Chapter 18

(POV From a manipulator who learns over time)

"RAGNAROS, AL'AKIR. THERE IS SOMETHING YOU MUST HEAR DIRECTLY."

Therazane spoke first, implying that what they knew they could not understand unless they could confirm it themselves. Though I know they both know that things are not so simple, now that one of them is "on our side".

For Ragnaros I have a plan that can help me. I don't think anyone will refuse the offers I will present to him.

"A pleasure to finally meet Ragnaros "The Eternal Flame" and Al'Akir "The Lord of the Wind", Elemental Lords. I have come with the intention of delivering a message, to all elemental lords. If I may.

"GO AHEAD AND SAY IT AT ONCE. SLAVE OF THE STONE"

"..."

Ragnaros was more polite than I thought and Al'Akir just nodded. Alright, hahaha, this is perfect.

"I saw that one day a great darkness would fall that would cover the world, and change Azeroth as we know it. It would come from beyond the heavens and the light. It would come from the darkest of the dark to corrupt the world, enslave us all, and make us obey its will. Their bodies were huge and gigantic amorphous masses from which armies of small beings that covered the sky. They built gigantic houses around those beings, corrupting the earth and everything in their path. I saw that you would unite to fight the threat that sought to consume us all. But it mattered not your effort, nor that of the other elementals, for their power was enormous. All would fall victim to their corruption and power, losing everything..."

I hope you understand the gravity of this.

"That is why we must unite before they arrive and build their massive armies. Only together can we stand a chance of eradicating the dark threat that approaches us."

All the elemental lords were in deep thought. Ragnaros was feeling challenged, for I am sure he must rely greatly on his power. Al'Akir on the other hand was calm, but I'm sure his thoughts must be flowing chaotically. Neptulon and Therazane were calmer than the other two, for they had had time to understand the extent of the threat that could lurk within them.

"WHEN DO THESE SO-CALLED THREATS ARRIVE? SLAVE OF THE STONE".

"What I've seen doesn't say when. It could be today or a long time from now, but let's hope it's the latter, because we have to prepare for them."

"HOW MANY ARE THERE? SLAVE... OF THE STONE".

"I saw that there were 5 of them, but it could be more. Because the darkness was so overwhelming.

This way they will not be complacent and will focus on increasing their elemental armies and increasing their strengths.

"WHY DO YOU HIDE THINGS, YOU SLAVE OF THE STONE?! TELL ME AT THIS MOMENT OR YOU WILL BE CONSUMED BY MY FIRE".

I think I exploit a little bit the lord of arrogance *cough* I mean, fire.

"Because they are not ready to know. If I speak of more, it is possible that the world will meet its end. I have seen much, and as much as I have seen I have also learned that time is very fragile. If we change things too much we may never stand a chance against the darkness that threatens us. I hope you understand my concern, Fire Lord."

"IT WOULD BE WISE TO LISTEN TO IT, RAGNAROS. THE WINDS HAVE WARNED ME OF THE EVIL THAT LURKS WITHIN THE CORRUPT FIRE AND SHADOWS. THIS FORGE EARTH DOES NOT LIE.

I'm surprised that the master of this plan himself would interfere. Perhaps I have misjudged his move... But I will still get my revenge for this. My inner fire demands it.

"CORRUPT FIRE? HA-HA-HA DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, AL'AKIR. ANYONE WHO PLAYS WITH FIRE AGAINST ME WILL BE PURIFIED, DON'T DOUBT IT."

*SIGH* I can understand that, but it also makes me wonder. That Al'Akir knows about demons... I thought they didn't exist here in this time... So how...?

"SO, YOU WANT US TO JOIN TOGETHER TO FIGHT A THREAT THAT WE DON'T KNOW WILL ARRIVE? HOW ABSURD! HOW CAN YOU ASSURE ME OF ITS ARRIVAL?... SLAVE OF THE STONE."

"I have a way, Fire Lord. But first I would like you to listen to me, for I have a deal that you will not be able to refuse, would you like to hear it?"

"SPEAK FAST"

(Terran language - language of the earth elementals).

I turned to look Therazane in the eye, for I had to ask her permission first.

"Mother Stony, I want you to know that I will put my life on the line for this deal. But I swear to you, for the sake of what I wish to protect, for the sake of Azeroth, I will not fail. So I ask your permission to continue."

He looks deeply into my eyes and asks me.

"HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU THAT YOU CAN WIN, FORGE EARTH?"

Not much to be honest, but I'm not looking to win. Hahaha, this deal will be like killing 2 birds with one stone.

"I cannot beat you in battle, Mother Stony. But I will get the victory, you can trust me for this."

I continued to look at her and waited for her to give me permission. For I am her "son", in other words, her servant. I can't do anything if Therazane doesn't allow me to, for I would be confronting her. To do so would cause me to lose my base and my plan would fall apart. I cannot allow such a thing.

Answering at last, he said to me.

"VERY WELL, DO WHAT YOU MUST, FORGE EARTH. BUT REMEMBER, IF YOU DIE, I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER UNTIL YOU KEEP YOUR OATH AGAIN!".

But I won't die, because I'm not foolish enough to allow it.

"So be it, Mother Pétrea. I only expect your help for what I will propose next. You won't have to do much, but observing will be very important. Can you be my observer?

"I WILL TRUST YOU, FORGE EARTH. BUT DO IT QUICKLY, THE PATIENCE OF RAGNAROS IS QUICKLY CONSUMED".

"Thank you."

Without another word, I turned and looked at the increasingly furious Ragnaros. So I quickly said.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Fire Lord, but I cannot go through with the deal if my Lady will not allow me to. I hope you can understand that my loyalty comes first. But I will not keep you waiting any longer and get to the point... I am willing to team you up like I did to the Water Lord, if you agree to give me your blessing. Besides, if you are willing to accept some conditions, I am also willing to equip your most faithful and powerful servants. To swear my eternal service to you. And lastly, I am willing to accompany you in the fight against the darkness, standing by your side in battle."

I felt Ragnaros's anger diminishing and his curiosity increasing. After thinking, he asked.

"INTERESTING DEAL YOU GIVE ME, STONE SLAVE. BUT TELL ME, WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS THAT YOU HAVE NOT SAID".

"To arm your servants I only wish to be able to fight them and you in friendly combat where neither side will fight to the death, for I need to adapt to the great levels of power. For my eternal service, you must be willing to have a combat with me. If you are willing to listen to some conditions, but I do not intend to restrict your power. I just want to be able to have a chance to prove myself and prove myself worthy of your blessing. The last part of the deal is tied to whether I win. For I could be of no use to him in battle if I cannot prove my power to him."

"SO YOU WANT TO FIGHT ME, STONE SLAVE. WITH THE POWER YOU BARELY POSSESS, HA-HA-HA. I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD PRAISE YOUR BRAVERY OR YOUR STUPIDITY, BUT TELL ME THE FINAL CONDITIONS OF THAT FIGHT. THOUGH I CAN PRACTICALLY SEE YOU ALREADY UNDER MY COMMAND, SLAVE!"

I caught him.

"The conditions of the match will be simple. One, to have observers who will act as judges in combat. This will prevent me from dying from not being able to withstand your power and at the same time end the battle in which case I can no longer continue fighting. Two, in order for me to win I must land 3 hits on you. Three, my defeat will be in case I cannot continue fighting. Four, in order to begin the encounter I must first have forged a piece of equipment for you. Five, you must use the equipment I have already forged for you. Six, in the event of my victory, you must ally with all elemental lords to face the danger to come. Promising a stop to turf fights in order to increase the number of living elementalists for battle. Seven, in case of my victory you will owe me a favor and in return I will make you a special equipment. Eight, if I win I will fight by your side in the battles against darkness. Nine, if you win I will serve you eternally, following your every command. Those would be the conditions for battle. Do you agree? ".

With all these conditions I am postponing the fight, but at the same time I am giving myself time and getting another blessing. Last but not least. My ticket of revenge against Al'Akir. I'm sure Ragnaros will enjoy doing it as soon as he hears about it.

I can already feel Al'Akir's restlessness. Ha-ha-ha, you'll see, Lord of the Wind. You trapped me by being with Ragnaros, but I will win this war by turning your ally against you.

"VERY WELL, SLAVE. I ACCEPT."

"Then please bless me so that I can make the most suitable equipment for you. I will also need you to bring the rocks that are deepest in the most powerful volcano in your territory. The more powerful and resistant the rock, the better."

"VERY WELL, SLAVE. HAVE MY BLESSING. I HOPE YOU WILL DO ME SOME GOOD, OR YOU WILL SUFFER MY WRATH."

With a dismissive wave of his hand, a great power flooded my being. It sought to consume my land and boil my water. But I controlled the whole process with my will. Little by little I was gaining a mastery of this. The day will come when I can handle these blessings easily, and at that time I will absorb it all and make it truly mine.

...

A long time later.

I had promised Ragnaros powerful and special equipment. I promised him that his power would increase by possessing such equipment and if he wanted I could swear it on my life.

The arrogant fool just left me the materials and said nothing more. I had asked him for a lot, because he needed it for his equipment. And it was true.

It took me less time than I thought to analyze the power of the mineral I called "Magma Heart". It was a powerful mineral formed from the magma streams that formed in the deepest chambers of volcanoes. It was a very hard mineral, and its power was incredible. It was comparable to Neptulon's "Deep Pearl".

Anyway, it didn't take me long to forge from this material, what would be known as "Sulfuras, The Hand of Ragnaros". A large mace with spikes like golden blades protruding from each smooth side of it. In total 9 for on the mace and 3 on the end of the handle. It was a beautiful reddish-earth color, glowing from the amount of fire elemental energy coursing through it. The engravings were purely artistic, but its elemental harmonization made it very hard to ridiculous degrees. The fire flowed smoothly in enormous amounts, so much so that the weapon could not store it all and continuously expelled it causing the glow.

With this mace, Ragnaros could use fire easier and faster. In addition to generating extreme damage with fiery shockwaves. Stun an enemy if hit correctly and more abilities the mace has at his disposal.

But that wasn't the only thing I created. I also made myself a special body for what was to come. I know I don't stand a chance in a battle against Ragnaros, but thanks to my ingenuity this isn't a battle. It's a fight and I only have to hit him 3 times for my victory. Of course I will win this. It's not arrogance because of my new improved fire, it's just logic after carefully planning the possibilities. It didn't take me long to think of them, because I already had some in mind for when we went with the 3 elemental lords to suppress Ragnaros and force him to join.

For the next battle my victory is assured. And what's better. I had more than enough time to prepare. Hahaha, neither Ragnaros nor Al'Akir will know what awaits them. For poor Ragnaros lost this battle the moment he let his greed, power and arrogance overcome his mind.

Author's Note: Last chapter today. I finally managed to finish without falling asleep, what do you think, comment because every comment is a motivation to continue writing. Ask if you have doubts, comment with confidence because I don't bite and interact with me as you like in a healthy way. I enjoy your comments and that's why I always invite you to express yourselves. Well, I say goodbye and I wish you a great day or a good night (free of nightmares of course). ^^

Questioner: There is a little trap in the chapter. Whoever tells me: "what is it? and why is that cheat? You will be able to ask me a question about the story, and you will be free to create 1 character to your liking (within the limits of the wow universe, of course). Where you can assign him if he is alliance or horde. If you are dragon or naga. The race determines his possible actions, alliances, timeline in which he is present (unless it is in the future) and so on, all this to avoid being an incoherent character and fails to add to the story. Of course, I'm willing to hear how you guys would like him to be. Including if he would participate in some big battle or want to be related to the main character in some way. Anything is possible as long as we talk. (There is ONLY 1 WINNER. YOU HAVE ONLY 1 CHANCE TO GUESS AND ONLY IF YOU ANSWER BOTH QUESTIONS AT THE SAME TIME IN 1 SINGLE MESSAGE, so give it a shot) (Preferably answer in this paragraph).

By the way, if I manage to integrate the character, I may continue to add more and give more opportunities to create someone who can become important in the story. I don't know if you know, but in WOW there are a lot of "heroes" who are supposed to be the ones who face all the enemies in the world.

If the person who won wishes to "donate" the character, (wishes to be created from among those who read this Fanfic), I can ask questions, and slowly choose which person will choose a particular thing about the character. Like someone choose the hair color and hair shape. Another the name, and so on XD. I'm just having fun.