael'thas finally relented after hearing Arthas's repeated, solemn warnings.

Hearing this, Arthas knew it was the absolute best he could hope to extract from Kael'thas. Beyond that, it would be nearly impossible to sway the stance of Silvermoon's nobility and council.

"Then, I wish you luck."

"And you as well, Kael—and remember, be very watchful of anyone around you acting suspiciously. It is highly likely they are merely a vessel occupied by a dreadlord."