Ravencrest could not stand this repeated stalemate, and so he had summoned Rhonin and Illidan again.
'Magic looks to be the deciding factor in this!' he said to the human in particular. 'Can you do anything?'
Rhonin considered. 'There is something that may be possible, but I'll need the full cooperation of the Moon Guard to put it into effect. It may backfire, too.'
'I doubt it can make anything worse. Well, Illidan?'
'I eagerly await to aid Master Rhonin in whatever spell he crafts, my lord,' Malfurion's twin said with a bow to the wizard.
Rhonin kept his expression neutral. He hoped that Illidan would maintain control and not try to build on what the redhaired spellcaster planned. If he did, chaos might ensue.
And chaos meant defeat.
'We're going to draw upon the Well as deeply as we can,' Rhonin informed Illidan as they made their way to the Moon Guard. 'I want to try something that the wizards of Dal-that the wizards of my homeland discussed doing, but were unable to try before things fell apart.'
'Will it be that complicated, Master Rhonin?'
'No. They spent weeks preparing it, but I have in here-' He tapped his head. '-all that they completed. It may take us a few hours, but we should be successful.'
Illidan grinned. 'I have the utmost faith in you, Master Rhonin!'
Again, the human wondered if the night elf would be able to follow orders without attempting to turn the spell into something of his own rash design. More and more, Illidan appeared unable to not be the center of any casting. He lived for his sorcery, and cared not that much of his prowess had to do with the forces fed into him by the Moon Guard.
By the gods! Rhonin thought suddenly. He almost sounds like a demon that way…
But in so many other ways, the amber-eyed night elf was a potentially more terrible threat. An Illidan who sought to dominate…there, indeed, was a path to destruction.
I'll keep him under control. I have to with Krasus gone. He could only hope that his former mentor had succeeded in reaching the dragons. If not, Rhonin did not know what might happen. He had not planned on utilizing such a very dangerous spell, but with the knowledge that the outcome of this war was anything but set, there seemed no other choice.
Not wanting to leave the soldiers defenseless against the warlocks' dark magic, Rhonin had Illidan pick out a dozen of the best from the sorcerers' ranks, and left the rest to see to the battle. He would only need them once he had the spell ready to cast. The Moon Guard would amplify it, spread it where he needed it to go.
But only if Rhonin succeeded with his part.
'Illidan…I need you to guide me,' the wizard said when everything else was prepared. 'I need you to bring me to the Well itself.'
'Yes, Master Rhonin!' The night elf eagerly stood next to him as they prepared to reach out with their minds to the source of all night elven magic. Up until this point, Rhonin had been touching peripherally on the power of the Well. Unlike Illidan's people, he had not needed to rely on direct use, which gave him a very distinct advantage. Illidan and a few others had learned from the human how to do this, but not to the same degree. Now, however, Rhonin needed to draw as much as he could so that he could be guaranteed of the results he desired.
Far away, a horn sounded. Lord Ravencrest was setting up everything in preparation for Rhonin's grand spell…or grand catastrophe.
Standing side by side, the two spellcasters reached out with their thoughts and linked. Rhonin felt Illidan's wild nature and tried to keep it in check. The night elf 's zealousness was a definite threat to the stability of the spell.
Illidan's mind drew the wizard forward. Through his inner eye, Rhonin watched the landscape rip past as he and his companion sought to touch the Well. Endless rows of demons followed by miles of ravaged landscape passed within a single second. Briefly, the ruined city of Zin-Azshari rose up, then filled his gaze. The grand palace of Queen Azshara dominated next…and finally the black waters of the Well of Eternity greeted the human.
Its power staggered him. Rhonin had always assumed that he had sensed the Well enough simply by drawing upon that part of it which permeated all Kalimdor. Now he realized he had been mistaken, that the Well itself was such a fount of pure energy that if he could command it all, he felt it would make of him a god.
A god…
Everything that Rhonin had dreamed of when first he had taken up the robes of wizardry now seemed so simple. He could raise up entire cities, or tear them down with the blink of an eye. He could call up the power of the earth, then send it crashing down on any who opposed him. He could-
With tremendous effort, Rhonin freed himself of his dark ambitions. A sudden anxiety filled him as he recognized the Well. He had known what it was all along, and yet his mind had denied the evil.
It had the same taint as the demons. Pure magic it might be, but in its way it corrupted as much as Sargeras did.
But it was too late to turn back. Rhonin had to delve into the Well this once, then never touch it in such a manner again. Even drawing upon it as he had in the past now repulsed him, but to give it up completely meant that he would have to give up all magic…and Rhonin knew he was too weak of soul to ever do that much.
Sensing Illidan's impatience and curiosity, the wizard quickly took up the power he needed from the dark depths. The temptation to let it all engulf his mind proved daunting, but with effort he retreated from the cursed waters.
Within moments, the minds of the night elf and him had returned to their bodies. The link to the Well remained as strong as ever. Rhonin prepared to cast, knowing that the sooner he did, the sooner he could be rid of the foul sensation in his soul.
It begins now, he told Illidan.
Instantly, he felt Malfurion's twin prepare the Moon Guard for the task. What the wizard fed them they would send out toward the enemy, multiplying its intensity more than a hundredfold.
With ease, Rhonin constructed the spell matrix that his masters in Dalaran had died working on. He briefly thanked their departed souls, regardless of the fact that none of the wizards would be born for centuries to come. Then, when Rhonin was satisfied that the matrix would remain stable-the wizard unleashed the spell.
Illidan and the others mentally shook as it reverberated through their systems. To his credit the young sorcerer kept the much more practiced spellcasters from buckling. The very ambition that Rhonin feared now kept his plans together.
And so, they struck at the demons' lines.
A ripple of ear-shattering sound hit the Burning Legion without even touching the soldiers who frantically battled them. Massive demons shrieked and dropped their weapons as they tried to shut the sound out. The vibrations shattered their insides, tore apart their minds. As the wave raced over their forces, the demons fell as if swept by some giant broom.
All across the front, they perished. The soldiers stood frozen, shaken up by what they witnessed.
'Now, Ravencrest,' Rhonin whispered. 'Now.'
The horns sounded, urging a rapid advance.
The night elves shouted. Panther riders led the way. They charged across the field, seeking the enemy…but ahead of them lay only the dead. The sound wave continued to race on, cutting a swath of swift but violent death. No demon caught in its path lived. Hundreds perished.
Rhonin suddenly felt his body give up on him. He wob-bled, his head feeling as if it, like the demons', would explode.
The wizard fell.
'I have you, Master Rhonin…'
Illidan eased him to the ground, the night elf none the worse for the wear. He was, in fact, the only one. The rest of the Moon Guard involved in the grand spell looked as terrible as the wizard felt. Most of them sat or even fell down, not at all caring that the soldiers now advanced from them.
'Did you see it? Did you see what we did?' demanded Illidan eagerly. 'This proves it! There's no power like the Well!' He glanced at something or someone whom Rhonin himself could not see. 'The Well is the way,
