Chapter 42: Arrangement

The first thing Kelrian did when he felt that he got his magic back was to conjure a sword which blade he heated up. He pressed the hot blade against his arm stump, burning out the wound and stopping the bleeding that way. Removing his destroyed eyeball turned out to be too difficult with only one arm, so he decided to leave it in and keep his eye closed. He created a small fel green flame above his palm and used it to illuminate his surroundings a little at least. He wasn't able to see much but it was better than nothing.

He walked to the left, coming to a wall. He walked to the right, eventually arriving in front of another wall. He walked along the wall until he came to a large door. The door was at least sixteen feet tall and it was not easy to open it with only one hand. He pushed his entire weight against the door, opening it enough so that he could slip through the small slit. The room he entered was totally dark.

At first, Kelrian didn't see much but his eye got used to the dark pretty quickly. His surroundings became clearer over time, so he could recognize the thick and large pillars that were supporting the ceiling high above him. The room was totally empty except for the large throne in front of the other side of the room.

It took him a while to reach the throne. As Kelrian had expected, nobody was sitting on the throne. He had noticed that he was the only person in the room but he could still feel a strange aura. He sensed someone's presence but he didn't see anyone. He turned around, checking his surroundings once again but he didn't spot anyone. He was alone in the room, he thought so at least.

A green flame suddenly appeared above the throne's seat. Kelrian took a closer look at it, recognizing facial features. He recognized two eyes and a mouth which formed a satisfied smile. Kelrian was speechless and couldn't avert his gaze from the flame that was blazing brightly.

"I have waited for you," said an echoing voice. The voice didn't come from the flame, even though its mouth was moving. Kelrian had the impression that the voice came from everywhere.

"Who or what are you?" he asked irritated.

The flame's smile became wider. "You will find out soon enough who I am. Find me and I will help you." The flame disappeared a few moments later.

Find the creature.

Kelrian had no idea what that creature was nor did he know where he should start looking. He was still wondering how he had come to this strange place. He had no idea where he was. He didn't know if he was still on Azeroth or on a different planet. A planet he didn't know. He could try to create a portal to Azeroth or Outland. He could do that and just get out of there but he was curious. He wanted to find out where he was and who the owner of the mysterious voice was.

Kelrian walked over to the throne and took a closer look at it. It was made out of felstones. He touched it carefully, noticing that his hand vibrated softly. He could feel the power stored in the throne. So much power. He noticed six symbols carved in the armrests. He ran his hand over the symbols, noticing that they started to glow golden. Nothing else happened.

Kelrian turned his head, checking his surroundings once again. He wanted to find out if he had missed something but there was nothing else in the room except for the pillars. He sat down on the throne and waited. He waited and waited but nothing happened. He frowned and got up eventually. He closed his eye and took a deep breath, ignoring his hurting head as best as possible. The pain was returning slowly. He knew he had to absorb more fel to numb the pain but he had no crystals left. There was only one way to make him feel would have to absorb the fel energy stored in the throne.

Kelrian was not sure if that was a good idea. He was not sure if he would be able to stop himself once he had started draining fel energy from the throne. He had never managed to stop absorbing fel even if he had wanted to. He had always stopped only when he had absorbed the whole amount of fel energy stored in a crystal. He had never managed to drain a certain amount of energy. He was not sure if he should do that but he had no other choice. He didn't want to be in pain, so he started to drain the energy stored in the throne.

He drained and drained but he couldn't stop. The longer he drained, the stronger became his desire to drain more. He was addicted to fel magic. The fel was even worse than the hardest drug he had heard of. It made him stronger but it had side effects of which Kelrian was not aware of. He had no idea what it will do to him but he didn't care at the moment. All he wanted was to absorb more. He wanted to absorb every single portion of the fel energy that was stored in the throne.

He had no idea how much time had passed as his body suddenly stopped draining. He frowned and put his hand on the other armrest but nothing happened. His body didn't absorb more. The throne seemed to be empty and that made him angry. He wanted more but he couldn't get more and that made him furious. So furious that he slammed his fist on the armrest, causing it to break.

The entire armrest broke. His eye widened as he realized that he had destroyed it. He had not realized until this very moment how powerful the fel had made him. He felt much more powerful than he had ever felt after consuming a felstone.

He couldn't describe in words how powerful he felt. The power was overwhelming him, making him feel happy. He forgot about the horrible scene he had witnessed on Northrend. He forgot about the loss of his men and of Elena. He forgot about Sylvera who was Arthas' servant. All he could think about was the power he possessed and what he could do with it. He could return to Northrend and slap Arthas to death. He could avenge his family and all those people he had lost. He could do that but he didn't want that at the moment.

He wanted more. More power and he was sure the voice who had spoken to him could give him more power. He just had to find the owner of that voice. He was sure that there must be a way to get out. He looked at the three symbols on the left armrest, noticing that they had stopped glowing. He took a closer look at the throne, noticing that its colour had turned black. The throne was empty so he had no longer use of it.

He focused his new gathered power in his fist and struck against the back of the throne which was two times taller than him. It started to crack. He hit again, making the cracks larger and deeper. He hit it again and again until it shattered. Splinters rain down on him but he created a green barrier around him which protected him. He really liked his new power and he was wondering what he could do with it.

This time, he focused his power in his left leg. A few precise kicks were enough to destroy the left armrest. He only stopped when nothing but fragments were left of the throne. Thousands of fragments of different sizes. Kelrian pushed the fragments away and regarded the floor where the throne had stood before. He noticed runes on the floor. Runes and an inscription beneath it.

He had never seen these symbols before but for some reason, he could still read them. He read them out aloud automatically, wondering how he knew how to pronounce the words. It was like something or someone had made him speak them out aloud.

The floor and the walls started to shake. Kelrian looked around in panic, wondering what was going on. He feared the ceiling might fall on top of him but it was the floor that gave way. He fell and landed somewhere but he felt no pain. He got up and checked his surroundings. He saw demons. Many demons that had noticed his presence and were coming for him.

He had no idea how much time had passed when the slaughter was finally over. He turned his head, regarding the corpses that laid around him. Not every corpse was still recognizable, lots of separated body parts, weapons and armour pieces were scattered all over the floor that was covered by green blood.

Kelrian had spent most of the power he had absorbed. He was wounded but alive. He had no idea how he had managed to survive and kill all these demons. He had no idea what had happened. The last thing he remembered was that he had pulled a fel green sword out the floor and then attacked the first demon.

He still carried the sword in his hand. He had no idea who had rammed it into the ground. He had the impression that it was special. He sensed the powerful aura that was radiated by it. He noticed the golden runes that were engraved in the fel green blade. There was a golden crystal that had the form of an eye in the sword's rain-guard.

He had the impression that the eye was staring at him but he knew it couldn't because it was just a decorative element. It was not a real eye. Kelrian swung the sword, noticing that it was not very heavy even though it looked heavy. It was thick and large, not as large as Frostmourne but at least as large as Felo'melorn. He had used this sword to kill all forty-seven demons that had attacked him.

They had approached him in smaller groups and he had killed them one by one. He doubted he would have had a chance against them if all of them would have attacked him at the same time. He still couldn't believe that he had survived. He had expected to die but he didn't. He was still alive and he had no idea how he had managed to stay alive.

Kelrian regarded the sword for a few more moments before he let his gaze wander. For the first time since he had landed there, he noticed the figure on the other side of the room. He had no idea why he hadn't noticed it before. The creature was tall and the chains around its body were glowing greenish. He couldn't believe that he had not noticed it before. He had been busy fighting the demons so that he hadn't had the time to check his surroundings closely.

Kelrian walked over to the demon and stopped in front of it, regarding it closely. It was a male demon with thick horns but the half of one of it was missing. Kelrian assumed it had been broken off and it was not unlikely that this had happened during a fight.

Black and golden rings decorated the horns. The demon's black-golden armour was heavily damaged and some parts were even missing. Green blood stuck on it. It was not unlikely that this blood was his'.

The demon kneeled on the floor, his arms were tied behind his back, one of his wings was missing, the other was folded and couldn't be moved because of the chains. The demon's head was lowered, his gaze rested on the floor. His left eye was swollen but the other was healthy.

Kelrian regarded the demon closely. "Who are you?"

The demon lifted his head as much as the chains around his neck allowed, his golden eye fell on Kelrian. His pale, burst lips formed a weak smile. "I've awaited you, Kelrian Sunstrider."

Kelrian raised an eyebrow. "Sunstrider?" He sounded irritated.

Quiet laughter escaped the demon's lips. "I know about your bloodline and I know that you know it too. Don't pretend that you don't know who your father is."

Kelrian tilted his head. "Fine, you know who I am. And now what? Are you going to tell everyone who I am?"

"Well, even if I could, I don't see a reason why I should do that. It changes nothing for me if I do that. I'm still tied up and locked in this place."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to free me from these chains."

Kelrian tilted his head to the other side, giving the demon a questionable look. "And why should I do that?"

"Because you want more power. You want to get strong enough to kill Arthas Menethil and avenge your beloved wife," the demon said.

"How do you know so much about me?"

"I watched you for quite some time. I have my eyes and ears everywhere."

Kelrian was unimpressed. "How I can be sure that you won't kill me when I free you?" Kelrian asked mistrustfully.

"Do I look like I'm in the condition to fight anyone? You absorbed the power stored in the throne and you have my sword. It's more likely that you kill me."

"I do not consider freeing you as long as I don't know who you are and why you have been tied up. Why were you guarded by these demons?"

The demon coughed blood out. "Fine, I will tell you everything you want to know."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Exadius."

Kelrian's eye narrowed as he heard that name. He raised the sword and pressed the tip against the demon's throat. "You are the one who tried to kill Tyrande Whisperwind. Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you. You are working for Kil'jaeden. Everyone who works for him is Lord Illidan's enemy. You are my enemy, so give me one reason why I should spare you."

The demon didn't get in a panic nor did he seemed to be scared. He didn't beg for mercy, instead, he remained cool as if he had nothing to fear. "I might have worked for Kil'jaeden but only because I had no other choice. He forced me to serve him and I had to obey him and do everything he wanted from me. He brainwashed my mind and made me do things I didn't want to do."

"That sounds familiar...," said Kelrian quietly, a thoughtful look appeared on his face. He thought about the vision again, about Sylvanas who had gotten free from the Scourge. Sylvanas had been forced to serve Arthas and had done horrible things in his name. She had been mind-controlled by him. It must have been horrible for her.

He had no idea why but for some reason he believed the demon. Everything could be a trick, an illusion. Everything the demon had said could be a lie, he knew that. He knew that demons were masters of manipulation. He knew that because Illidan had told him had warned him not to trust demons. Kelrian knew he shouldn't believe the demon but for some reason, he had the impression that he was speaking the truth. He was convinced that the demon was not lying to him but he had no idea why he believed him. He decided to remain careful and listen to what the demon had to say.

"Who did this to you?" Kelrian asked, pointing at the various injuries.

"It was Kil'jaeden...He noticed that I managed to get free from his mind-control. He noticed that I sabotaged his plans..."

"Sabotaged? How? What did you do?"

"I was ordered to kill the High Priestess of Elune but I didn't. I could have killed her. I had grabbed her by her throat and strangled her. I could have broken her neck with ease but I didn't. I allowed Illidan to distract me so that she could escape. I let it look like he had rescued her but in truth, I have spared her. If I would have used all of my power, both of them would have died. But instead, I allowed them to live. I also made sure none of Kil'jaeden's agents got them. I killed all of them. I let it look like Illidan did it and Kil'jaeden's servants believed that. But Kil'jaeden didn't believe it. He found out that it was not Illidan who killed them."

"Your explanation sounds plausible but still... That is not enough for me to trust you," said Kelrian.

"I don't need you to trust me. All I want is you to make a deal with me. You want Arthas dead and I want to take vengeance on Kil'jaeden for everything he did to me and my people."

"The nathrezim."

Exadius nodded slightly. "He forced them to serve the Legion. He took their free will and made them his puppets. He toys with us and I will make him pay for that."

"Lord Illidan also wants to get rid of Kil'jaeden and the Burning Legion," mentioned Kelrian.

"See. We have a common enemy."

"Kil'jaeden wants the Lich King gone too. If we kill him, Kil'jaeden will triumph at the same time. Wouldn't that be a problem for you?"

"I don't care about the Lich King. I will do anything to kill Kil'jaeden and if Arthas' death is necessary to achieve that goal, I won't shrink back from helping you to kill him," Exadius responded.

Kelrian's face reflected interest. "So you help me to kill Arthas and destroy the Lich King and I help you to get rid of that demon. Is that the concept of your deal?"

"It is, Kelrian."

"Lord Illidan told me that you are pretty powerful. If I free you, you can recover so that your power will return. I could make use of an ally who managed to defeat the High Priestess and Lord Illidan easily. I don't doubt you are powerful. I wouldn't have believed you if Lord Illidan wouldn't have told me what happened. But now that he did, I don't doubt that you are a very strong individual. The extend of Kil'jaeden's power must be immenseif he managed to defeat you."

"You have no idea, mortal. Arthas' power is nothing compared to his but he will fall too if we work together."

"If we work together," repeated Kelrian. He regarded the demon once again, thinking about everything he had said. He knew Exadius was powerful. He might be heavily injured but he could still feel his aura. It was stronger than the aura of any demon he had met so far. His aura was by far stronger than Illidan's. He was not sure if he could trust the demon but he knew he had no other choice. He didn't know where he was nor did he know if he could leave this place. He had the impression he couldn't. He hadn't tried it yet but for some reason, he had the impression that he couldn't create a portal there. Neither to Azeroth nor to Outland.

Kelrian tried it and his assumption turned out to be true. He was trapped in this strange place. He was trapped there but he was sure Exadius could help him. Maybe it had been him who had saved him. He was wondering if Exadius was still able to use magic. It was very unlikely but it might still be possible. He wanted to find it out.

"Did you save me from Arthas? Did you teleport me to this strange place?"

"I didn't."

Kelrian frowned, a confused look appeared on his face. "Who was it then?"

"I still have allies out there who are still loyal to me. I assume it was one of them."

"Who are your allies?"

"My children and some other demon rebels. You must know that not every nathrezim or demon was enslaved. There were some who managed to flee before the Legion got them. Others broke free, just like me."

"Can you bring me back to Azeroth or to Outland?" Kelrian asked.

"I can if you free me but I will need some time. My magic won't return immediately if you release me from these chains."

"I don't trust you yet but I have no other choice. I will die in this place if I don't find a way to get out. I have no other choice than to trust you. I have sworn to avenge my wife, my family and my people. I want Arthas dead and I will do anything necessary to achieve this goal. I have no other choice than taking this risk."

The corners of Exadius' lips formed a small smile. "You are right, Kelrian. You are very smart, I have to say that. You have no other choice than trusting me and I have no other choice than trusting you. I prefer to be independent but even I have to do things I don't want to do to achieve my goals. I will ally myself with you and make a deal with you if you free me."

Kelrian nodded. "Alright. Tell me what I have to do."

"Free me."

Kelrian snorted and rolled his eyes. "I know that already. You should rather tell me how I free you."

"A spell lies on these chains. A spell that prevents me from breaking them and getting free," explained the demon. "You have to find a way to lift this spell."

Kelrian frowned and walked around the demon and regarded the chains from all sides but he didn't notice anything extraordinary. He let his gaze wander, noticing the symbols that were carved into the floor. Demonic symbols. There were four of them which looked different from another.

"I have a theory," said Kelrian and walked to the nearest symbol. Exadius didn't say anything in response. All he did was watching Kelrian. Kelrian lifted the sword and brought it down, ramming it through the symbol into the floor. He pulled the sword out, noticing that it was undamaged. The symbol, on the other hand, was gone. It had vanished.

Kelrian looked back at Exadius, noticing that the green glowing aura around the chains had gotten weaker. He was right with his theory. He walked to the next symbol, destroying it as well. He did the same with the third and fourth symbol.

The glowing aura disappeared. Exadius tried to get free but the chains still held him in place. Kelrian walked to him and raised the sword, executing a swift strike. The first chain was cut in two pieces. The chains landed on the floor one after one, piece by piece. Kelrian destroyed the last chain, freeing the nathrezim.

Exadius had to wait for a few moments before his body obeyed him. He got up eventually but he was not able to stand up to his full height. His spinal column had been damaged in the fight against Kil'jaeden but it was only a matter of time until all of his wounds will heal. He just had to be patient.

"Wonderful. You just made the first step. Now that I'm finally free, all we have to do is wait until I can cast spells again."

"How long will that need?"

"I have no idea. Maybe a few hours, or days or weeks. We shall see. The time in this place passes faster than you think."

"Is there a way to accelerate this process?"

"There is. You have to give me my sword so I can absorb the stored energy there. My wounds will heal a lot faster and my magic will return sooner," explained the dreadlord.

"Alright." Kelrian handed him the sword which grew in size as Exadius grabbed the handle. It became twice as big as before. It had the perfect size for Exadius who was almost ten feet tall when he stood upright. Kelrian noticed that the demon was drawing power from the sword. Two of the golden symbols engraved in the blade stopped glowing and Exadius' wounds started to heal. Not all of them but the most serious ones. His other eye was still swollen but at least most of his deep wounds had been closed.

"Give me a few hours and then we can continue."

Kelrian said nothing in return. He just stood there and watched the demon while more of his wounds healed in the next few hours. He was able to open his eye again after four hours and even his torn-out wing regrew. Only his missing horn wasn't restored. "Seems I have to find something to replace that broken horn. I also need a new armour but that can wait."

"Are you ready?" Kelrian asked bored.

Exadius stood up to his full size and regarded Kelrian amused. "Now I am."

"I hope you still remember our deal."

The demon nodded. "I do. I will help you defeat Arthas and the Scourge and you help me to take vengeance on Kil'jaeden."

Kelrian gave him an agreeing nod. "Perfect."

"There is only one problem with that."

Kelrian raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "What?"

"I can't leave this place. I may be free from the chains but I'm still locked in this world. I can create portals so that others can leave but I can't leave it myself."

Kelrian frowned. "And how do you want to help me then?"

"I will make you stronger but not only that. There is much more I can do."

Kelrian gave him a curious look. "I'm listening."

"I have useful and powerful abilities you can't even imagine. I can communicate with you even if I'm far away from you."

"How is that possible?"

Exadiustapped with the tip of his index finger against his forehead. "Telepathy."

Kelrian's eye reflected surprise. "You can do that?"

"I can and I don't even need to use magic for that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to tell you to look for me."

"I see."

"With the help of a spell, I can see what you see. I will be your advisor and give you all the information you need to defeat the Scourge and Arthas Menethil."

"That sounds great."

Exadius chuckled. "It does. I'm not the strongest nathrezim for nothing. The strongest and smartest."

"That's why Lord Illidan managed to see through your trick," muttered Kelrian.

Exadius raised a brow. "What did you say?"

"Nothing of importance," replied Kelrian and remained cool.

Exadius drilled his finger in his left ear. "My hearing is still not as good as it used to be. Anyway, let's finish this so that I can bring you to another world as soon as you get used to your new power. You need to find my allies and tell them about our pact. Tell them to look for a way to free me from this prison. You might have to help them to get rid of Kil'jaeden's agents."

"I will."

Exadius smiled. "Good." He conjured a golden goblet and a knife. He put his sword aside and cut his palm, filling half of the goblet with his blood. His blood had a light greenish colour. He handed the goblet to Kelrian. "If you drink it, our pact is sealed."

Kelrian regarded the liquid in the goblet. He hesitated for a moment but then he brought the goblet to his lips and took a sip. The taste was nasty so he quickly drank it until the goblet was empty. Exadius' grin was wider than ever. "You only needed to drink a few drops, but..."

Kelrian wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. "It is done and that is all that matters for me."

"Do you feel a difference?" the demon asked.

Kelrian shook his head. "No."

"Then you have to wait a bit longer."

Kelrian did. As expected, something happened. His body started to hurt suddenly. His muscles burned like fire and his head hurt so badly that he feared it would explode the next moment. His arm stump itched unpleasantly so did his destroyed eyeball. Kelrian dropped to the floor, rolling himself together. His back started to hurt, loud painful screams escaped his lips. He tried to move but the pain paralyzed him. He wanted it to stop. He wanted nothing more than the pain to stop. But it didn't stop. It got worse and worse with each passing minute. But then it suddenly stopped.

Kelrian got up slowly as soon as he was convinced that the pain was gone and wouldn't return. He spotted a mirror not far away from him. He didn't hesitate to walk over to it and regard himself in the mirror. His eyes widened as he saw his reflection. His eyes. Not singular. Plural. He had two functioning eyes. Not only one. Two.

His left eye was still green but it was fel green instead of normal green as it had been before. His other eye was golden. The same golden colour Exadius' eyes had. Not only his eye had been restored, his left forearm had regrown but it looked different. It was fel green and looked more like the forearm of a demon than of a humanoid creature. It was much thicker than his other forearm, his fingers were longer and thicker as well. His fist was larger. Golden symbols were tattooed on the skin which was much thicker. It would protect him better from sharp weapons than the skin that covered the rest of his body.

His new eye and forearm were not the only things that had changed. His body was taller and more muscular in general. Kelrian regarded himself in the mirror for a few more moments before he turned his head and looked at his new partner.

"You know what you have to do now," the dreadlord said.

Kelrian nodded. "I do."

"Are you ready?"

Kelrian nodded again. "I am."

The nathrezim smiled and started to cast a spell, creating a portal within half an hour. "Now go," he said when he was done.

Even though Kelrian didn't know where the portal would bring him, he didn't hesitate to walk through it. He was totally trusting the demon without knowing if that was a mistake or not. He had no idea what consequences the pact will have for him. He had no other choice than to trust Exadius. Even though he barely knew him, he trusted him with his life.

He had to.