Chương 70: Chapter 56

Ironaya frowned as Krivax and Brann explained that the Sundering was a cataclysmic event that had shattered apart Azeroth's old landmass. She then instructed the expedition to follow her back to the room she had emerged from in order to perform some rudimentary diagnostics on Uldaman. Krivax was quite sure that the room was pretty much empty in Warcraft, but that apparently wasn't the case in reality.

Once they entered, Ironaya waved her hand and a section of the wall slid open, allowing a strange mechanical orb surrounded by connected bars of light to float out. Krivax wasn't quite sure how the thing worked, but Ironaya spent several minutes staring at the thing before turning back to them.

"Significant sections of this facility's sensors have been damaged. Alert mechanisms designed to inform me or Keeper Archaedas of irregularities have become nonfunctional. Systems indicate a duration of sixteen thousand, five hundred, and forty-two years since my entry into stasis. Facility impairment aligns with a disaster akin to the one you have described. Detail the origins of the Sundering, mortals. There are limited events capable of generating such widespread destruction."

The expedition spent several moments trading glances before Brann decided to speak up.

"That's a wee bit complex, and we only just discovered the whole truth ourselves, thanks to the dragons. I reckon it'd be best if our friend Krivax took the reins and filled ye in on the details."

"What? Why me?" asked Krivax, glancing down at Brann with an incredulous expression.

Dealing with stuff like this was one of the primary reasons he'd specifically approached Brann in the first place.

"What are you sayin', lad? You're the diplomat around here. Besides, don't you nerubians have a bit more know-how about ancient history than the rest of us?"

…Damn. That makes a lot of sense.

Krivax winced as he tried to put together the words as Ironaya turned her gaze to him. It wasn't every day that you had to explain to a thirty-foot-tall magical robot exactly how messed up the world had gotten while they were asleep.

"I suppose I should begin by asking if you're familiar with the kaldorei, or night elves as they're more commonly known," said Krivax, deciding to just start at the beginning.

"I am not. Arcane-Driven Language Interpretation Enchantments are transmitting images of an unknown being," said Ironaya, her voice remaining monotone and steady.

"Wait a minute. Is your translation magic reading our minds?" asked Trixie, her voice stuck between wonder and concern.

"Incorrect. My translation systems function through principles similar to arcane divination."

"That sounds amazing! You've got to teach us how to make something like that," said Trixie, apparently deciding on wonder.

"The secrets of the Makers are not to be shared with outsiders," Ironaya said harshly, her voice changing tone for the first time since she stopped attacking. Before any of them could respond, the Titanic Watcher turned back to Krivax.

"Proceed."

Sensing that she was starting to get impatient, Krivax quickly launched into his explanation.

"Around fifteen thousand years ago, a tribe of trolls settled near a powerful font of arcane magic called the Well of Eternity near the center of the Pre-Sundering continent. After living near the well for many generations, the trolls were gradually turned into elves by its energy and learned to wield powerful arcane magic. They used this new power to conquer most of the continent and create the Kaldorei Empire."

Ironaya remained unsettlingly still as Krivax explained the events leading up to the Sundering.

"The kaldorei ruling class, known as Highborne, became decadent and obsessed with power, the worst of whom was Queen Azshara, who made contact with an army of demons called the Burning Legion. The Highborne used the Well of Eternity as a portal to allow the demons to invade Azeroth in the name of their master, Sargeras.

The War of the Ancients is really complicated and I don't know all of the details myself, but the end result was that the kaldorei resistance, the Dragonflights, and the Wild Gods were able to win the war. Unfortunately, the Well of Eternity was destroyed in the aftermath, causing an explosion that destroyed most of the world."

There was a lot that Krivax didn't include in his explanation, such as the fact that Azshara was still alive and had aligned herself with the Old Gods in the aftermath of the war. She and her followers had been turned into naga and ruled the underwater empire of Nazjatar. Honestly, Krivax could go on talking for hours, but he understood well that he should keep things succinct so that it wouldn't get overwhelming.

Even as stoic and unmoving as she was, there were still several moments that revealed Ironaya's tumultuous emotions. When Krivax mentioned Sargeras in particular, the Titanic Watcher seemed nearly stricken with grief. That was unsurprising given that Sargeras was one of her former Titan masters, who betrayed and killed the rest of the pantheon.

Krivax continued on to talk about more recent events after he finished explaining the Sundering, such as Deathwing's corruption, the general state of the world, and finally the First and Second Wars. Ironaya was extremely concerned about anything related to the Void and seemed to think that it was important enough that she needed to take them to the Keeper.

"This must be brought to Archaedas, immediately."

"Who's that?" Trixie asked curiously.

"Archaedas is one of the nine Keepers, those few among us who were chosen by the Titans themselves to lead us in their absence," Ironaya explained as she made her way out of the room and started striding down a nearby hall. Krivax and the rest of the expedition hurried to follow after her.

"He is the one responsible for Uldaman, and it is vital that he hears what you have told me."

There wasn't much room for more conversation as they did their best to keep up with Ironaya's long strides as several large doors opened with her approach. The deeper portions of the facility seemed to be in a far better state than the rest, and they quickly passed by several golems and dwarves made completely of stone. Krivax could tell that Brann wanted to burst into a flurry of questions upon sighting them but held his tongue as they kept following after their tall guide.

"Be honored, mortals. You are the first of your kind to enter Khaz'goroth's Seat," said Ironaya as she opened the final door and stepped into a grand chamber filled completely with golems and stone dwarves.

In the center stood the inanimate form of another Titanic Watcher, although this one emanated waves of power even in its current dormant state. His body was constructed from a mixture of various grayish-blue metals and minerals that Krivax couldn't recognize, and his eyes glowed brightly with magic. He wore a cloak over surprisingly simple armor and carried a massive hammer in his right hand.

"Archaedas," Ironaya said reverently, her voice echoing in the chamber. She stepped forward and placed her hand on the Watcher's chest, a wave of energy pulsating from her touch.

The very air seemed to vibrate with power, and Krivax and the others watched in awe as Archaedas slowly came to life. The Keeper's gaze swept over his surroundings, focusing on their little group for a moment, and his voice boomed with the sound of rumbling stone when he eventually spoke.

"Ironaya, why have you awakened me and brought creatures of flesh into our inner sanctum with aqir by their side?"

Ironaya bowed her head respectfully before answering, "Archaedas, these mortals bring important news from beyond Uldaman. I have verified that these creatures are not aqir, and are free from the Void's influence. Please check for yourself."

"Hold on there. Is there something wrong about us being made of meat? I've seen some of those stone dwarves we passed by. Do they have something to do with it?" asked Brann

"The earthen are our servants. Created by myself and the other Keepers for the purpose of shaping the subterranean regions of this world," said Archaedas, looking down at Brann with an inscrutable gaze.

"Prior to my stasis, our servants were displaying symptoms of the Curse of Flesh, which progressively transformed their physical composition to one made primarily of organic matter. This same curse was affecting the class of titan-forged servants that Keeper Mimiron referred to as the mechagnomes."

"Wait, are you telling us that our bodies are the result of a curse?" Trixie interjected, her voice filled with disbelief.

"In a sense, yes," Archaedas replied, his voice unwavering.

"The Curse of Flesh is a corruption originating from the Old Gods, who sought to weaken our titan-forged creations. It was theorized by myself and Keeper Mimiron that flesh would render our servants more susceptible to Void corruption. Your current state is a threat to the security of this facility. To ensure the safety of Uldaman, comprehensive scans will be required to verify the absence of Void corruption within your beings."

Krivax was suddenly extremely glad that he had never decided to mess with the Void. He had no doubt that Archaedas would absolutely kill them if he detected even the slightest amount of corruption. None of them feeling like they had anything to hide, the expedition quickly agreed to be thoroughly examined by Archaedas.

Another one of those floating orbs, similar to the one that Ironaya was using earlier, appeared next to the Keeper and began circling the expedition while emitting a gentle beam of light that scanned each of them in turn.

As this was going on, Ironaya agreed to answer Brann's questions about the past while Archaedas simultaneously examined the test results and ran every diagnostic test that he could on Uldaman.

"Aye, so if I'm understandin' you correctly, our dwarvish and gnome ancestors would have come from facilities like this one, after being turned meaty by that Curse of Flesh, eh?" Brann questioned, his eyes wide and his voice shaky with excitement. The rest of the expedition was equally enthralled by the revelations, listening intently as Ironaya continued to share the ancient history of their people.

"Correct. If the world's land has become as shattered and disconnected as you say, then it is probable that the origin of your ancestors traces back to this specific facility," said Ironaya, her voice exhibiting a touch of emotion.

"Uldaman once contained the highest density of earthen and mechagnome populations in this portion of the world."

Several members of the expedition began to take in their surroundings with a hint of reverence at the Watcher's words. Krivax had no doubt that Ironforge and Gnomeragan would name Uldaman as a site of great historical importance to people once word of their discovery spread.

"But, what were those… things that were trapped behind those magical barriers we saw earlier? They don't look like any race that I've seen before," Trixie asked curiously.

"The entities you are referring to, designated as troggs, were products of an unsuccessful first attempt to create the earthen. They were overly aggressive, simple-minded, and difficult to manage. We opted to seal these constructs due to their inferior design, and this installation was established for containment purposes. Subsequent to the arrival of myself and Keeper Archaedas, it was refitted with a complex monitoring system.

We had not anticipated that such a large catastrophe would cause such widespread damage and result in us being kept in stasis for so long."

Krivax hadn't actually known why the two of them never came out of their stasis in Warcraft until someone woke them up, so this additional information was quite helpful.

"If you don't mind me saying, I think you should prioritize checking on whatever's holding them and making sure they stay contained," Krivax suggested, thinking about the destruction they would cause if they escaped.

"I believe that the Curse of Flesh has totally changed them and they are now entirely organic beings. They probably won't be eager to listen to orders anymore, so I'm not sure how… effective the stasis chambers holding them will be if they wake up."

"Your suggestion is heard, but unnecessary. Creating and maintaining the Titan facilities across Azeroth is the explicit duty of Keeper Archaedas, and myself as his subordinate. We will do everything in our power to fulfill the duties assigned to us by the Makers," Ironaya said with conviction.

After hearing that, Krivax suddenly felt as if he had won the lottery. He hadn't known much about Archaedas before coming to Uldaman, other than he was a Keeper empowered by the same Titan that empowered Neltharion. Getting him on their side would already be great, but if he was actually responsible for creating and maintaining the various Titan facilities then so many problems could be solved. Many of Azeroth's future problems were caused by malfunctions in these facilities.

The Old Gods breaking free from the prisons being the most urgent example.

There was even a possibility that Archaedas would be able to do something about the Dark Portal, which was never resolved in canon!

"My scans are complete. None of them show any sign of being corrupted by the Void," Archaedas announced, turning his attention back to the group and pulling Krivax out of his gleeful thoughts.

"Explain to me why you chose to awaken me from stasis. Specify the catastrophic event that you were previously alluding to."

Once the Keeper was done scanning them, he seemed to instantly lose any hostility he had to the nerubian members of the expedition. Krivax was a bit surprised by how quickly Archaedas' prejudice disappeared, but it made sense in retrospect. The Keepers and Watchers were essentially sapient magical machines and probably looked at the world in a much more single-minded and logical fashion.

There were a lot of reasons why that could be detrimental, but it also meant that they wouldn't hold on to grudges in the face of evidence.

Feeling reassured, Krivax immediately began recounting everything that he had previously told Ironaya about the state of the world. The Keeper was not happy in the slightest to hear about the Sundering, or what the kaldorei did to the Well of Eternity. Krivax couldn't remember the specific lore surrounding the well's origin, but there was a good chance that it had something to do with the Keepers.

Pretty much everything in Azeroth had been shaped by what the Titans and their servants had done in the world's ancient history.

Archaedas was very disturbed and upset on hearing of Deathwing's corruption and betrayal. Krivax thought that Archaedas probably felt that betrayal on a more personal level given that he was the one responsible for channeling Khaz'goroth's power into Deathwing and empowering the corrupted Aspect.

The Keeper even had a similar reaction to Ironaya when he was told about Sargeras, which Brann quickly picked up on.

"Do either of you know a thing or two about this Sargeras fellow? The Burning Legion seems awfully set on stormin' Azeroth," said Brann, his keen eyes watching the two of them for any reaction.

Archaedas and Ironaya's expressions both seemed to darken at the question. After several moments of silence, it was the Keeper who decided to answer.

"Sargeras was a member of the Pantheon, although not one that we have ever met as he did not participate in the ordering of Azeroth. The Makers referred to him several times in their records. I find it difficult to believe that a member of the Pantheon would betray the rest, but all evidence seems to support this conclusion. There is no known force in the universe equal to the Makers. Yet we know that they are dead, and only a Titan would be capable of creating a force akin to the Burning Legion.

In addition, sensors indicate that you believe your words to be the truth."

Surprised at the Keeper's words, Krivax stretched his magical senses in an attempt to find the truth spell surrounding them. A sense of caution grew within him as he failed to find anything, and he resolved to be careful with his words for the rest of the conversation.

The expedition wasn't happy at all to hear that a Titan was responsible for creating the Burning Legion. Titan worship wasn't widespread amongst the dwarves, but it wasn't nonexistent and most held a sort of reverence toward the Pantheon. Krivax suspected that such sentiments would grow significantly in the near future.

Once everyone calmed down a bit, Krivax continued explaining things to Archaedas. After he finished explaining the Sundering and why they chose to wake him up, the Keeper decided that he wanted to verify their story further. After all, their story might not be necessarily accurate if they did not have full knowledge of the events.

"How's he going to do that?" asked Trixie as the Keeper disappeared behind a door on the other side of the chamber.

"That is not information that you need to know," Ironaya responded.

Unknown to the Watcher, Krivax already knew exactly how Archaedas would be verifying their story. The Discs of Norgannon was an artifact that the two of them had spirited away with them to Uldaman. Its primary purpose was to record everything that transpired in Azeroth and would be enough to get them up to speed. Krivax sincerely doubted that it actually recorded everything as that would be ridiculous, but it probably had all of the major events.

In the meantime, the expedition didn't hesitate to pepper Ironaya with questions, which she patiently answered so long as the topic wasn't too sensitive. When Archaedas eventually returned after nearly half an hour, his expression was far more solemn than when he had left.

"The mortals' claims are true," Archaedas said to Ironaya once he drew close.

"The Well of Eternity has imploded and caused catastrophic damage to Azeroth's landmass and most of the Titan facilities across Azeroth. Reports indicate that the Titan-forged caretakers of Uldum have activated the facility's illusory defense system. Attempts to contact Uldaz, Uldavek, and Uldir have all met with failures. Fortunately, sensor readings seem to indicate these facilities as being uncompromised."

Uncompromised? They're all very much compromised! Also, what the hell are Uldaz, Uldavek, Uldir?

Krivax wondered incredulously. He really hoped that Azeroth didn't have even more dangerous Titan facilities than the ones he knew about.

"Excuse me, but Azjol-Nerub has territory close to a facility called Ulduar, and we're quite certain that it contains an Old God and is definitely compromised. Void energy has been gradually increasing across Northrend for generations," Krivax said urgently. It was important that Archaedas understand exactly how screwed up everything was.

"Also, what is the importance of Uldaz, Uldavek, and Uldir? If they're anything like Ulduar, then we need to know."

"Do you have evidence for your claim, mortal? You believe your words to be true, yet all sensory data seems to show otherwise," said Archaedas.

"Facilities dedicated to Old God containment were the most comprehensive of all installations and included several redundancies. I created several emergency systems designed to awaken me specifically in the event that these facilities were compromised."

Fortunately for Krivax, he had prepared physical proof in advance that demonstrated that Yogg-Saron wasn't completely contained. Azjol-Nerub had recently finalized a research agreement with Ironforge and Gnomeregan, and Krivax had quickly suggested that they study the effects of Saronite together. The two nations knew far more about magical metals than even the Kirin Tor or the Circle of Viziers after all.

The Void-corrupted ore was the result of Yogg-Saron slowly breaking free of his prison, and could only be found in Northrend.

Krivax retrieved the Saronite sample from his spatial bag, which was contained in an enchanted lockbox designed to insulate Void energy, and carefully presented the substance to Archaedas after warning him. The last thing he wanted was to be smited after showing he was carrying Void corrupted material, after all. The Keeper seemed skeptical at first but agreed to examine the Saronite and compare it to records that they had of Yogg-Saron's corruption.

When it came back as a positive match, Archaedas' expression grew grimmer than it had been since their conversation began.

"You are correct. This substance carries the corruption of Yogg-Saron, and implies that sensor readings of Old God containment facilities cannot be trusted. It seems likely that they have been subverted. Each of the facilities must be manually examined and their functions restored, as all life on Azeroth will be under threat if they were to escape," said Archaedas, his expressions more lively than ever before.

"Then we must act as swiftly as we can," Ironaya said with determination in her gaze.

"Wait just a minute. Are you trying to tell us that there are a whole bunch of facilities acting like bombs waiting to go off?" Brann asked in alarm.

Azjol-Nerub had shared a bit about their suspicions regarding Ulduar, but it still wasn't a widely known issue, as people didn't fully understand the magnitude of the threat.

"Correct. Uldaz, Uldavek, and Uldir are the facilities responsible for containing the Void entities known as N'zoth, C'thun, and G'huun respectively. Any single one of these beings would be capable of freeing the rest of their kind and conquering Azeroth, should they escape their prisons," Archaedas explained, most of his attention on one of the floating orbs.

"Then you better get to fixing them so that doesn't happen!" Trixie said emphatically, fear growing in her expression.

"I saw what that Void monster did to Capital City. I don't want to wake up one day to scary monsters and tentacles everywhere! I'm sure that there won't be a ruler in the Eastern Kingdoms unwilling to help you out once they hear about this."

"Your assistance is appreciated, but this matter is beyond you, mortals," said Ironaya.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Records indicate that the mortals recently slew a C'thrax, one of the two that was responsible for killing Tyr," said Archaedas, sounding as if he barely believed what he was saying himself.

Ironaya raised her eyebrows, visibly impressed.

"Truly? How did they manage to accomplish such a feat?"

Archaedas went on to explain Uldaman's records, probably the Discs of Norgannon, had recorded a C'thrax as being defeated near a mortal city. Krivax and Trixie went on to give more details about the event after Ironaya asked for them. Despite the fact that it was heavily injured and that the Alliance had the aid of the dragons, actually bringing it down was a great feat. Ironaya seemed surprised that the mortal races had managed to defeat the C'thrax at all.

The two of them also seemed particularly appreciative that they slayed Tyr's murderer and that Tyr's Guard had stood vigil over the fallen Keeper's tomb for millennia.

"Without the Forge of Wills, we lack the capacity to create new servants and there are few left within Uldaman. Cooperation with the mortals will be necessary to properly repair damaged facilities and ensure that the Old Gods remain contained," Archaedas explained.

"I recommend instead that we seek to contact the Aspects. Despite one of their members being corrupted by the Old Gods, they are much more suited to assist us in this endeavor," said Ironaya, disagreeing with the Keeper.

Although dealing with the Titan facilities was very important, the Watcher's words remind Krivax that it wasn't actually the primary reason that he had wanted to go to Uldaman. He didn't want to get so caught up with dealing with the facilities, they forgot to address Deathwing at all.

"If you intend to contact the Aspects, that's something that I could help with," Krivax offered, drawing the attention of the two giant beings.

"I actually serve as the lead diplomat for Azjol-Nerub and have regular contact with Alexstrasza. Also, I believe that you might want to talk to them about Deathwing. The Aspects mentioned that he had escaped to a place called Deepholm and that they were having difficulties getting there."

"Accessing Deepholm would be prohibitively difficult under most scenarios. However, Uldum contains a portal to the elemental plane which can be used to access Deepholm," Ironaya said thoughtfully before turning to Archaedas.

"I recommend accepting the mortal's offer. Facility repair is our primary duty, but a Void corrupted Aspect is an existential threat to Azeroth."

Krivax was glad for Ironaya's endorsement and expected the Keeper to agree. As Archaedas merely continued to study him with an inscrutable gaze, Krivax began to get the feeling that something was wrong. After several more moments of silent consideration, his fears were soon proven right.

"We will contact the Aspects, but we shall do so on our own. It should not be a difficult matter and I do not trust you sufficiently for this task," said Archaedas, his voice carrying a sense of finality that made Krivax's heart drop.

He thought that the Keeper had gotten over the whole aqir thing, but that didn't seem to be the case.

"I understand that you don't trust me due to our heritage, but I swear to you that Azjol-Nerub has turned away from the Void," said Krivax, hoping to change the Keeper's mind.

"You misunderstand. I don't trust you in particular. Not only due to your heritage but also due to your anomalous qualities," said Archaedas, staring down at him with a suspicious gaze.

The expedition turned to him with confusion in their eyes. Several of them asked what the Keeper was talking about, but Krivax didn't actually have any idea himself. Noticing their incomprehension, Archaedas decided to offer an explanation.

"Void corruption can be extremely subtle, and our most thorough scans to detect it involve searching for any anomalies with the subject's body and soul. Although you show no signs of corruption, your soul shows signs of transplantation and is significantly older than your body," said Archaedas, shocking Krivax to his core and terrifying him.

"Strangely, there is no evidence of the magic responsible for this phenomenon. I have suffered from the deceptive nature of the Void before, and do not intend to receive any aid from you without an explanation for this discrepancy."

Krivax had no idea what to say. He'd considered sharing his metaknowledge with people before but always found excuses not to do so. Now his secret had been discovered in a way that hadn't planned for, and in front of several people that he barely even knew!

Krivax turned to offer Brann and Trixie whatever explanation he could come up with, but he was once again shocked when he discovered that the two of them were completely still and looking off into space with unblinking eyes. Krivax turned to the rest of the expedition and his guards, only to find that they were all frozen and slowly turning a dull shade of bronze. Archaedas and Ironaya both seemed unaffected by what was going on and were staring at a particular corner of the room.

Before he could fully understand the situation, Krivax's attention was suddenly drawn to a voice that he had only heard on a few occasions.

"I apologize for the interruption, but Vizier Krivax was about to offer an explanation that I believe my siblings and I should be present for."

In the corner that Archaedas and Ironaya were focused on, Nozdormu and the remaining uncorrupted Aspects appeared from thin air. Nozdormu merely looked quietly amused while Malygos and Alexstrasza were studying Krivax with odd expressions. Ysera had her eyes closed and most likely had half of her mind within the Emerald Dream, but Krivax could tell that even she was curious about what all of this was about.

"I told you that you could search for the one who sent the letter to Krasus after a few months, brother. I bet that you didn't expect that they would also be the one to secure our access to Deepholm," Nozdormu said to Malygos, who merely grunted in response.

Krivax froze at the Aspect of Time's words. It had been so long since he had sent that letter to Krasus that he had been fully convinced that he had gotten away with it, or that Nozdormu never intended to confront him. The Bronze Dragonflight had never once intervened despite all of the changes that Krivax had made to the timeline, so he had begun to think that his transmigration had somehow obscured him from their vision.

It never occurred to Krivax that Nozdormu would just be waiting for a specific moment to confront him.

"I do hope you forgive our intrusion, Archaedas," Nozdormu said to the Keeper.

"But the situation being what it is, I figured it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. It is important to the fate of Azeroth that we all be here for this discussion."

"You are forgiven, Aspect. I am quite curious to learn what prompted this," said Archaedas, turning his gaze back to Krivax.

Stuck under the inquisitive gazes of several godlike beings, Krivax hadn't felt this out of his depth since the day he had hatched from his egg and realized where he was. And much like that day, there was only a single thought going through his mind.

Fuck…