Titan-Forged · Keepers

Aggramar's "bold plan" truly caught the other members' attention. Considering the Titans' enormous size, and to prevent the Pantheon from causing irreversible harm to Azeroth's World Soul—or even killing it—he proposed, after seeing the toy in Vanidak's hand, creating powerful constructs similar to Vanidak's little toys to carry out the Pantheon's will.

These constructs forged by the Titans would serve as their powerful arms in the battle against the Black Empire.

After Aggramar finished explaining the plan, Vanidak, the source of the inspiration, was the first to speak:

"Well, it is indeed a good idea. But Aggramar, that little toy you saw consumed an astonishing amount of materials. I assume you are not planning to use Azeroth's world core as forging material, are you?"

"That is no difficult problem, Vanidak." Khaz'goroth, the toy maker, voiced his opinion.

"The construct in your hand did indeed use many rare materials. But remember, we do not need something that powerful to fight the Old Gods' minions. We can simply use Azeroth's own crust to make them."

"Fine. You make toys, so you have the final say." Vanidak offered no further objection after hearing that.

"Then, since none of you have any objections to Aggramar's plan, let us begin. Time is not on our side, my brothers and sisters!" Aman'Thul made the final decision, and the Titans began constructing their armies of constructs.

Under the guidance of Khaz'goroth the Shaper, the Titans of the Pantheon gathered a portion of Azeroth's crust to create their construct armies. After a period of collecting materials, this novel and immense undertaking was about to begin. Naturally, the forging itself was left to the greatest shaper—Khaz'goroth.

"Oh, Khaz'goroth, are you starting your grand figurine-making enterprise?" Vanidak asked with great interest as he crouched nearby and watched Khaz'goroth forge.

"They are constructs, not the toy figurines you are talking about!" Khaz'goroth replied as he swung his hammer. "They are meant to fight the Old Gods, not be toys like the ones in your hands!"

"Hmph. The constructs you make might not even be able to beat my 'toys.' Isn't that right, Ra?" Vanidak disdainfully retorted to Khaz'goroth's doubt, lowering his head to look at a small figure beside him. It was the first creation Khaz'goroth had just completed, named Ra by Aman'Thul. The one Khaz'goroth was about to finish had been named Odyn by Aman'Thul.

"I do not know, honored master. Ra was only just born, but the master's might is beyond anything Ra can compare to!" Ra respectfully replied to Vanidak's question.

"Mm, you are quite good with words. That sounds nice." Vanidak happily accepted Ra's praise.

"That truly suits your style, Vanidak. You can strike up a conversation with anyone." Golganneth, who was likewise infusing the two completed constructs with power, spoke to Vanidak.

"Why should I not? Though they were created by us, I believe that as time passes, they will develop their own personalities and consciousness. They possess independent souls as well. I think we are equal in soul, so why should we not exchange a few words?"

"Fine, I cannot argue with you. But Vanidak, why have you not bestowed your blessing upon a construct? I see that everyone has chosen their own representative on Azeroth. What about you?" Golganneth was helpless against his brother's crooked logic and could only change the subject.

"Uh... to be honest, I wanted to send this fellow in my hand to Azeroth, but... uh... there is a problem. The materials used to make it are too powerful. To this day, there has not been a soul strong enough to match it and bring it to life. I have tried for a long time, but there is still no solution." Vanidak spoke with some dejection.

"You were the one who insisted on having only the best. You even added a strange stone as its core. By the King of Gods, I have never seen another material as brimming with such terrifying energy as that gem. So you cannot blame anyone else, Vanidak." Khaz'goroth rarely took the chance to mock his brother.

"Fine, I know. I will find a way to awaken this fellow. Sigh, making something that cannot move really is troublesome." Vanidak helplessly scratched his head and accepted his brother's ridicule.

After the Titans threw themselves fully into the work, a massive army of servants was finally ready. The members of the Pantheon also granted unique appearances and powers to a portion of the servants they had chosen. These servants would serve as the army's leaders, obey the Titans' commands, and face the Old Gods' corrupted armies. The Titans named these specially selected servants Keepers.

Among them, Aman'Thul chose the High Keeper Ra and Keeper Odyn, granting them a portion of his power. Khaz'goroth created Keeper Archaedas, bestowing upon him his command over earth and his forging ability. Golganneth gave his power over storms and the skies to Keepers Thorim and Hodir, allowing them to wield mighty storm magic. Eonar selected Freya, the only female Keeper specially created by Khaz'goroth, and granted her the power to control Azeroth's flora and fauna. Norgannon gave a portion of his wisdom and magical power to Keepers Loken and Mimiron. Finally, the Pantheon's defender, Avenger Aggramar, bestowed his courage and strength upon Keeper Tyr.

At last, this new army forged from Azeroth's crust was complete. Led by the many Keepers, the Pantheon formally declared war on its enemies. The time had finally come to shatter the Black Empire and rescue Azeroth from the clutches of evil...

"This is unfair! Completely unfair!" Vanidak was loudly complaining to his companions.

"Why? You all have subordinates who can move around for you to play with, while I can only stand here and watch. I refuse to accept this, Aman'Thul, I refuse! You have to give me a few Keepers to command!"

"Vanidak, who can you blame for that? You did not choose any Keeper servants of your own. You only stubbornly wanted to use that toy in your hand. Now that we have all bestowed power upon them, the connections between us cannot be transferred to you. So, I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do."

Aman'Thul was also helpless in the face of his brother's sudden unreasonable behavior. The Keeper army was about to depart, and he did not want to waste time arguing endlessly with his brother over this.

"I do not care. I have already lost one chance to get a moving toy. I... unless you let me command this army in battle against the Old Gods' servants, I will... I will cause trouble!" Vanidak continued his final struggle.

"You dare!" Hearing that Vanidak intended to cause trouble, Eonar grabbed her staff and prepared to give him another lesson. Sensing the killing intent, Vanidak hurriedly crouched down with both hands over his head. Just as Eonar was about to give her troublesome brother a thorough beating, Aman'Thul stopped her.

"Oh, Eonar, do not be in such a hurry to strike. Since Vanidak wishes to command the battle, we can give him that opportunity. But warfare changes in an instant. Vanidak, can you truly command them well? You must know that we cannot get too close to Azeroth."

"Hmph, is it not just real-time intelligence? What is so difficult about that? It is a simple little trick. Just give me the communication magic beacons for those Keepers!" Vanidak patted his chest, full of confidence.

Upon hearing this, Aman'Thul signaled to Norgannon. The latter stepped forward and released several rays of magical light before Vanidak. "There. The communication beacons you wanted. You can speak with them now, but how will you observe the battlefield?"

Vanidak accepted the magical beacons and looked at Norgannon with disdain.

"Oh, dear Norgannon, has old age made your mind sluggish? Have you forgotten who I am? I am Vanidak the Great, master of space! Would observing a battlefield be any great difficulty for a Titan as proficient in spatial magic as I am?"

"You do have a strong affinity for space, but I do not think you are proficient in spatial magic." Norgannon replied blandly, choking Vanidak into silence. Only after a long while did he shout, "Just wait! I will make you see clearly whether or not I can use spatial magic!" Then he rushed out of the Titans' temporary palace and headed for the Keeper army.

"Let us hope he can complete that spell." Aman'Thul said helplessly as he watched the figure fleeing into the distance.

Keeper Army Headquarters

Several Keepers who had been granted power were gathered together in discussion, considering how to attack the Black Empire formed by the Old Gods.

"Ra, I think we should defeat them one by one, starting with the weakest." Keeper Loken had inherited Norgannon's great wisdom. Pointing to a spot on the star map, he said, "For example, this southern Old God faction is the smallest. I think we can make it our first target."

High Keeper Ra was the leader of this group of Keepers. Only chief administrator Odyn barely stood on equal footing with him. After hearing the suggestion, Ra pondered briefly before voicing his own opinion.

"A good suggestion, Loken. First weaken the enemy's forces, then slowly crush them. Mm, a very good idea."

"So what is your decision?" Odyn, standing nearby, also approved of the plan.

Before Ra could state his view, Mimiron suddenly entered the council hall and spoke in a comical voice:

"Hey, fellows, good news! My master, Norgannon, Lord of Wisdom and Magic, told me that we have a supreme commander, and..."

"It is a Titan!"