Brushing Past

The newcomer stood well over six feet tall, draped in a crimson robe with gold-trimmed embroidery that clearly bore the mark of a master craftsman. His upright posture and pointed ears were unmistakable traits of a High Elf. While elves were rare, they were not unheard of; what truly drew the eye was the phoenix hovering beside him, a bird no larger than a common rooster.

Anyone with even a modicum of knowledge could identify the man at a glance by that phoenix: Kael'thas Sunstrider, Prince of Quel'Thalas of the Quel'dorei Kingdom and a member of the Council of Six in Dalaran.

The phoenix at his side was none other than Kael'thas's close companion, the fire phoenix "Al'ar." At its level of power, physical size was no longer a metric of strength, especially for an elemental being.

"Powerful flame energy, containing traces of chaotic fire elements. It appears to be the work of an unconventional spellcaster. Given the scale of destruction, their physical prowess must be formidable as well. Could it be a dragon?"

Kael'thas spoke as if to himself, or perhaps to Al'ar, while inspecting the damage to the castle. He traced several runes in the air, sensing the magical elements that had yet to dissipate near the portal.

"To dare place a seal on my portal—this is no simple character. I arrived as soon as I received the signal, yet they still managed to slip away. It seems both parties involved here possess keen instincts..."

The Alterac Kingdom was extremely close to Dalaran, separated only by a mountain range. The magical fluctuations here were still within Dalaran's monitoring range; it would be strange if a clash between a Hero-tier and a quasi-Hero-tier combatant didn't alert the mages of Dalaran. Moreover, they had been keeping a close watch on this temporary "no-man's-land," so as soon as reports of intense fire magic surfaced, Kael'thas, the Council of Six's foremost expert in fire magic, had set aside his experiments and rushed over immediately.

"Al'ar, I sensed the mana signature of another phoenix. Is it one of your kin?"

Kael'thas looked toward the miniature phoenix, but Al'ar shook its head, indicating it did not recognize the presence.

Individual power did not equate to universal capability. Creatures like phoenixes were far less linguistically gifted than a parrot. In that regard, the silly bird Coral, while noisy, was far superior to the mute Al'ar; at least Liam didn't have to guess when he spoke to it.

However, after centuries of companionship, Kael'thas could easily discern his phoenix's meaning from a few gestures. He smiled and said, "Not of your kin? That is rare indeed. Could someone else be summoning phoenixes from the Elemental Plane? I would truly like to meet this person; perhaps I could even find you a mate."

Hearing Kael'thas's teasing, Al'ar flapped its wings in annoyance, showering Kael'thas in sparks to express its displeasure.

"Haha, enough, enough. Who knows what customs you phoenixes have."

Kael'thas laughed, but before he could add another word, he saw his phoenix preparing for another outburst and quickly turned his gaze to the ruins outside, changing the subject.

"This royal capital is completely ruined now. To restore it would require tearing it all down and starting from scratch. It seems those annoying flies won't be fighting so desperately for this territory anymore."

After assessing the state of the Alterac Kingdom, Kael'thas looked back at Al'ar.

"Since they have already left, let us return. That little girl is going home to visit her family tomorrow, and Master Antonidas will surely be tied up. There will be much to do tomorrow, and we must prepare a gift in advance."

With that, Kael'thas turned and stepped into the portal he had opened upon arrival, vanishing in an instant. His phoenix followed closely behind its master, returning through the portal to the mage halls of Dalaran.

As they departed, the portal, which had been glowing with a pale violet light, vanished instantly, and the Alterac Ruins returned to silence following the great upheaval. Its master, Aiden, still lay in the center of the roofless castle like a dead dog, unconscious and unresponsive.

A group of people had fought violently all night, only to turn and leave in unison, leaving the "culprit" behind, ignored and desolate.

The trampling of dragons, the spreading of wildfires, friendly fire, and the wanton destruction by various creatures had turned the Alterac Kingdom into a dead zone that night. Nearly a thousand Syndicate members, both old and new, had either died or fled, with fewer than a hundred remaining.

The old city of the Alterac Kingdom had been reduced to rubble by the night's catastrophic destruction. The Syndicate organization had suffered heavy losses due to the chaos Liam had incited, and their leader, Aiden Perenolde, had been rescued from the ruins by a few loyal guards in a "critically injured" and comatose state, never to be seen again.

The Syndicate, which had plagued the region for a time, vanished from the lands of the Hillsbrad Foothills that very night, never to reappear. The people of this land once again enjoyed a long-lost peace—brief, yet precious.

Of course, that is a story for another time. Liam, currently unaware that the Alterac Ruins had been leveled, was still debating whether to turn back and finish off that fellow Aiden.

Earlier, under the pressure of Onyxia, he had been forced to focus all his efforts on survival, completely forgetting his target lying in the corner. Now, having fled all the way to the vicinity of Aerie Peak, he had reached safety. As he calmed down, Liam suddenly remembered something: his damn quest didn't seem to be finished!

"Does it count as finished? I didn't get anything, so that shouldn't count, right? But the quest said to strike at the Syndicate's power, and I certainly dealt them a heavy blow. Sigh, I forgot to leave behind any evidence. No one will believe me on my word alone..."

Liam felt a bit frustrated, but there was no way he was returning to that place now. Coral had exhausted itself the previous night and was currently back in parrot form, fast asleep. If Onyxia happened to have a change of heart and returned in secret, he wouldn't be lucky enough to escape the jaws of an enraged mother dragon a second time.

A conflicted Liam decided to return to Ravenholdt Manor first and consult the old man. If the quest wasn't considered complete, he would have no choice but to hunt Aiden down to the ends of the earth.

Poor Liam had lost his mount and was forced to travel on foot, taking a detour from Aerie Peak back to the manor.

During the day he spent traveling, intelligence regarding the great catastrophe at the Alterac Ruins was delivered to the desk of Lord Jorach.

Reading the contents of the letter, Jorach realized he had underestimated Liam's potential... or rather, his capacity for destruction.

"I had better let these two little ones leave quickly. My little mountain hideout cannot withstand such turmoil."