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pressing, all the while awaiting his own death.
Instead& Archimonde went flying back as if struck hard. However, he did not land, as might have been expected,
but rather kept flying. Arms and legs flailing, the demon commander rose up into the air and only then did Jarod
realize that it was the wind that had Archimonde.
All composure finally abandoned Archimonde s expression as he hurtled higher and higher into the heavens. His
face contorted into a grotesque mockery more apt for a creature of his evil. The demon let out a cry of fury& and
then vanished from sight over the horizon.
Even before the weary officer could register that he had survived his incredible duel, he saw that the wind now
assailed the entire Legion. Demons struggled to keep their positions, but like the dust they were taken up and tossed
about. Monstrous hounds leaping forward instead rolled backward, bouncing first over the landscape before soaring
after Archimonde. The Fel Guard were plucked one by one from the lines and even though many stood face-to-face
with the defenders, not one night elf, tauren, or other creature of Kalimdor joined their astounding fate.
Infernals dropping from the sky abruptly veered off, their flights now mirroring that of their lost commander. One
even came within inches of the soil before reversing direction.
The dragons, oddly, were also barely touched by the mad elements. After some minor adjustments, they regained
their balance, then, wisely retreated to the ground. There, they, too, watched the Legion s downfall unfold.
The sky filled with writhing, snarling demons, all struggling in vain to return to the ground. Below them, gaping
fighters stared with weapons lowered as the threat to their land, to their world, was simply torn away before their
very eyes. Even the corpses of those demons long slain joined the ones above, adding to the spectacle.
Tis a miracle! someone shouted from behind Jarod. He glanced over his shoulder to discover that several of
those who had earlier been tossed back by Archimonde had begun to return. Many continued to watch the sky, but a
number of others eyed Jarod as if he alone was responsible for the stunning turn of events.
The ranks of the demons were stripped from Kalimdor line after line until soon a barren wasteland spread out
before the defenders. Not one demon remained. In fact, not even one piece of any demon remained.
More than a few night elves dropped to their knees in relief. However, despite what had happened, Jarod had the
unsettling feeling that the struggle was not quite at an end. It could not be so easy&
On your feet, all of you! he roared. With his good hand, he seized a dumbfounded herald and commanded,
Sound the horns! I want order in the host again! We have to be prepared to move!
A priestess of Elune came to his side and inspected his arm. As she did, Jarod continued to collect his thoughts.
Are we giving chase? a noble called, looking too eager for Jarod s taste.
No! the commander snapped back, unmindful of the difference in caste. We wait for word from the mage Krasus
or one of those with him! Only then do we move& and whether it s to advance on Zin-Azshari or flee for our lives,
we ll need to be ready to do it as fast this wind!
As they obeyed, Jarod, allowing himself just enough time for the priestess s ministrations, stared once more in the
direction the demons had flown, the direction of the capital and the Well.
It could not end this simply, no&
Yet, throughout Kalimdor, the Burning Legion was cast from the ground and tossed helplessly toward the Well of
Eternity. Their struggles were as nothing against the wind and as Krasus and the rest watched, they massed over the
waters like a gigantic swarm of bees before dropping into the maelstrom.
Is that it? Is it over? shouted Rhonin.
It may be& and it may be not! To Alexstrasza, Krasus called, To Malfurion!
She nodded, banking in the direction of the druid and Ysera. Rhonin and the red male followed close behind.
Malfurion and his mount hovered over the whirlpool, the night elf awash in the Demon Soul s golden glow. His
normally-dark skin looked almost as pale as Krasus s. He glanced at the cowled mage in anxiousness.
He s still trying to come through! The druid s face had aged. Lines traced over it and his eyes had sunken in a
little. I don t know if my spell can hold him!
Krasus gazed down, his heightened senses enabling him to see deep into the Well.
Deep into the portal&
And so it was that he beheld Sargeras, lord of the Legion.
Molten armor clad the titan from neck to foot, its black fury so great that it burned the mage s eyes just to look.
Fighting the pain, Krasus dared stare into the face of evil, a monstrous distortion of perfection. Once, there had
been a handsome, even beautiful being a being of the race that Krasus knew had created his world. Now,
however, the beauty was tainted. The flesh was that of death and the eyes the fiery emptiness of utter chaos.
Sargeras s teeth were fangs. Behind him whipped a long, thick tail with jagged scales jutting out at the tip. His
hands ended in wicked, curved talons and in one of those hands, he wielded a monstrous sword cracked midway but
with a jagged edge still capable of much mayhem.
Krasus choked, horrified at what he discovered next. On the end of that monstrous weapon, a tiny, green body lay
impaled.
Brox.
In all the excitement, the mage had forgotten all about the orc. Now, though, Krasus understood why his party had
gained precious very precious seconds. The orc had sacrificed himself to delay the Legion.
Sargeras stood at the gateway. Despite the incredible forces driving his horde back into his realm, the lord of the
Legion pressed forward. Slowly, surely, he reached the portal&
But as Sargeras neared, Krasus noted a stunning thing. The demon lord was injured, albeit minutely. A small slash
mark decorated his right leg, a mark that Krasus s keen eyes recognized as made by an ax.
Brox s ax. Impossible as it seemed, the enchanted weapon had scratched Sargeras. Not enough to cause him any
real harm, of course, but that a wound existed at all opened up a unique possibility.
Rhonin! Alexstrasza! We must act as one! Malfurion! Be prepared! You will have your chance to destroy the
portal, but only barely!
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