"Codex: Iscariot
Iscariot, also known as the Iscariot Agency, is a special unit that operates as part of the Imperial Cult and the Holy Templar Order of the Secret Fire, serving as a joint unit between the two organizations. Because the Holy Templar Order of the Secret Fire operates independently of the Imperial Cult, there is a need for the Templars to send protectors for the Grand Theogonist of the Imperial Cult.
This unit of Templars is selected from the veteran Templar Knights and some of the strongest Knights who have two purposes as members of the Iscariot. Their first task is the protection of the Grand Theogonist. Iscariot is also in charge of protecting the Grand Cathedral of the Imperial Cult, and they deal with the special tasks issued by the Grand Theogonist.
Members of the Iscariot often operate around the Empire or even the entirety of Azeroth, with their specialization being the exorcism of the most powerful and problematic evil entities, beginning from the Void, Demons, and other unsavory elements of Azeroth's life.
Iscariot doesn't have a formal commander, and the number of members of the Iscariot is estimated to be around fifty. All of their members are chosen personally by the Hierarch of the Holy Templar Order of the Secret Fire, and all of them are considered the best of the best.
Members of the Iscariot also receive strict training from the Onmitsukidō so they can handle the work of espionage and counter-terrorism and prevent any possible assassinations that may happen to the life of high-ranking members of the Imperial Cult.
During their tenure as members of the Iscarior, all Templars wear specifically crafted armors that cover their entire bodies, including their faces, and instead of their names, they are called by the number of their Seat.
Usually, the 1st Seat of Iscariot is an informal commander of the Iscariot and coordinates all the operations that are being conducted by the Iscariot and is also the main lianson between the Iscariot and the other organizations like Holy Templar Order of the Secret Fire, Imperial Military or even different Paladin Orders of Azeroth and pracitlcaly anyone who wishes to communicate directly with the Holy See of the Imeprial Cult.
Among all religious organizations that ever existed on Azeroth, the Iscariot is considered one of the most dangerous due to its nature and also their beliefs.
It is said that members of the Iscariot don't resign, because since the establishment of the Iscariot more than two decades ago, only a few members of the Iscariot have resigned and returned to their previous posts or to civilian life.
Most members who leave the organization are always killed in action. To serve as a member of the Iscariot is considered an utmost honor for all members of the Holy Templar Order of the Secret Fire, and overall, the faithful of the Imperial Cult; thus, there is always enormous competition for every single free spot within the Iscariot.
- Introduction to the Paladin Orders of the Azeroth, 1st Edition, by Grand Theogonist Benedictus of the Imperial Cult of Sacred Phoenix Empire, Year 23 ADP
***
Azeroth Continent, Deadwind Pass
Deadwind Pass is a contested region located in central Azeroth, joining the southeastern reaches of the kingdom of Stormwind through Duskwood. It was situated west of the Swamp of Sorrows, north of the Blasted Lands, and south of the Redridge Mountains.
It was, a score of years ago, considered a part of the Redridge Mountains. A foul wind constantly blew across the decimated canyon, giving it its name. The Deadwing Pass was a rather gloomy and depressing place just from a single look.
Deadwind Pass is a stretch of land devoid of life, where the trees are reduced to withered husks, the marshes are a desiccated waste, and the sky turned a sepulchral gray with the sun covered in a burial shroud. At its center stands the imposing and enigmatic tower known as Karazhan, the residence of the Guardian of Tirisfal.
High above the skies of the Deadwind Pass, a fleet of several tens of airships bearing the Royal Flags of the Fire Nation was heading directly towards the Karazhan, which right now is one of the major gathering places for the armies of Stormwind and Fire Nation.
On the deck of one of the Gargantua-Class Airships, Azula Septim, one of the Queens of the Fire Nation, was standing, as wind blew right into her face and her long, luscious black hair was fluttering in the wind.
Aside from the members of the Crownsguard, there were also other people who were not bearing the sigils of the Fire Nation, but rather, they were the High Elves of the Quel'Thalas.
The volunteers of the High Elven Kingdom who willingly participated in the war against the Gurubashi Troll, because the hatred between the Trolls of any kind and High Elves transcended time and space.
A few hundred battle-hungry High Elves of the Quel'Thalas were rather eager to join the Holy Crusade against the Gurubashi Trolls, just for the opportunity to slaughter a good number of the Gurubashi Trolls.
For the High Elves, it didn't matter what race of Troll they were killing, as long as they were trolls.
That was more than enough.
Azula was looking into the distance, as they would soon reach Karazhan. During their journey to Stormwind, they also carried out reconnaissance of the territory and managed to track and map the movements of the Gurubashi Trolls.
The Fire Queen noticed that their movements were rather sporadic and chaotic, and that they were all over the place, with no coordination between the various groups of the Gurubashi Trolls.
Which made it clear to Azula that there was no internal coordination between the various groups of Gurubashi Trolls, and internally, the chain of command was broken, and it seemed that the leaders of their Tribal Alliance couldn't handle the loss of the elites in Stormwind City.
According to her husband, after the interrogation of the High Priest Zanzil, the group of one hundred or so Trolls consisted of rather important members of their society, and all of them held rather critical positions.
The information extracted from the mind of the High Priest of the Gurubashi Trolls, the Gurubashi Troll Tribal Alliance, was far more fragile than one would have thought, as they were not united at all.
While it was true that the most significant faction within the Tribal Alliance was the Gurubashi Trolls, there were also some minor groups of Trolls in that alliance that were allied altogether against the expansive Stormwind.
Not to mention, the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, and Skullsplitter Tribe are significant forces within the Jungle Troll Tribal Alliance, and together, if united, they could pose a certain threat even to the Gurubashi Tribe itself.
Simultaneously, the factionalism between various groups of Gurubashi Trolls themselves was too strong, and many of the trolls hated each other to the core. Some of their warlords hated each other too much, which most often made the coordinated actions and unified front rather troublesome.
"We are already in the airspace of the Karazhan. Some of the Mages are reporting that we would be crossing over the first perimeter of the barrier in fifteen minutes."
One of the heavily armored soldiers of the Phoenix Crownsguard reported to Azula because the panorama of Karazhan was visible from a far distance. The Mage Tower of the Guardian of Tirisfal was a sight to behold, as it was probably the most famous Mage Tower in the nightmarish history of Azeroth.
Aside from being the Mage Tower, Karazhan was also a fortress on its own that housed a considerable garrison of Stormwind's troops and Knights.
The declaration of the Holy War was something that was totally unknown to the Earth.
While the inhabitants of the Earth had known religion, it was never to the point where there was religious fanaticism among the Fire Nation, Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, or Air Tribes...
Yet that all changed with the addition of the Aeldari Gods and Aeldari Pantheon...
They created the very first miracles that everyone was able to see and witness. It quickly changed the perspective on how the people viewed Gods, and in the current Fire Nation, many bore the Divine Blessings of the Aeldari Gods.
Especially the Phoenix Crownsguard, who were Blessed By the Grace of the Phoenix God Himself.
Azula herself was never really a religious person before that...
"Divide the airships so that the ones that are not transporting war material or troops take the defensive positions. We can't risk a surprise attack during the landing, even though I seriously doubt that the Trolls are capable of attacking Karazhan... though rather be safe than sorry..."
As the Queen of the Fire Nation and also Commander of the Imperial Bending Legion, she knew very well that security was in the first place. The Fire Nation was always picky about security, and now, after the reign of the Fire Lord Aenarion Septim, it was bordering on extreme paranoia.
Not even a few moments later, after Azula issued the commands, something around thirty smaller airships split from the overall formation and took the defensive formation around the other airships that were carrying some essential materials or personnel.
"His Majesty is already awaiting you with the King Barathen Wrynn at the landing zone."
The very same member of the Crownsguard stated as Azula raised her brows, hearing that the King of Stormwind was present there. She was aware of King Barathen Wrynn, who was hailed as one of the most powerful Warriors of his generation.
Azula just nodded as she was leading the first wave of the Fire Nation's military into the conflict, as the second army group would be attacking the Marshtides and Bogpaddle Peak under the leadership of Lord Commander Solar and a significant part of the Khaos Brigade under the leadership of Ezran Partas.
Marshtides and Bogpaddle Peak were very important points of interest for the Stormwind and Fire Nation, because they were close to the Temple of Atal'Hakkar.
The Temple of Atal'Hakkar, also known as the Sunken Temple, is a shrine to the Loa of the Gurubashi Trools, the Blood God Hakkar the Soulflayer, that was erected by the Atal'ai trolls led by their master Jammal'an the Prophet.
Fire Nation and Stormwind learned of this place from the memories of High Priest Zanzil, and thus it became a crucial point of interest, and a large part of their military offensive would be aimed at conquering that place.
"Well, I guess that the Stormwindians are pressing too strongly for the final push into the Stranglethorn Valley and surrounding lands. The Stormwindians are rather impatient already..."
Contrary to the iron-will and discipline of the Fire Nation that was biding its time, Azula saw that the nobles of the Stormwind were rather lacking in this aspect, and they were eager to start the invasion.
Right now, in their joint War Council, the Nobles of Stormwind were doing a mess because of this, but fortunately enough, King Wrynn was able to hold them on a tight leash after some punishments for the ones that were breaking the rules.
***
Near Karazhan Tower
"That's more than I have anticipated."
Aenarion heard King Wrynn saying something, as he raised his brows at that.
Behind the King of Stormwind, there was a young man standing, in the traditional Knight armor of the Brotherhood of Horde, who looked very similar to very young Travis Flimel as much as Aenarion could remember the actor from his first life.
It was Anduin Lothar.
Sir Anduin Lothar, the Lion of Stormwind, was the last true descendant of the ancient Arathi bloodline, a Knight Champion of the Kingdom of Stormwind during the First War, and the Supreme Commander of the armies of the Alliance of Lordaeron during the Second War.
Aenarion knew that this man would one day be one of the most celebrated and worshipped warriors of the entire Azeroth.
In the canon of World of Warcraft, he perished in combat at the base of Blackrock Mountain just before the end of the Second War and the closing of the Dark Portal. He is considered one of the greatest warriors in human history.
King Varian Wrynn even named his son, the current King of Stormwind, after him.
Hopefully, in this world, he would be able to survive, because Aenarion knew it would be a tremendous loss for Azeroth to lose one, if not outright the one, it's greatest Champions.
"This is just the first group... the second one would be attacking the trolls from the second side of the continent, heading toward the Marshtide and Bogpaddle Peak. Together, we will take the Jungle Trolls with the pincer attack. The only way for the Jungle Trolls to evade the attack would be heading north, but they would encounter the Dark Iron Dwarves, or going even further south, but there would be conflict with Goblins."
Aenarion explained the plan of the Fire Nation to counter the Jungle Trolls, and it was a very good plan. With this, the Jungle Trolls won't have the opportunity to counterattack or even the possibility of retreat.
Anyone who was listening to their conversation knew that retreat was impossible for the Jungle Trolls. Their entire Jungle Troll Tribal Alliance could retreat either to the south or to the north, but neither of the options was viable.
If they advanced to the north, they would encounter the Dark Iron Dwarves, who were now most probably under the control of Elemental Lord Ragnaros, who was at a level that was minimally Legendary...
That would spell the death sentence for the Jungle Trolls.
While going even further south was more viable, at the same time, they would be clashing with the Goblins and their cartels.
It was true that the Goblins were not really fighters per se; they had technology on their side, and while their technology wasn't always reliable, Aenarion knew that it was no less dangerous and powerful due to that.
"That is a very good strategy... though, could we really depend on the fact that they won't retreat somewhere, and if they do, the Dark Iron Dwarves would be able to stop their advance?"
Aenarion understood the fears of King Wrynn, because their plan would work only if the Jungle Trolls remained in one place and didn't escape for their very own lives. It was the basic premise that Aenarion and the rest of the Fire Nation's War Council were working with.
"In the north, they would not only encounter the Dark Iron Dwarves, but also further north is the Ironforge, and what makes the situation even more problematic is that there are only a few paths that the Jungle Trolls could use, and they would need to pass by the borders of Stormwind."
Hearing the explanation of the Fire Lord, everyone weighed his words, because it seemed to be pretty plausible, and in the end, they decided to go with the plan. If they succeeded, they would have achieved unprecedented achievement...
Complete annihilation of the Jungle Trolls, and with that being done, Stormwind would be able to expand completely into the Stranglethorn Valley, and the Fire Nation would be finally able to establish their colonies.
"And they are landing already..."
Aenarion muttered as he saw the airships of the Fire Nation's Airfleet descending on the landing zone near the Karazhan. They were not really in the exclusive territory of the Karathan, because the territory of Karazhan wasn't large enough to house several tens of airships landing.
They were on a small plateau a few kilometers away from Karazhan, where the Guardian controlled all of the Magic Formation around Karazhan to ensure the safe landing of the Fire Nation's fleet.
And now that Aenarion thought about it, Medivh was the name that was giving Aenarion a lot of headaches.
Medivh was the last Guardian of Tirisfal, an ancient line of protectors bestowed with great powers to do battle with the agents of the Burning Legion. He was possessed even before birth by the spirit of the lord of the Burning Legion, Sargeras.
Under his influence, Medivh contacted the orc warlock Gul'dan, and together they opened the Dark Portal, bringing the Old Horde to Azeroth. He was slain some time after by a party led by his best friend, Anduin Lothar.
Anarion was aware that Medivh's action, technically speaking, shaped Azeroth, and in some twisted sense, they did far more good than one would have thought.
Even though many were killed, at the same time, these actions started the golden age of Azeroth, where the collective strength of Azeroth's inhabitants went up, and the people of Azeroth were united more than ever before.
Then there was another implication: even if Aenarion wanted to do something about it, there was nothing that he could really do. Medivh was possessed by Sargeras... an entity that could cleave entire super planets like Azeroth in half as easily as Aenarion could step on an ant.
It was plainly stupid to think that he could do something about that, not to mention that he would be attracting the attention of Sargeras, and having the attention of an entity like that wasn't anything good.
Aenarion didn't have any delusions; he knew that the Lord of the Burning Legion was aware of the changes on Azeroth due to his medium, Medivh.
And Aenarion also knew that the Fallen Titan would be paying special attention to the Fire Nation due to their power, and in the future, when the invasion of the Burning Legion started, the Fire Nation would become one of its prime targets.
So as much as it was possible right now, he wanted to stay off the radar of the former Champion of the Pantheon.
Both monarchs, together with the entourage from the Stormwind and Fire Nation, observed how several huge metal airships were landing one by one, followed by their protection detail consisting of the smaller airships.
"The big ones are our main Airships, Gargantua-class battleships. Each one of them is created from a special mix of heavy metals that were strengthened by Magic and thus obtained a great amount of Magic Resistance. At the same time, the Battleships are armed with several lines of Orbal Cannons, Skorpions, and other kinds of armaments so they could fight and be used in the widest range of scenarios."
Aenarion explained as everyone from the side of Stormwind held their breaths, as some more politically astute members of the King's court understood very well what was happening right now.
Even though the Fire Nation was helping them in this conflict, they were also showcasing their military power to Stormwind and showing that they had a lot of it. The troops of the Fire Nation started disembarking from the Gargantua-Class Battleships in an orderly manner, showcasing perfect discipline, unity, and power.
Together, the Imperial Benders and Phoenix Crownsguard created a path for Azula, who was the Queen of the Fire Nation and also the Commander of the Fire Nation's forces overall that were going to attack the trolls from this direction.
"Welcome to Stormwind, Your Highness Azula."
King Wrynn welcomed Aenarion's wife to Stormwind, who arrived with a significant portion of the Fire Nation's troops to support the war efforts against the Troll Tribal Alliance.
"Pleasure is mine, King Wrynn. But let's not waste time and proceed to more important matters. The Trolls... during the flight to Karazhan, we carried some reconnaissance and even destroyed a few of their forts when they were in our way, and from the gathered information, we can safely conclude that large parts of the Troll Tribal Alliance's fighting force are congregating in the borders between the Deadwing Pass and Swamp of Sorrows... If I had to guess, they are planning to cross the Deadwig Pass and attack the heartlands of Stormwind."
Azula, exactly as Aenarion expected, was beating around the bush, and she skipped through all protocols and immediately went to the matters of the military conquest. The danger of the Jungle Troll Tribal Alliance, which was created by the Gurubashi Tribe with other Jungle Troll Tribes, was huge.
And it seemed that the Jungle Troll Tribal Alliance was going to strike when the forces of the Stormwind and Fire Nation were still gathering and preparing for the invasion. Everyone cursed when they heard the words of the Queen of Fire Nation, because it seemed that the Trolls were going to strike first.
The entire situation was worse.
According to the pathways and locations Azula started naming soon after, it was clear that the Jungle Troll Tribal Alliance's forces planned to avoid Karazhan by a wide margin and use obscure paths through the Deadwing Pass to reach the heart of Stormwind.
Within the tent that was acting as the War Council for both Stormwind's official and Fire Nation's officials, a group of high-ranking officers was deciding on their next moves, including representatives for the High Elves of Quel'Thalas.
Which was rather a huge surprise for the Stormwindians that some of the Quel'Thalas decided to join the fray, but most of them understood that it was due to the participation of the Fire Nation.
Only the nation of fire had such a good relationship with the High Elves, to the point that when the Fire Nation marched to war against the Jungle Troll Tribal Alliance, many of the High Elves joined the fight.
"With the addition of the Airships, we can conduct an air raid on the trolls that are marching on Stormwind. If possible, I would like to primarily aim at the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, and Skullsplitter Tribe."
Aenaarion pointed at the map that was now updated with Azula's information, and he wanted to primarily strike at the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, and Skullsplitter Tribe when he noticed the flags of these tribes in there.
The Jungle Troll Tribal Alliance, even though it was founded by the Gurubashi Tribe because they were the biggest and strongest out of all the Jungle Troll Tribes, the power of the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, and Skullsplitter Tribe shouldn't be underestimated.
Neither should there be conflicts.
"You want to create friction between the Tribes?"
King Barathen Wrynn, as someone who had been fighting against the Jungle Trolls his entire life, understood the creatures very well. Not only him, but this plan seemed to be pretty good even from the viewpoint of the Generals of Stormwind and some nobles who were participating in the meeting.
"Yes... as much as we were able to learn, the conflicts between the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, Skullsplitter Tribe, and Gurubashi Tribe are no smaller than the ones against humans. At the same time, the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, and Skullsplitter Tribe have a great deal of hatred toward the Gurubashi Tribe due to many reasons... many of the territorial expansion of the Gurubashi Tribe to the territory of the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, and Skullsplitter Tribe."
Aenarion explained that his primary aim was to weaken the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, and Skullsplitter Tribe. Once that happened, he was sure that the Gurubashi Tribe wouldn't hesitate to jump on the opportunity and would try to suppress these Tribes somehow.
Once that happened, the Bloodscalp Tribe, Darkspear Tribe, and Skullsplitter Tribe would most probably unite against the Gurubashi Tribe, and friction would start. This would weaken the entire Jungle Troll Alliance overall and make them much easier to pick up.
"What do you think about this approach, young Lothar?"
Suddenly, all eyes turned to the young knight who was wearing armor of the Knights of the Brotherhood of Horse. Yet, despite his young age, nobody underestimated him, not only because of his status as Commander of the Brotherhood of Horse, but also because the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation was around his age.
"It sounds like a good plan. Sometimes, various Troll Tribes hate each other even more than they hate us. It would be for best, if we avoid fighting in the Jungles and use the Airship and our own Gryphon Knights to lure them out of the forests."
Every single career soldier agreed with the statement of Anduin Lothar, because fighting against the Jungle Trolls in the woods was a very stupid thing to do. Azula and Esdeath looked at each other, as they both wanted to lead the charge against the trolls.
"How many Gryphon Knights does Stormwind have?"
Aenarion himself was pretty curious about this because the Gryphon Knights were considered the trump card of Stormwind. On Azeroth, only the Wildhammer Clan was able to tame and breed the Gryphons and use them for their purposes.
"A few tens. Not enough for the frontal assault, but if we combine them with the airships, we can use them as shock troops during the attack. If the airship attacks in the first lines, the Gryphon Knights could be used to control the battlefield and also kill some of their commanders... without the commanders, the trolls would be leaderless and they are not known for discipline or a chain of command."
Anduin Lother proceeded to explain after he got a subtle nod of agreement from his King.
Fire Lord and his Queens, together with a few Officers of the Fire Nation's Royal Army, pondered over the proposal, and in the end, they agreed to go with the plan. Among the two nations, the Fire Nation had far more experience with war, and they were also taking war itself as a form of art.
Aenarion also established a Military Academy that focused on cultivating and training competent field officers for the Royal Army and all of its branches. He was revolutionizing the entire military and how it worked, making it far more professional by adapting the ideas of the
"What do you think, Mister Blackfeast? Could you and your rangers carry out the reconnaissance of the area and coordinate with the air strike? Your sharpshooting skills from the back of Gryphons or on the deck of arishups would be invaluable."
Zearis Blackfeast was typically a High Elf of Quel'Thalas, and he was also a member of the Farstriders. He was very tall, with shining eyes that were the result of his connection to the Sunwell, with long blonde hair and the muscular physique of a warrior.
The Farstriders were initially comprised of little more than a group of High Elven Rangers, who loosely fought together during the Troll Wars to keep Quel'Thalas safe. The Farstriders are an order of elite High Elven Rangers, active in Quel'Thalas. They are led by the Ranger-General of Silvermoon and are stationed in Silvermoon itself.
Roughly 500 years ago, a group of similarly dedicated fighters formed and officially took on the name "Farstriders". Their mandate was, originally, to protect Quel'Thalas far beyond its actual borders and look after High Elf interests all over Azeroth, and while the Farstriders still see their mission as a broad one, this ambitious goal narrowed over time; today, the Farstriders rarely range beyond Quel'Thalas.
The Farstriders consisted of the most combative High Elves of the entire Quel'Thalas, and many of the Farstriders took a leave specifically for the reason of joining the war against the Jungle Troll Tribal Alliance.
Aside from the Farstriders members that were technically on leave, Quel'Thalas agreed to send a few hundred trainee Rangers who were not genuine Farstriders yet, but they were far better than any other human archer, and they were expert combatants.
Many of them were at the peak Mortal Level or were already Elites.
"That would certainly be possible. Some of our Arcane Archers could snipe some of the leaders of the trolls even before the attack started. Once they are leaderless, it would be much easier to deal with them."
All High Elves were technically Mages, because all of them could use Magic. But not all were really Mages as the majority of the High Elves didn't study Magic to its depths or anything, they just learned Spells that they needed and were using them in combat.
It would be more appropriate to call them Battle Mages. Even an ordinary High Elf could use the Arcane Magic to boost the destructive prowess of their arrows to a tremendous degree, to the point where they could destroy entire buildings if it was used in Aenarion's first life.
In Azeroth, not really so, because every bit of material that was used in anything was seething with Mana and powerful Magic, which was making all materials much harder and tougher, not to mention everything had a certain degree of Magic Resistance.
"Then we are in agreement. We should move out in six hours, if that time is agreeable to everyone?"
Seeing that everyone nodded to the Fire Lord's question, the joint War Council between Stormwind and Fire Nation had ended, and most of the people left the tent because there was a lot of work for them to do.
"Aren't we going to meet with the Guardian?"
Aenarion looked at Azula, who asked this question, because he didn't really want to meet with Medivh.
Attracting the attention of the Lord of the Burning Legion wasn't a bright idea, yet at the same time, before he could do anything, King Wrynn clapped his hands with an excited expression as it seemed that the decision was already out of his hands.
"That's a splendid idea. I am sure that the Guardian would be delighted to meet with the representatives of the Fire Nation."
The Fire Lord frowned deeply, but he quickly calmed down as he knew that there was nothing that he could do about this.
Hopefully, the Spirit of Sargeras would still be dormant within Medivh, and Sargeras wouldn't be present in Medivh's consciousness, or the situation would become incomparably problematic.
Still, meeting with the Guardian seemed interesting even to Aenarion, despite his reluctance to do so. Guardian of Tirisfal was the most powerful mortal due to the power he inherited when one became Guardian and his power reached the Demigod Level...
Almost.