It all stemmed from the Second War. During the previous Orcish invasion, the Dragonmaw Clan's Orc warlock Nekros, under the secret guidance of the Black Dragon Aspect Deathwing, unearthed the Demon Soul, an artifact infused with the power of the four Dragon Aspects. Subsequently, Nekros used it to control the Red Dragon Queen Alexstrasza, imprisoning her and her consorts, forcing them to constantly lay eggs for the Dragonmaw Clan. He also controlled immature red dragons to fight for them.
This gave rise to the Horde's most powerful air force during the Second War—the Dragonriders!
The Dragonmaw Clan's red dragon riders once posed a significant threat to the Alliance. They nearly breached Lordaeron and, in a massive naval battle, burned to death Daelin Proudmoore's most beloved son, Jaina's brother, Derek Proudmoore.
After the Horde's defeat and the surrender of the Doomhammer, the Dragonmaw Clan, relying on the red dragons, continued to hold Grim Batol, becoming an intractable tumor on Alliance land.
Fortunately, Rhonin, Vereesa, and Krasus later infiltrated and rescued the Red Dragon Queen. Otherwise, she might still be a captive egg-laying machine...
So, in reality, the Red Dragon Queen owes a great debt of gratitude.
Antonidas's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, saying, "It seems that after Rhonin returns, he will have a new mission."
Kael'thas added, "If necessary, I will also notify Vereesa to go."
"And Krasus, you must not decline this matter!"
This is blatant leveraging of gratitude! Aiden mused. However, the Scourge is indeed the common enemy of the living world, and this is definitely not a racial dispute. As guardians of life, the red dragons should also consider the Scourge their enemy.
After agreeing on the first matter, Aiden immediately brought up the second: "The next matter concerns Kel'Thuzad."
Everyone turned their attention to him again, and Archmage Modera asked, "Is there any news about him?"
"Almost." Aiden recounted how Harkula had instructed his apprentice to contact Ravenholdt Manor to buy his life for a large sum of money, and pointed out the relationship between Harkula and Kel'Thuzad. "—So we have good reason to believe that Kel'Thuzad is still hiding in Hillsbrad Foothills, under Harkula's protection."
Krasus frowned and said, "They did seem to be quite close in the past, but we didn't pay attention to it. Harkula has no grievances with Commander Aiden and would not assassinate him without a special motive. It seems that Kel'Thuzad is indeed near us."
"This is good news; we were afraid he would sail away to other places. Then we would be powerless to stop him from creating an army of undead," Antonidas said confidently. "This time, we must completely keep him here!"
"This time, we need to plan more carefully and not give him any more chances."
Everyone agreed.
After bringing two pieces of great news in succession, the Kirin Tor mages were increasingly finding this young commander very likable. The problems that had plagued them were being solved one by one in his presence.
"Uh, the third is a personal request." Aiden said somewhat shyly, "As you all know, the vast majority of Valoran's people are not in Azeroth. And limited by my strength, I cannot summon them to this world without restriction. With the upcoming Northrend expedition, I would like to summon a particularly powerful hero as an aid, but that will require some cost."
Antonidas said, "Please continue."
Aiden said, "Summoning him from Valoran requires some powerful vessels. Only sufficient power can allow such a hero to break free from the powerful restraints of the original spacetime and descend into this world."
"Such as artifacts?" The Kirin Tor members were all old foxes; even the youngest was thirty years older than Aiden, not to mention the "immortals" who had lived for tens of thousands of years.
"Yes," Aiden nodded.
Antonidas asked curiously, "Do you have a specific target? Have you taken a fancy to any of the items in our inventory?"
"An artifact that you can't use but poses a great danger if left there," Aiden said. "The Skull of Gul'dan that the gryphon riders brought back when Turalyon led the Alliance warriors on the expedition to Draenor." He stated his purpose.
The five archmages exchanged glances, and Antonidas said, "Indeed, that skull contains very powerful power, and direct physical contact will affect one's mind. There seems to be an evil will inside. Are you saying that this skull came from Gul'dan? The Orc warlock who betrayed the Doomhammer?"
"That's right. It's him," Aiden nodded.
Kael'thas asked curiously, "You said it poses a great danger; what do you mean?"
It wasn't just Kael'thas who was concerned about this question; in fact, everyone was very curious. Almost no one knew that Dalaran possessed the Skull of Gul'dan. Obviously, that amazing prophet had seen something again.
Aiden said, "This artifact contains evil energy. If a demon holds it, it can use it to pollute the land and corrupt originally normal creatures, turning them into demons. And if the power inside is absorbed by someone, that person will become a very powerful demon!"
The archmages frowned. This did sound like an ominous object, and the mages indeed had no use for it.
Antonidas suddenly asked an unrelated question: "Aiden, do you know the situation of Khadgar and those Outlanders? Are they... still alive?"
Kael'thas also said, "Yes, Alleria also participated in that expedition—her sisters have already assumed she sacrificed herself."
They tacitly acknowledged the fact that Aiden had a prophet behind him. So, after accepting it frankly, they also wanted to know some things they didn't understand now.
Aiden said, "Most of the Outlanders are still alive; they have established a base in Outland. Among the five heroes, Khadgar, Danath, and Kurdran can be confirmed to be alive—Outland is the shattered Draenor. After the Orcs failed, Ner'zhul became the warchief of the orcs again. He sent people to Azeroth to take the Eye of Dalaran, the Book of Medivh, and the Scepter of Sargeras. He used these three artifacts to open rifts to other worlds, but this immense power also led to the destruction of Draenor. After the cataclysm, that complete world is now fragmented."
"The Ner'zhul you mentioned is the one in Northrend now, right? Why..." Krasus questioned.
Aiden said, "Ner'zhul did indeed go to other worlds through the rifts, both to escape the gradually dying Draenor and to escape his demon master, Kil'jaeden. Unfortunately, he was captured by Kil'jaeden as soon as he arrived in the new world. To punish this disobedient servant, Kil'jaeden destroyed Ner'zhul's body and imprisoned his soul in a suit of armor with evil magic, then threw it into the unmelting ice crystals. Then he sent it to Azeroth, letting it develop the Scourge army, waiting for the opportunity to open the portal to welcome the arrival of the Burning Legion."
The cause and effect of everything were connected in his narration. Now they finally understood the cause and effect of the Lich King.
Antonidas's voice sounded somewhat dry: "That is to say, the mastermind behind the scenes has always been the Burning Legion. They are still coveting our world."
Only those demons born for destruction can research such evil spells as plague and scourge," Drenden said indignantly.
"But they are not invincible, are they?" Aiden encouraged. "You have defeated them once. They will not win this time!"
Singed was fiddling with the bandages on his hands, looking old and wise. He didn't understand anything these people were saying.
However, Kayle was very clear, because Aiden had already told her all the causes and effects.
Aiden's encouragement was still very effective. Since he had an omniscient prophet behind him, it meant that in the future, the Burning Legion would indeed be defeated. Although the cause was difficult, the future was bright!
The archmages were communicating with each other telepathically, discussing something. Aiden waited nervously for their reply.
Could he get this artifact? It all depended on the archmages' discussion at this moment.
After a while, the Kirin Tor councilors stopped their silent communication.
Antonidas said seriously, "Dalaran is not the private property of a few of us. We cannot arbitrarily decide to give an artifact to an outsider, and this would cause it to disappear forever. I am very sorry for this."
Aiden was somewhat disappointed. It seemed that trying to get something for nothing wouldn't work. He had to accept this result. After all, it was an artifact; he wouldn't give it to an outsider if he were in their position.
"However—" Modera, taking over the conversation, made a turn, rekindling Aiden's extinguished thoughts, "We are very tolerant of internal members."
"Do you mean... let me join Dalaran?" Aiden blinked, somewhat incredulous. Although he did want to, he was now a person with an identity card, uh, no card, it was gone after the isekai—but he was indeed a person with an identity. As the leader of Valoran, joining Dalaran seemed inappropriate.
"We want to invite you to join the Kirin Tor Council," Drenden said with a smile.
"Since Kel'Thuzad's betrayal, our six-member council has always had a vacant seat," Krasus looked at him with a smile.
"We now unanimously believe that you have the qualifications to join us," Kael'thas continued.
Finally, Antonidas, he showed a cunning smile: "On behalf of the Kirin Tor Council, I extend an invitation to you. Aiden, are you willing to join us?"