"We are the guardians of the Great Bastion, the Skycrown Gate, and Skycrown Citadel! No matter how many greenskins, demons, beasts, and horrors will come, we stand strong! No matter how strong they are, we kill them all! We are children of the Fire and Light; the chosen ones of the Aeldari! We guard the land of the Empire and will guard it till the end of the times! So bear your blades and raise them high! Proud sons and daughters of the Phoenix, leave them no mercy! For the Emperor! For the Empire! For Azeroth!"
- General Alexandros Morgaine during the First War of the Dark Portal upon the invasion of the Great Bastion by the Horde
*
"Codex: Temple of the Celestial Dragon Monks
The Temple of the Celestial Dragon Monks is a monastery dedicated to the training of the Chi Masters in the entire world of Azeroth, located in the Sacred Phoenix Empire. The Temple of the Celestial Dragon Monks is dedicated to the training of famed mythical warriors, called by the same name.
Celestial Dragon Monks.
The Temple is located in the Mountains of Mourn, which serves as home to the powerful secular order of the Chi Masters in the Sacred Phoenix Empire. The Celestial Dragon Monks are masters of unarmed combat and other martial arts who have each outlived many of their peers who did not meet their order's strict requirements or survive their first fight with any of the other full monks.
Within the Sacred Phoenix Empire, the Order of the Celestial Dragon Monks often acts as a prime source of instructors and trainers for the Military Branches of the Imperial Military and its branches, as there are no better teachers of the Chi than the Celestial Dragon Monks.
The Chi Masters all over Azeroth would often seek guidance from the Masters of the Temple of the Celestial Dragon Monks and very often journey to the secluded mountain temple seeking challenge and training.
Yet, only a few would succeed at the endeavor.
Very few meet the strict requirements or even survive their first encounter with a member of the order. Since the appearance of Pandaria, due to the advanced Chi-based culture in Pandaria, many Pandaren began travelling to the Fire Nation to seek the Temple of the Celestial Dragon Monks and exchange knowledge on the secrets of the Chi.
Due to the reclusive nature of the Order of the Celestial Dragon Monks, they rarely leave their Temple or the Mountains of Mourn in the depths of the Fire Nation. Most of the Celestial Dragon Monks devote their whole lives to mastering the Arts of the Chi and teaching the new advanced Chi Methods at the Fire Nation.
The life of the Celestial Dragon Monks was devoted to training and practicing Chi. At the same time, the Order of the Celestial Dragon Monks served as a place where many high-ranking officers, Benders, or Chi Masters serving in the Fire Nation's military wanted to retire."
- Celestial Dragon Monks and Pandaren Battle Masters: Their Origins, Comparisons and Differences
***
Stormwind City, Outside of the Stormwind Keep
The Captain-General of the Phoenix Crownguard, Jiang Wei, was looking rather bored because nothing significant happened... though, that was a good thing as they were in the heart of the Stormwind; it would be bad if something happened.
Right now, he was on patrol duty because he had gone to check on the Airship that was parked outside the Stormwind Keep. Just as he was about to return to the Stormwind Keep, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, because he sensed some very malicious energy that was stemming from the outside of he city.
At the same time, he noticed that all of the Stormwindians were looking panicked as hell because it was indeed what he was thinking.
With all of this Magic shit, someone was probably conducting something bad with Magic, if he were to guess, some sort of ritual that wasn't really good for them.
And it proved to be right, because soon enough, high in the sky, a silhouette of something that appeared to be some kind of evil god materialized. The Captain-General of the Phoenix Crownguard frowned, seeing the silhouette of some being because it was clear that the capital city, Stormwind, was under attack.
Which was terrible news.
Nevertheless, he needed to go to his Lord because the city was under siege and they would most probably need to fight against.
***
Stormwind Keep
Just as Aenarion realized that something was wrong in the environment, it didn't take long for several scouts and Mages from the Magic Corps Regiment of Stormwind's military to burst into the dining room in a hurry.
It was clear that something had indeed happened, and whatever had happened, it wasn't good.
On the contrary...
Judging based on their expressions, it was something very, very bad.
"Your Majesty, we are under attack by the Gurubashi Trolls and their Loa!"
Commander of the Magic Corps Regiment said that they had already detected the presence of the Troll Witch Doctors, Shamans, and their Dark Magics. The overwhelming presence of the Avatar of their Loa, also greatly helped that, because it was more than words could say.
Hearing this, everyone became more serious, especially the King of Stormwind, because it meant that the Trolls managed to infiltrate the deepest heart of their nation and were commencing the decapitation operation on Stormwind, considering the fact that most of Stormwind's military is tied to the borders.
King Barathen was wondering what was bringing the Trolls to such action because this would mean that no matter the outcome, Stormwind would go for the full-out offensive against the Gurubashi Trolls, and it would be a very brutal offensive against the Gurubashi Trolls and their Jungle Troll Alliance that they were heading.
Aenarion knew that the highest possible reason for that was most probably the appearance of the Fire Nation. Logically speaking, the Jungle Troll Alliance, led by the Gurubashi Tribe, was just a collection of several Jungle Troll Tribes.
While they were, for the time being, united as one, it was just a matter of time until they started fighting against each other. Then there was the territorial aspect, as the minor tribes and clans of the Jungle Trolls, were basically subservient to the Gurubashi Tribe.
Meaning that they don't have much positive emotion toward the Gurubashi Tribe, but they hated the humans of Stormwind even more. The last reason was that they must have learned about the visit of the Fire Nation to Stormwind.
This was probably pretty much unnerving to the Gurubashi Trolls as the rumors of the Fire Nation and its appearance reached the trolls as well. And they knew that the first species that the Fire Nation met were the High Elves of the Quel'Thalas, so considering that they were a human nation, meeting with the High Elves...
They won't have a really good opinion about the Trolls.
Even though Jok'non wanted the determination of the Stormwind, he was aware that it would be a very tough fight, even with the full might of their God, Hakkar the Soulflayer.
The military might of Stormwind was unquestionable; its armies were the most powerful in the Eastern Kingdom due to their numbers, training, power, and gear, while at the same time, they were also incorporating Mages in the Army en masse.
Their Magic Corps were famous throughout the entire Eastern Kingdoms.
And if the intervention of another human nation was added to the mix, then it would make it many times harder for the Gurubashi Trolls and the Jungle Trolls to defeat the humans and reclaim the entirety of their lands.
So, the Trolls went for the decapitation operation right from the start.
The great mistake they made was that they carried it out during the time when the Fire Lord and the delegation from the Fire Nation were in the Stormwind City.
"Immediately declare martial law in the city and order all citizens to evacuate to the safe shelters. Mobilize the City Guard and close every gate. The Royal Guard will help the City Guard and the 1st Legion of the Army to defend the city. Send a message to the headquarters of the Magic Corps Regiment to call back Guardian and Lord Lothar from the borders. Send a message to Dalaran that one of the Troll Loa has appeared and that it's one of their Evil Gods."
King Barathen Wrynn immediately went into full-time battle command mode as he started issuing one order after another. Aenarion raised his brows as he heard that the King was recalling the Guardian.
The Guardian of Tirisfal, also known as Guardian of the Tirisfalen, was a single mortal champion magically empowered by the Council of Tirisfal to secretly fight the Burning Legion and other demons wherever they might have appeared on Azeroth.
The Council of Tirisfal was an order of immensely powerful beings who were empowered to protect the world from the Burning Legion over the millennia. The Guardians were imbued with powers from all members of the Council of Tirisfal, becoming extremely powerful mages in their own right.
Aenarion was informed about the existence of the Council of Tirisfal by the Grand Magister Belo'vir Salonar himself for various reasons, though one of the most prominent was that, the Fire Nation possessed enough power to be useful in some sort of demonic scenario.
At the same time, Aenarion also knew of the existence of this faction from the canon of the World of Warcraft and its role in the future that was yet to come.
The Guardians of Tirisfal have served for ages to protect the world from demonic influence.
Each Archmage participating in the empowering ritual loses part of their power. The loss of power lasts as long as the Guardian of Tirisfal, who had been empowered, lives. The power is regained if the Guardian of Tirisfal dies or is stripped of power by the surviving council of Archmages.
A Guardian of Tirisfal cannot be stripped of power if all of the empowering Archamagi are dead. Instead, they must be killed before there can be another Guardian of Tirisfal.
'The current host of the Sargeras... well, this certainly complicates a things.'
Aenarion, though as he was slightly tempted to attempt to kill Medivh and prevent the Dark Portal from opening at all, because, according to everything that he knew, Medivh's power was far from the Demigod that he was during the events of the First War of the Dark Portal.
Nevertheless... Aenarion knew that the opening of the Dark Portal would hurt them all; the opportunities of the Dark Portal were indeed unprecedented.
Firstly, the threat of the Burning Legion to Azeroth remained regardless of whether or not there was a Dark Portal. Sargeras was hellbent on the destruction of Azeroth and killing the nascent Titan, and then, there were still many other threats that would be unaffected by the Dark Portal.
Secondly, due to the opening of the Dark Portal, the Eastern Kingdoms united as one. Even though Aenarion never planned to be a part of the Alliance, he needed the existence of the Alliance as his ally and ally to the Fire Nation.
Lastly...
Draenor presented a world that was untapped in its potential.
Draenor, Dawgar "Known Earth" by the Ogres and Rakshar "Sunstone" was the homeworld of the orcish race and the last refuge of the Draenei before their arrival on Azeroth. It was a large, fertile world dominated by vast plains, dense forests, and lush swamps.
Besides the Orcs and Draenei, it was originally home to many other intelligent humanoid races, including the ancient, bird-like arakkoa; the mighty ogres and their brutal gronn masters; and the aggressive tree-men known as botani.
Due to the corruption of fel, during the last days of its life, Draenor was a transformed world. Now it was a barren husk of badlands and hardscrabble vegetation, all under a blood-red sky, the planet was referred to as the Red World.
Orks were a primitive, barbaric species that barely did any mining, and they barely mined the natural resources of the planet. Aenarion knew that if he could prevent Draenor from exploding and becoming the Outland, he would have at his disposal an entire planet.
The entire planet is full of natural resources that could be mined and processed.
Obviously, this would be an astronomical endeavor that would require maintaining control over the Dark Portal and also working together with the future Alliance to maintain control over Draenor, extracting the resources of Draenor, and bringing them to Azeroth.
Draenor was a dying world.
Fel made sure of it.
"The forces of the Fire Nation will gladly help you defend the city. My wife will lead the Crownguard to fight against the servants of the Evil God, and I will face the Avatar of the Evil God."
Aenarion said as his words attracted the attention of everyone present, because in truth, many expected that the Fire Lord would pack up his things, hop on the Airship, and fly away from the Stromwind as far as possible.
The Fire Lord decided that he would defend Stormwind, and this decision wasn't made just out of opportunism.
He knew that the Trolls were enemies of all of the men, dwarves, and elves.
Not to mention, they would join the Horde either way in the future in some form, so he was going to curb their power as soon as possible.
Aenarion knew that the Trolls were dangerous to humanity because the bad blood between the humans of the Eastern Kingdoms and the Trolls was too deep. Not to mention the steep hatred that all trolls bore towards the High Elves.
Trolls of any species automatically fell into the category of races with whom they would never have any kind of peace.
Similar to the Orcs in the future, they would be eternal enemies, and the best situation would be that in the time of the world-ending threats to Azeroth, they would work together.
But that was all.
"I would be deeply grateful for such actions, Fire Lord Septim, and to your Queen as well."
King Barathen Wrynn thanked the ruling monarch and Queen of the Fire Nation for their help because Stormwind City was currently in a very vulnerable position like never before. The fact that the Trolls managed to summon the Avatar of their Evil God right above the capital was more than enough to say something about the city's current crisis.
"The Trolls are a threat to all civilized species with the Dark Gods they worship and the hatred that they bear towards the Man, Dwarf, and Elf."
Aenarion stated just as the Captain-General of the Phoenix Crownsguard arrived at the dining room with a distressed expression, because he must have too felt and seen the situation and how everything was going to shit.
"Captain-General Jiang."
The Fire Lord said as the man in question saluted the Fire Lord with the halberd that he was holding.
"Lead the contingents of the Crownsguard and join Esdeath in the defense of Stormwind City. Aim for the Gurubashi Troll infiltrators in the city and kill them all. Capture only the leaders of their forces; the rest are to be killed. At the same time, if possible, try to kill as many of the powerful ones as possible to relieve the forces of Stormwind."
The Captain-General of the Phoenix Crownsguard knew that arguing with the Fire Lord was totally futile and that the orders must be obeyed and carried out without question. If there was one person in the room who was rather eager about the entire development, then it was Esdeath, who was rather happy that there would be some kind of battle.
Battles were always welcomed by her.
"Per Your Command, My Lord."
Captain-General Jiang Wei gave a salute as he then exited the dining room and went directly to the Grimoire Heart to rally the rest of the Crownsguard, the Imperial Benders, and the remaining forces that were on the site.
He was, right now, overall second-in-command of the Fire Nation forces in the Stormwind, so it was up to him to prepare the soldiers of the Fire Nation for the fight.
"I will be joining them. Be careful."
His wife stood up from the chair where she had been sitting, saying to her husband and giving him a kiss before she left the dining room and joined the soldiers. Aenarion sighed because right now, he was the strongest person in the room, and he could also call on the Divine Power of the Aeldari Gods in case he needed it.
It was the best bet to fight against the Avatar of the Loa.
The fight against the Loa of the Gurubashi Trolls would be very tough, but Aenarion was confident that he would be able to hold the Loa back. He was able to sense the exact power of the Avatar of the Loa.
"So, shall we go?"
Aenarion asked King Barathen Wrynn, as several servants brought the King of Stormwind his armor and weapon, while one member of the Crownsguard who remained in the dining room and did not depart with Esdeath, did the same for the Fire Lord.
When the Fire Lord changed into his armor, he exited the Stormwind Keep and looked in the direction of the Avatar of the Loa.
"Hakkar the Soulflayer is the Dark God of the Gurubashi Trolls and, apparently, according to the High Elves and Dalaran, one of the most powerful of the Loas that the Trolls are worshipping."
Barathen Wrynn was already clad in his armor, which had a very similar design to the armor of the Royal Guards and Knights of Stormwind, but it was heavily covered by lion motifs.
"I can sense that... just that Avatar has raw power that is around the same as mine... who knows how powerful the True Body must be."
Hearing that, the King of Stormwind became more serious because it meant that the Avatar of Hakkar the Soulflayer was at the Champion Level solely based on its Aura, which wasn't really good news.
Barathen Wrynn himself was at the peak of the Hero Level Warrior, which was very high in the modern Azeroth, in fact, and he could be considered as one of the strongest and most powerful warriors in the Eastern Kingdoms.
But even he would be very hard-pressed in the fight against a Champion-Level entity like the Avatar of the Hakkar, the Soulflayer.
'Its true body must be a Demigod. Not to mention... Its most dangerous abilities should lie in the Souls and perhaps in the Blood. Both of them are extremely dangerous aspects, coupled with the fact that he should obtain a lot of sacrifices, it's expertise in the Negative Emotions and Curses should be very high...'
Aenarion analyzed the strong and weak sides of Hakkar the Soulflayer, based on the things that he remembered from his past life about the Lore of World of Warcraft. Fortunately enough, due to the Divine Blessing of the Aeldari Pantheon, he was technically immune to the Curses and similar things that were weaker than the might of the Blessing.
This means that it would actually take someone of the level of Sargeras or Old Gods themselves at their peak to Curse Aenarion successfully.
"I will be taking care of the Avatar. Alone. You take care of the rest. May the Aeldari watch over you."
Aenarion said as with a small hand gesture, huge fire wings manifested behind him, as he flew away to the Avatar of the Hakkar the Soulflayer with his full speed, while the King of Stormwind rallied the troops behind him to counterattack the Trolls.
***
Grimoire Heart Airship, Camp of the Fire Nation detachment
When the forces of the Fire Nation landed near the Stormwind Keep, the troops of the Fire Nation created a provisional camp around the Airships that landed on the ground. They would be spending several days in Stormwind according to the plans, so they needed to secure the perimeter.
Right now, the entire camp was bustling with the soldiers of the Fire Nation who were running all around the place and getting organized as they would soon enough join the defense of the Stormwind along with the Stormwind Army.
Esdeath already got a report that the gates were holding strong, as the troops of the Stormwind Army and Stormwind City Guard managed to close down the city in time, before the Wind Serpents that were being spammed could invade the city.
"Order the Captains of their respective Airships to rise into the sky and secure the Aerial Supremacy."
Aerial Supremacy is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. This concept was established with the invention of the Airship in the Fire Nation, and during the Fire Lord Aenarion's reforms in the military, it was solidified into the hard term of the military terminology.
The Fire Nation placed very high importance on the Aerial Supremacy because with it, they could basically steamroll through the enemy as they wished if the enemy didn't have the means to shoot down their Airship.
The Airships of the Fire Nation were not just for transportation. Even during the Fire Lord Ozai, they were armed with cannons and various forms of weaponry, but with the invention of the Orbal Tech, the armaments on the Airships became much stronger and much more numerous.
Esdeath ordered the Airships to combat because the invaders had a lot of flying creatures. With the Airships in the skies, they would be able to help the Stormwind Magic Corps strike down the flying serpents that were now flooding the skies of Stormwind City.
At the same time, she rallied the rest of the Phoenix Crownsguard, Imperial Benders, and soldiers of the Army that were accompanying them. The entire fleet of the Fire Nation that was dispatched to the Stormwind numbered fifteen vessels.
Of the various classes.
The overall number of troops that the Fire Nation brought with them was 5,000.
Which was a very high number of troops, but Aenarion was rather paranoid about almost everything. However, for this time, it was proven to be a very good decision, as they had a lot of manpower to defend against the incursion of the Gurubashi Trolls and their dark creatures.
Esdeath didn't really care about the politicking that was behind all of this; she just cared about a good fight, and that was everything. Nevertheless, at the same time, she was aware that helping Stormwind was something that would be a very good thing for them in the long run.
So, she was going to give her best so she could help Aenarion to achieve his goals during this perilous time.
Not long after she issued the order for the airships, all of them started rising in the air, as their crew was already activating the Orb Weapons that were installed on them, and fireworks happened in the skies.
All of the airships started shooting from their cannons and other types of Orbal Weaponry at the flying Wind Serpents, which caused tremendous losses to the Wind Serpents that were circling above the sky.
There were thousands of them, and the number didn't seem to be decreasing, but with the addition of the Fire Nation's Air Fleet, the pressure on the Stormwind's Magic Corps Regiment lessened, and they could cast even more powerful coordinated spells against the Spawns of Hakkar.
The Fire Nation trained their soldiers to handle air combat against various types of enemies so that their airships could be effective and devastating in the air, land, and sea, destroying all of the enemies of the Fire Nation.
She herself changed into her more approachable apparel for combat. She wore her battle armor, which only covered some of her vital spots, because her combat style revolved around overwhelming, destructive power and speed.
Having too many pieces of armor on her body would be detrimental to her because it would hinder her agility and speed.
"I am going to the Valley of Heroes, organize the rest of the men, and coordinate with King Wrynn in the defense."
Stormwind had a weird tradition that the Commander of the Royal Guard was usually the King, as their supreme leader. Which was certainly smart from some point, but at the same time, it was also limiting them in certain regard.
Nevertheless, Esdeath took around one thousand men and the majority of the Crownsguard and Imperial Benders with her as she headed towards the Valley of Heroes, which was facing the strongest and fiercest attacks from the Wind Serpents.
***
Valley of Heroes, Stormwind City
The Valley of Heroes was currently being swarmed by thousands of the Serpents as the Spawns of Hakkar and even more powerful Sons of Hakkar were laying siege against the main entrance to Stormwind.
The Stormwind Army and City Guards were actually doing a very good job in defending against the ferocious attacks of the Wind Serpents. Seeing the results of the Stormwind soldiers made Esdeath re-evaluate them a bit, because they gained her rudimentary respect from her person.
As she had arrived on the battlefield, she ordered the Imperial Benders to hurry up to the walls as everyone knew what they were supposed to do.
Instantly, the Waterbenders began their task of healing the injured, as they were most useful in this regard at the moment. Meanwhile, a small portion of them transitioned to the offensive, taking advantage of the large swaths of water in the area, which gave them a tactical edge.
The Firebenders, Earthbenders, and a small part of the Metalbenders and Airbenders immediately went to fight against the Wind Serpents, as they were targeting larger amounts of them because they were flying in large groups, as they were targeting the weaker spots in the defenses of the Stormwind City.
She readied her saber, as she sent several hundred ice spikes toward the flying Wind Serpents that were in her vicinity, as in mere moments, tens of them fell on the ground with huge icicles piercing through their bodies.
Even though the Spawns of Hakkar and Sons of Hakkar were considerably powerful on an individual basis, they were far from being really powerful in front of the true Hero-Level powerhouses who could cut through them in groups.
Esdeath then turned her attention of the spanws to the more appropriate targets, which were the Gurubashi Trolls that were hiding in the distance. Most of the Gurubashi Troll were not making their move because the Stormwind defenders were still holding strong, but the Trolls were confident.
They knew that with the majority of Stormwind's military tied to the borders, it was only a matter of time until they would be able to breach the defenses of the main gate. The plan of the Gurubashi Trolls was simple.
Overwhelm the defenders of Stormwind with numbers, and once they breached through the Valley of Heroes, the Trolls stormed into the city. Most preferably hidden among the Spawns of Hakkar, which would be a pretty easy thing to do because there were thousands upon thousands of Spawns of Hakkar.
It would be extremely easy to hide among them and enter the city to start assassinating the important personnel in Stormwind City, while their strongest Trolls would go and kill the king of Stormwind.
Unfortunately for the Gurubashi Trolls, something else happened.
Only now did the trolls realize that they were attacking the city when those flying contraptions with the Phoenix Flag arrived at the city. All Jungle Trolls in the southern Azeroth knew that these were the sigils of the Fire Nation.
Another human nation that was militaristic even more than Stormwind and was another threat to the Trolls.
Bloodlord Mandokir and High Priest Zanzil, the airship of the Fire Nationers, were massacring the Wind Serpents in hundreds. This was the worst outcome because it meant that they had seriously miscalculated the situation, as the gates of the city stood strong and powerful.
But there was nothing that they could do because the survival of their Trollkind depended on that. Even though the Bloodlord Mandokir and High Priest Zanzil hated the humans to the core, the power of the humans was undeniable.
And even some of the most zealous trolls among them knew that if they were united against the Trolls, then they would be able to exterminate them. Especially if they got support from the Lordaeron.
Human nations in the Lordaeron were far more populous, not to mention those blasted Elves that would happily join the extermination efforts on their race as they were doing to their Amani cousins and other species of the Trolls that lived in the Lordaeron continent.
Nevertheless, they have already come too far with this operation.
Especially because it involved summoning the Avatar of their God.
If they failed, then their very own Souls and Blood would be sacrificed to appease the anger of the Soulflayer.
***
Outskirts of the City of Stormwind
Aenarion flew above the city of Stormwind as he observed how the troops of Stormwind started pushing back the invading serpents while the troops of the Fire Nation, under the orders of his wife, were joining the combat.
The mighty air fleet of the nation of fire was showing its might to the inhabitants of Stormwind, as Aenarion smiled at the sight while he turned his attention to the enormous Avatar of Hakkar the Soulflayer.
He knew that this would be a very tough fight, and it was also the start of the war for the Fire Nation against the Gurubashi Tribe and the Jungle Trolls overall.
But that was good.
In the end.
War was in the Fire Nation's lifeblood.