User:Joshmaul/Saavedro of Stratholme/In-Game Accomplishments

This is a listing of in-game events involving Saavedro of Stratholme.


 * For a listing of further accomplishments, see here.
 * For a listing of his activities in Karazhan, see here.
 * For what he will (hopefully) do beyond that, see here.
 * For his battles against the Amani in Zul'Aman, see here.
 * For his efforts in the invasion of the Isle of Quel'Danas, see here.
 * For his campaign to aid the Netherwing Dragonflight, see here.

Paladin of the Silver Hand
In his beginnings as a paladin, Saavedro - like many other paladins, priests, warriors and other adventurers - fought against the secretive Defias Brotherhood, which was beginning to gain a foothold within the Kingdom of Stormwind. Starting first in Elwynn Forest, Saavedro began to augment his formidable powers of the Light with his skill in combat. At the time he became a paladin, many guilds had risen, organizations devoted to the Alliance and to the Horde. Early in his career as a paladin, Saavedro was inducted into the Order of the Midnight Runners as a common soldier, led at the time by the dwarf hunter Talluwin. Not long afterwards he travelled to Sentinel Hill in Westfall, to help continue the war against the Defias. It was in Sentinel Hill that he met the night elf rogue Ripclaw, to whom Saavedro would become a chief lieutenant in later years. With Ripclaw's aid, he put an end to the Defias Brotherhood's campaign in Westfall by killing its leader, Edwin VanCleef. It was while he was in the Midnight Runners that he met a renegade Defias rogue named Nyssha Swiftblade, and took her under his wing. He realized that her skills as an assassin and spy, while repulsive to him, would be useful to his cause, and he could use what influence he had to prevent her from being executed as a traitor. After killing VanCleef, Saavedro and Nyssha travelled to the Stockades in Stormwind, investigating rumors that the nobility had delayed the executions of Defias members being held there - and now they had overrun the Stockades. After putting down the insurrection, Saavedro left Nyssha in Stormwind and travelled, via the newly completed Deeprun Tram, to Ironforge.

Travelling Overseas
Saavedro arrived in Ironforge shortly after clearing out the Stockades, and immediately travelled to the swampy Wetlands that separated the dwarven empire of Khaz Modan from what remained of the Kingdom of Lordaeron. Arriving in Menethil Harbor, the major port of call that connected the ports of Theramore and Auberdine, Saavedro took the boat that would take him to Auberdine, in the Darkshore region of northern Kalimdor. Ripclaw met him there, and together they travelled to Blackfathom Deeps, in the northern part of Ashenvale Forest. Upon returning to the Eastern Kingdoms, far stronger than he had been before, Saavedro, Ripclaw and several other Runners ventured into the irradiated gnomish capital of Gnomeregan at the behest of the exiled High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque, who held court in Ironforge near the Deeprun Tram. Mekkatorque had implored Saavedro and his allies to avenge the fall of Gnomeregan by killing the one responsible for it - his former chief advisor, Mekgineer Sicco Thermaplugg. The fighting was long and arduous, but finally Saavedro, Ripclaw and their allies reached the Tinker's Court, where he aided the warrior who had accompanied them in striking down the treacherous Thermaplugg. After returning from Gnomeregan, the paladin joined in a continuing war he fights today - the war against the zealots of the Scarlet Crusade, and the undead monsters of the Scourge.

Fighting Battles Against Evil
With Ripclaw now leader of the Midnight Runners, Saavedro and Nyssha had been promoted to the rank of warlord in the Order, now among the new leader's chief lieutenants. But their battles had just begun. Saavedro and Ripclaw, accompanied by a gnome warlock who called himself Satanic, headed north from Hillsbrad into the plagued landscape now occupied by the undead Forsaken. For the first time in nearly twenty years, Saavedro entered the forests of Tirisfal Glades...and he did not like what he saw. The land was barely livable to humans, and the skies turned a sickly green. Distressed by the physical changes to Tirisfal, Saavedro nonetheless remained devoted to his mission - to enter the Scarlet Monastery. Formerly a cathedral to the Light maintained by the high council of the Lordaeron priesthood, in the nearby capital city - now the undead Undercity - the Monastery had become a place of evil, supposedly justified by their devotion to the Light. With Ripclaw and Satanic, along with a priest and a warrior, Saavedro entered the Scarlet Monastery and met the leaders of the Scarlet Crusade's war in Tirisfal in combat. Standing at the side of the warrior, Saavedro fought through hordes of crazed zealots in the Monastery's library and defeated Houndmaster Loksey and Arcanist Doan, then cleared out the armory and taking the mail-armor shoulder of the Scarlet Champion, Herod, and finally entered the center of the Monastery's leadership, the Cathedral itself.

Saavedro was repulsed by the crazed zealotry of the Scarlet Crusaders, his anger rising until it reached the boiling point in the Crusaders' Chapel itself. Fueled by rage, Saavedro and his compatriots cleared the Monastery of all who lived - and even one who wasn't alive to begin with, the former High Inquisitor Fairbanks - before confronting the son of the Ashbringer, Scarlet Commander Mograine, and his deluded mistress, High Inquisitor Whitemane. The battle was feverish, but in the end, the Midnight Runners proved victorious, and Saavedro left the depths of the Monastery with Mograine's shield strapped to his arm.

After leaving Tirisfal, Saavedro travelled to Stranglethorn Vale and began questing there. It was shortly after his triumph in the Monastery, having trained for months, that he reached the level to begin wearing heavier plate armor and wielding far greater weapons. After speaking to his paladin mentor, Duthorian Rall, in Stormwind's Cathedral, Saavedro gained the paladin's warhorse, which he named Sekhesmet after his fallen mentor.

His fight against the Scourge, and the Scarlet Crusade, was far from over. After fighting through the Scourge-infested Razorfen Downs in the Barrens, and the sunken Temple of Atal'Hakkar in the Swamp of Sorrows, Saavedro finally returned to his homeland - now transformed into the toxic Plaguelands.

Reaching Stratholme
Saavedro entered the Western Plaguelands from the mountains of Alterac, and was appalled at what he saw. The sky and the trees were even more sickly looking than in Tirisfal, and thousands of skeletons, ghouls and specters wandered the landscape - though having heard that this was where the plague began, Saavedro was surprised to see it was relatively intact, its appearance aside. It was here that Saavedro joined the Argent Dawn, an organization made up of all races and creeds dedicated to combatting the Scourge - and the Scarlet Crusade. Saavedro saw it as an opportunity to accelerate his battle against both evils.

After fighting in the Western Plaguelands for months, Saavedro feared the worst as he prepared to brave the horrors of the Eastern Plaguelands. As he feared, it was far worse than Tirisfal or the Western Plaguelands. The town of Darrowshire was obliterated, his birthplace of Corin's Crossing infested by ghouls, specters and abominations, and the various other small towns left with nothing more than ghosts and memories. Steeling himself, Saavedro joined with a raiding party into the ruins of Stratholme - still left burning for four years, its districts split between the zealots of the Scarlet Crusade and the ravenous Scourge. The raiding party ventured into the Scourge-controlled sections of Stratholme, entering through the Eastwall Gate service entrance into the Elder's Square district. Battling their way to the slaughterhouse in the northern district known as Slaughter Square, the raiding party disabled the Ash'ari crystals that guarded the way, battled the abominations and their leader, Ramstein the Gorger, and waves of skeletons before finally entering the slaughterhouse. There, Saavedro battled an undead monster that would prove to be one of his more vexing foes - the death knight Baron Rivendare. The fighting was brutal, but in the end, the raiders proved victorious over the evil Baron. Saavedro delivered Rivendare's head to the Argent Dawn, and set out again for the ruined city.

Saavedro entered the western districts of Stratholme, travelling from the front gate to Crusader's Square and into the Scarlet Bastion, the city's former cathedral, now controlled by the Scarlet Crusade. There, he encountered the beast behind the Scarlet Crusade - Grand Crusader Saiden Dathrohan, who was possessed by the Dreadlord Balnazzar. In a titanic battle, Saavedro and his comrades defeated Balnazzar, and Saavedro returned the Dreadlord's head to the Argent Dawn.

Confronting an Emperor
Though his success in Stratholme was a noteworthy achievement, Saavedro was haunted by the depths in which his beloved city had sunk. Finally deciding to find higher-stakes fighters, Saavedro left the Order of the Midnight Runners, leaving his Defias protégé, Nyssha, as his emissary. After months of fruitless searching, Saavedro joined a man called Eightbraeker, a paladin who had risen in the ranks of Stormwind's army, and his order of holy warriors known as Sanctus Preliator. Having fought alongside Eightbraeker - who would later become the Alliance's Grand Marshal for a period - many times in the battlefields of Alterac Valley, Saavedro grew to respect his new leader as much as he had respected Ripclaw. Unfortunately for him, that was about all he did respect about Sanctus Preliator.

Early in his service to Eightbraeker, as he began to reach the height of his power as a paladin, Saavedro was called on by King Magni Bronzebeard of Ironforge to rescue his daughter Moira from the evil Emperor of Blackrock, Dagran Thaurissan - slave of Ragnaros the Firelord, an elemental banished into the Molten Core of Blackrock Mountain generations earlier. Accompanied by several Preliators, Saavedro ventured deep into the volcanic depths of Blackrock Mountain, and eventually arrived in the Emperor's throne room. Along the way, he encountered a Dark Iron dwarf named Korogh Madeyes, who proved to be less hostile than his fellow Dark Irons. Somehow managing to break free of Ragnaros' slavery, Korogh offered his services to Saavedro, and led the paladin and his party straight into the Emperor's throne room. With the fate of the Kingdom of Ironforge in the balance, the Preliators cleared out the throne room and battled the Emperor himself. Finally, the killing blow was struck, and the heiress to Ironforge safely returned to her father.

For months after defeating the Emperor, Saavedro offered his services to many, eventually facing (and defeating) Ragnaros the Firelord and the black dragon Onyxia, taking on the legions of Nefarian in Blackwing Lair, and learning the secrets of Ahn'Qiraj (he had been present when Lord Kalahad rang the Scarab Gong and heralded the opening of Ahn'Qiraj to the world). He eventually became independent after a time and wandered the wastes of northern Lordaeron alone, until word reached him of dire portents to the south of Stormwind...

Saavedro's Quest
Saavedro had been one of the priests who had blessed Khadgar's troops upon their departure from Lordaeron to the Dark Portal, along with his master, the High Priest Sekhesmet. Upon learning of the sealing of the Dark Portal, Saavedro vowed that he would go across the dimensional barrier himself someday and find out the truth of what had happened to the men he had given the Light's blessing.

Twenty years later, after becoming a knight of the restored Order of the Silver Hand, Saavedro would make good on this promise. Word reached the master paladin in Stratholme, while he was confronting the undead in the Scourge-controlled districts, that Lord Kazzak - a powerful lieutenant of Kil'jaeden who lived in the Blasted Lands, where the Dark Portal stood - had gained an artifact that would allow him to reopen it. The Dark Portal had been a permanent fixture of Azeroth for nearly forty years, and for the last two decades has remained dormant thanks to the apparent sacrifice of Khadgar and his brave troops. Now, the rift was being reopened.

Upon hearing the news, Saavedro departed quickly from Stratholme and took a gryphon from the nearby Light's Hope Chapel, flying all the way across the continent to Nethergarde Keep, the Dalaran citadel formerly ruled by Khadgar, in southern Azeroth. There, he became part of the Alliance-Horde Expedition that would be sent into Outland to report on conditions there. Saavedro's specific orders were to ascertain the location of the other members of the original Alliance Expedition and discover the extent of enemy forces there - both the Burning Legion, and any blood elf and naga forces that were controlled by the Lord of Outland, the powerful Illidan Stormrage.

Battle for the Dark Portal
Shortly after landing in Nethergarde, Saavedro mounted up on his charger and went swiftly south from Nethergarde to the gigantic crater where the Dark Portal stood. The crater surrounding the Portal was heavily entrenched, Horde and Alliance encampments having sprouted up all over the crater. The gigantic gateway was open by the time he reached it - Kazzak had escaped by the time he reached Nethergarde. However, demonic minions - footsoldiers sent from the other side by Kazzak - erupted through the Dark Portal, and the Argent Dawn had made its way to the scene to push them back. Taking up hammer and shield in the defense of his world once more, Saavedro contributed greatly to the effort to contain the demonic incursion, and was given a second Argent Dawn tabard (he had earned the first containing the Scourge invasion marking the return of Kel'Thuzad, months earlier) as a reward for his efforts.

Once the battle was done, the Alliance and Horde commanders began allowing adventurers through the Dark Portal. Terrified and awestruck at the prospect of leaving his world entirely and visiting the remnants of the orcish homeworld, Saavedro hesitated at first...then jumped through the Dark Portal.

What he saw on the other side amazed him.

The First Steps: Hellfire Peninsula
Saavedro arrived in Hellfire Peninsula, where the Dark Portal nearly dominated the landscape - being far larger than the Portal back on Azeroth. Like on the Azeroth side, large encampments of both Horde and Alliance had sprouted up in order to hold the Portal against any demonic incursions from the other side. Saavedro was approached by the commander of the Alliance post, Commander Duron, who gave him items to take to Honor Hold. But in a battle line in front of the Dark Portal were legions of demons, led by a monstrous Pit Lord. The line seemed to be impassable, but Duron pointed him to a gryphon master, connected to the waiting master at the Hold. Flying to the outpost, Saavedro was met by Marshal Isildor, commander of infantry there, who ordered him to go to the force commander - one of the missing five commanders of the Alliance Expedition, Danath Trollbane.

Saavedro rode directly to the entrance to the keep at Honor Hold and went upstairs to where Danath was awaiting him. Danath gave him orders to meet with his lieutenant, Amadi, at the tower west of the Hold, where he would be given his mission to attack the fel orcs that swarmed around Hellfire Peninsula, particularly around Hellfire Citadel. Saavedro also asked where he could locate the leader of the expedition - the Archmage Khadgar of Dalaran. Danath informed him that Khadgar resided in a place called Shattrath City, in Terokkar Forest to the southwest. His sense of exploration taking hold, after defeating several fel orcs and destroying Horde blade-thrower positions along the road known as the Path of Glory, Saavedro set out for Terokkar Forest.

Reaching Shattrath
Not knowing what lay beyond, Saavedro set out across the red landscape of Hellfire Peninsula to find the way to Terokkar Forest. Terokkar was very different from what he had experienced before - and also incredibly different from Hellfire, in that there was no indication of the energy channels and worlds in the Nether seen in the skies of Hellfire. Danath had instructed him to go west along the road once he entered Terokkar Forest. Following the Force Commander's instructions, Saavedro arrived at the bridge at the entrance to Shattrath. Instructed to speak to the leader of the Sha'tar, A'dal, at the city's center, Saavedro made his way through the Lower City and into the upper districts until he reached the Terrace of Light. The palace-like structure projected a beam of light into the sky, as far as the eye could see. It was here that he found out who this A'dal was - he was a being of pure Light energy...one of the fabled naaru. Standing with him, easily recognizable even after twenty years, was Khadgar.

The Archmage instructed him not to burden A'dal with "petty inquisitions", and spoke to him briefly about his duties. Khadgar summoned an elemental servant to guide him through the streets of Shattrath and explain the city's story, about how it had been the capital of the draenei people and how the Sha'tar - which meant "born from light" - had turned Shattrath into a bastion of Light in the remnants of Outland. The draenei that remained in Shattrath became known as the Aldor. As he was guided through the city, Saavedro listened, mesmerized, as Khadgar's servant told the story of how Kael'thas Sunstrider - the renegade lord of the blood elves and servitor of Illidan Stormrage, the self-styled Lord of Outland - sent his blood elves to attack Shattrath. The blood elf commander, Voren'thal, demanded an audience with A'dal and, after saying that the naaru was the last hope of their people, surrendered his troops. They became known as the Scryers.

Khadgar offered Saavedro a choice between aiding the Aldor and the Scryers. After examining the choices - and giving in to the Alliance's prejudices of the blood elves' betrayal - Saavedro offered his allegiance to the Aldor's High Priestess Ishanah in the Aldor Rise, bordering the plains of Nagrand.

Nagrand: The Land of Winds
After battling foes in the Bones Wastes near Auchindoun and opposing the forces of the bird-god Terokk, Saavedro travelled to the ancestral holy grounds of the orcish people, known in their language as Nagrand, or "Land of Winds". This was also holy ground to the draenei as well, for the "Mountain of Spirits" in the south - Oshu'gun, in orcish - was the naaru dimensional vessel that the naaru K'ure provided for the draenei during their escape from Argus. Of course, Saavedro had no idea of knowing this...yet.

Aided by his comrades, Saavedro entered into the Ring of Blood in the ruins of the Laughing Skull Clan's ancestral village. This was a series of competitions put on by the Ogre-Mage Mogor, who had been the chieftain of the Laughing Skull and was now the hero of the Warmaul ogres that resided in the orcish ruins around Nagrand. Fighting alongside his comrades, Saavedro battled a variety of foes - a maddened clefthoof, a pair of Broken draenei, a gigantic void creature, and the Warmaul champion, an Ethereal. After defeating these foes, Mogor challenged Saavedro and his comrades to combat. Using a mixture of their formidable powers and careful tactics, the warparty defeated the Ogre-Mage. After defeating Mogor, Saavedro received a message from his friend Arrhae Leafrunner of the Cenarion Circle, back on Azeroth...a druid runner had flown all the way from the Dark Portal to find him. What Saavedro read astounded him...

Exodar: Discovering the Draenei
Arrhae's missive told of a gigantic ball of fire that screamed across the skies of northern Kalimdor and crashed on a small island chain to the south of Teldrassil. Upon investigation, Arrhae and the druids discovered that it had not been a meteorite or some kind of infernal, like they had feared, but some kind of vessel. Upon further investigation, they realized that it was populated with draenei...

Intrigued, Saavedro journeyed from Outland and made his way across the Great Sea to Auberdine, the only primary port in Kalimdor that connected Teldrassil to the mainland, and northern Kalimdor to the Eastern Kingdoms. At the end of the west dock, Saavedro saw an unusual vessel - unusual in that it was not a human craft, like the Teldrassil-Auberdine and Menethil-Auberdine paths were - awaiting at the end of the dock...a Darnassian sloop. The vessel took him across the Veiled Sea to a dock on the other side, just to the west of the crashed vessel....which, Saavedro discovered, was called the Exodar. Journeying through the collapsed passageways into the vessel, Saavedro saw a variety of symbols that looked very familiar, and deduced that the Exodar had not been of draenei manufacture at all, but was the work of the mysterious naaru, like A'dal. Sure enough, journeying deep into the Exodar, he discovered that it was indeed inhabited by a naaru, who called itself O'ros.

As he rose from the vessel's center, he was met by a draenei who, Saavedro discovered in amazement, wielded powers similar to his own when he had been an apprentice. The draenei paladin identified himself as Velenkayn. Velenkayn explained that their leader, the Prophet Velen, had led a raid to take the Exodar from Kael'thas' blood elves - who had taken the main part of Tempest Keep (of which the Exodar was a part) when the naaru had dispersed throughout Outland to battle the Legion, as well as the forces of Illidan - and escape from Outland. But the blood elves had not given it up willingly; as the Exodar escaped, they sabotaged the dimensional engine, causing them to appear in the skies of Azeroth.

With questions of his own, Saavedro was led into the Vault of Lights, where he saw some kind of imagers displaying the various demons that served the Legion. Many he recognized in his battles across both Azeroth and Outland, but to his surprise, he saw what looked like a draenei on one imager, and asked Velenkayn about it. Velenkayn was closed-mouthed, however, and said that the question would better be answered by the Prophet.

The Paladin and the Prophet
As he approached Velen, Saavedro was so taken by the immense Light energy exhuding from him that he went to one knee before him. Sensing that the human paladin had many questions, the Prophet began to explain briefly the history of the draenei people - how he, Archimonde and Kil'jaeden had ruled their people wisely until the coming of Sargeras, how they escaped from Argus with the help of the naaru K'ure, their travelling across the cosmos until they arrived on Draenor, and Kil'jaeden's influence in the creation of the first Horde that had destroyed most of the draenei race. Saavedro shuddered as Velen explained about the genocide; a draenei seer in Honor Hold had told him that the "Path of Glory", which led from the Dark Portal to Hellfire Citadel, had been literally paved with the bones of the orcs' draenei victims. In lighter notes, Velen explained how Farseer Nobundo, who had aided him in the Exodar raid, had come from the wilderness to teach shamanism to the draenei, which amazed Saavedro; as a junior officer in the Alliance armies, Saavedro had battled the Horde's shaman on the battlefields of Azeroth. He had thought shamanism to be a Horde trait, but Velen - having listened intently to what Nobundo had discovered shortly before the taking of the Exodar - explained that the spirits would lend their aid to any who asked with a respectful heart.

Saavedro, in turn, explained the things that had happened to his own people, and to himself as well - how he had been a priest when the Alliance Expedition travelled through the Dark Portal, how he had been in Stormwind when his home kingdom of Lordaeron fell to the undead - which, it had been discovered, had been the precursor of a Legion invasion led by Archimonde - and how he had learned of the events of the Battle of Mount Hyjal, the deaths of Archimonde and Mannoroth, and the temporary alliance between the survivors of Lordaeron, the orcish Horde, and the night elves of Kalimdor. He also went on to explain the many things he had seen, and many battles he had fought against evil, in his duties as a paladin - including the killing of both the demon-possessed leader of the Scarlet Crusade and the vile Baron Rivendare in his shattered home city of Stratholme. As he prepared to return to Outland, Velen gave him the naaru's blessing, and "Little Velen" became Saavedro's paladin apprentice.

Going Back in Time
As he gained strength and power, Saavedro received disturbing news on another front. The Caverns of Time, the gateway to the Timeways of Nozdormu in the deserts of Tanaris, had been opened...and an insidious force was interfering with the proper passages of time. Travelling deep into the desert, Saavedro was told of the Timeways and the Infinite Dragonflight which was trying to interfere with them. Andormu, one of the leaders of the Keepers of Time, sent him on his quests to correct the timelines. His first quest would be to travel back to the time of Thrall's escape from Durnholde Keep. Saavedro had been a priest back then, and had in fact been in the nearby town of Southshore on his way to Stormwind when Thrall broke free from his treacherous master, Lieutenant General Aedelas Blackmoore. According to the official history, Thrall's human friend Taretha Foxton, Blackmoore's mistress, had set fires that had distracted the guards long enough for Thrall to escape from his cell and make his way out into the Hillsbrad Foothills. In the altered timeline, however, Taretha had been kidnapped by the Infinite Dragonflight and kept prisoner in the town of Tarren Mill. If there was no distraction, Thrall could not escape, the Horde would not have been reborn, and the Burning Legion would have wiped out all life on Azeroth.

Being given incindiary bombs by Erozion, an agent of the Keepers of Time, Saavedro travelled to Durnholde with a handful of allies and set about creating the distraction that would allow Thrall to escape. While the others kept Durnholde's guards at bay, Saavedro set the incendiary charges in the internment lodges in the fortress courtyard. When they went off, a human named Lieutenant Drake ran from the keep and attempted to prevent them from freeing Blackmoore's "pet orc". After killing Drake, Saavedro's party entered the keep itself and entered the basement dungeon where Thrall was kept.

Thrall's (and Saavedro's!) Escape from Durnholde
Explaining that they were friends of Taretha (which was untrue, but they needed to gain Thrall's trust), Saavedro and his party led Thrall out of the dungeon and into the armory, where he stole some armor and a large axe. Making their way outside, Thrall and his rescuers were ambushed by Durnholde's remaining guards. Battling through waves of Blackmoore's men to the gates of Durnholde, they were confronted by yet another officer, a captain named Skarloc. Skarloc was a formidable foe - a paladin, much like Saavedro himself - and his accompanying troops were priests. In a long, grueling fight, the party killed Skarloc, and Thrall took his horse and rode with his rescuers to Tarren Mill. As they entered the town, they realized the defenders were dragons...dragons of the Infinite Flight.

Making their way to the top floor of Tarren Mill's inn, they encountered Taretha - who was puzzled when Thrall said that her "friends" had aided his escape. Just as she mentioned this, she was suddenly struck down by a malevolent force from outside. As they followed the future Warchief out of the inn, they realized that more dragons had appeared, led by a gigantic drake called the Epoch Hunter. Eyes alight with determination, Thrall charged in, and the rescuers did their best to aid him. Finally, Thrall struck the killing blow, destroying the Epoch Hunter and setting the timeline right; Thrall would escape, and Taretha would live through the events only to be executed by Blackmoore shortly before Thrall attacked Durnholde. Thrall and Taretha's memories of their rescuers was wiped, and all was set as it should be.

Opening the Dark Portal
The next mission set by Andormu was to go back even further, nearly five decades - shortly after Saavedro's birth - to the point when Medivh, the demonically-possessed Guardian of Tirisfal, opened the Dark Portal between Draenor and Azeroth. Here, the Infinite Dragonflight was more involved in trying to end Medivh's life, sending waves of their whelps and footsoldiers from their portals. While Saavedro was all for ensuring the orcs never came to Azeroth, Andormu explained that if the events did not take place, the Alliance would never have been formed, nor would they have allied with the Horde to fight Archimonde - and like with Thrall's escape, the Burning Legion would have destroyed Azeroth.

Many times Saavedro failed to save the Guardian, but in the end, he was victorious as his party defeated Chrono Lord Deja, Temporus and Aeonus quickly and efficiently, ensuring that Medivh carried out his destined role in history...and that Saavedro himself would play a part in the future (see "Obtaining the Key to Karazhan").

Sabotaging the Manaforges
Returning to Outland, Saavedro travelled to the area called the Netherstorm in the northern reaches of Outland, where the Aldor residing at Area 52 - an outpost established by goblin survivors of Draenor - gave him a mission to shut down the four functional manaforges controlled by Kael'thas' blood elves. The first, Manaforge B'naar, was to the southwest of Area 52 and had to be dealt with first. The Aldor explained that the naaru, who had created the manaforges, had a specific shutdown program, requiring an access crystal held by the blood elf overseers. B'naar was easier to deal with; Saavedro did so himself. It was the next two, Coruu and Duro, that required a little more effort. As he entered Manaforge Coruu, he encountered an undead rogue named Dynair. They realized that despite their prejudices of the other's race, they were allied in a similar cause. Thus human and Forsaken entered into a temporary alliance in an effort to shut down the manaforges, and defeat the blood elf technicians who would attempt to stop the shutdown process. Fighting like madmen, Saavedro and Dynair were successful in their efforts to shut down Coruu, and then moved on to Duro where they repeated the process.

Only one remained - Manaforge Ara. Dynair was called away by other duties, and Saavedro did not have the strength to take on the other one himself. He did manage to obtain Ara's access crystal from the overseer....who, Saavedro was surprised to discover, was an eredar Wrathguard...

Some months later, aided by his friend Jebuss and other adventurers, Saavedro returned to Manaforge Ara and finished what he had started. Nearly falling under the onslaught of gan'arg technicians and mo'arg engineers, the well-built group lasted long enough to ensure the manaforge's shutdown, leaving Kael'thas without an external source of power to run Tempest Keep.

Ally of the Netherwing
Saavedro had recently gained the ability to ride the gryphons that the dwarves of the Wildhammer Stronghold in Shadowmoon Valley provided, and thus flew across the tainted valley to the Netherwing Fields, where he encountered an elf named Mordenai. He appeared to be concerned with the nether drakes that circled overhead, and asked Saavedro to collect the carcasses of the rock flayers that wandered on the grounds of the Fields, so the drakes could eat their fill. After completing this, Saavedro was instructed to take flight and speak to the leader of the nether drake flight, which called itself the Netherwing - the nether dragon Neltharaku.

Neltharaku explained that the nether drakes had been created when the eggs of Deathwing the Destroyer were affected by the incredible nether energies unleashed when Ner'zhul's portals destroyed Draenor, creating a flight of not-quite-corporeal dragons. He also mentioned that the Dragonmaw Clan, believed to be all but destroyed at Grim Batol on Azeroth, had been imprisoning nether drakes for their dragon riders. Their crazed chieftain, Zuluhed the Whacked - once believed to be dead himself - was now a servitor of Illidan, and his clan's dragonriders would serve in the legions of the Betrayer. Just as the Dragonmaw had imprisoned the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza in order to force her children to serve the Horde, so had they imprisoned Karynaku, Neltharaku's mate, to force the Netherwing to serve Illidan.

Saavedro offered his aid to Neltharaku and was immediately sent to Dragonmaw Fortress and kill Zuluhed's orcs, to thin their numbers for the eventual assault. He then went to the Netherwing Ledge - a small "island" floating off the southern portion of Shadowmoon Valley - to collect nethervine crystals, which Neltharaku would imbue with the power of the Netherwing. Saavedro then infiltrated Dragonmaw Fortress again to use the imbued crystals to free captured nether drakes from the orcs' control. Now that this was done, Neltharaku instructed Saavedro to locate his mate Karynaku, held prisoner by Zuluhed. Flying to the fortress' peak, Saavedro discovered that Karynaku was held prisoner by a ball-and-chain imbued with incredible power...and as Karynaku quickly explained to him, the key was held by Zuluhed himself. Aided by yet more allies of both the Alliance and the Horde, Saavedro prepared to do battle with the Dragonmaw Chieftain.

Zuluhed had often been referred to as an elder shaman, but there was no evidence of such when Saavedro faced him - he was a warlock, no question. As he weakened, Zuluhed desperately opened a portal to summon a barbaric Pit Lord from the Nether to destroy the attackers. But the fighters were not disheartened; they were successful in killing Zuluhed, obtaining his key, and freeing Karynaku from the Dragonmaw's control. After flying them from Dragonmaw Fortress to where her mate - and her son, Mordenai, known as Mordenaku - awaited them, Saavedro was rewarded well by the Netherwing, receiving a powerful shield (surprisingly, adorned with Illidari runes) and gold for his service.

This would not be the last time Saavedro would serve the Netherwing; one year later, he would aid in the complete and total destruction of their operations.

Obtaining the Key to Karazhan
Saavedro had heard much of the reopening of Medivh's tower of Karazhan but had not had time to investigate. Now, he travelled to Deadwind Pass in Azeroth to discover what was going on...and he was surprised to see living people in the midst of the ruined village. An archmage called Alturus, a member of a sect known as the Violet Eye, awaited him there. Alturus explained that the Violet Eye was a group of agents from the Kirin Tor of Dalaran sent to spy on Medivh and his activities in Karazhan. Alturus instructed Saavedro to bring him the ghostly essences of the undead that wandered the village around Karazhan and also take readings of underground water sources nearby. Disturbed by Saavedro's findings, Alturus sent him to Dalaran to speak with the Archmage Cedric, who in turn sent him to the foremost living authority on Medivh's doings in Karazhan - his former apprentice, Khadgar.

Upon travelling to Shattrath, Khadgar explained that he had separated his key into three fragments and hid them in places he assumed were safe - but when Outland underwent great changes, this was no longer the case. The fragments were hidden in three places: The Shadow Labyrinth of Auchindoun, the Steamvaults of Coilfang Reservoir and the Arcatraz, a satellite of Tempest Keep. Saavedro entered all three dungeons and eventually obtained the fragments to Khadgar's key. Upon returning to Khadgar, Saavedro was to be dispatched to the Caverns of Time...to have the key enabled by Medivh himself.

But much to Saavedro's - and Khadgar's - surprise, Medivh did not enable the key that Khadgar had provided. Instead, he removed his own from his robe, and handed it to Saavedro himself. Needless to say, this had a profound impact on Saavedro - and it apparently was destined, as the timeline had not shifted at any point whatsoever because of it. Thanks to his encounter with Medivh in the past, Saavedro now had the means to enter Karazhan...

Possessed by Teron Gorefiend!
During his journeys into Shadowmoon Valley, Saavedro began to hear rumors about an orcish death knight named Teron Gorefiend. Legend had it that Gorefiend had been the first of the death knights created by the evil Gul'dan, utilizing the skeletal corpses of the Knights of Azeroth and their mounts combined with the powers of the destroyed Shadow Council.

Dispatched to investigate, Saavedro met the spirit of an orc of the Shadowmoon Clan, who resided at the Altar of Shadows near Netherwing Fields. The spirit knew of Gorefiend, and dispatched Saavedro to obtain the death knight's regalia - his cloak, his armor, and his truncheon. Aided by allies, Saavedro managed to obtain the required items. But he was in for a surprise. With a malicious grin, the ancient Shadowmoon spirit possessed Saavedro's body. In one terrible moment, Saavedro's soul was separated from his body and chained to the Altar of Shadows, and the paladin realized the truth: that he had released Teron Gorefiend from his imprisonment. When Karsius the Ancient Keeper, Gorefiend's jailor, came to intervene, Saavedro/Gorefiend confronted the ethereal draenei. Unleashing the powers of darkness he had wielded in life, Gorefiend destroyed Karsius and released Saavedro's body. Falling to his knees, weakened from the period he had spent bodiless, Saavedro watched helplessly as Gorefiend rode off into the black plains of Shadowmoon Valley...

Battle of the Crimson Watch
Aided by comrades, Saavedro prepared for his first major battle against the legions of Illidan Stormrage. Aided by allies, Saavedro killed Val'zareq the Conqueror, a servitor of Illidan's blood elf legion, the Crimson Sigil. Val'zareq's journal detailed the capture of the Sha'tar high general, Marcus Auralion, who was kept imprisoned in a fel crystal at Crimson Watch, where the Crimson Sigil was based. Upon discovering Auralion, Saavedro and his allies were ambushed by Illidan's forces - demonic shock troops and blood elf soldiers. Saavedro acted in his capacity as a healer, maintaining the health of the main tank, who called himself Shadow's Child, during the entire run.

Under Illidan's command, blood elves, felguards and dreadlords attacked the unsuspecting party, but they managed to defeat them. Next came the "mind breakers" - gigantic monsters who used focused bursts to kill their opponents. Then the four highlords, the high lieutenants of the Sigil, came with their flamestrikes and powerful melee attacks. When they finally fell, Torleth the Magnificent - master of the Sigil - began his attack. Saavedro healed as much as he was able, then took up mace and shield and charged into the enemy, weakening him. The warlocks who accompanied him struck the killing blow, finally ending the threat of the Crimson Sigil...and incuring the ire of Illidan. Bringing the news of his victory to A'dal in Shattrath, Saavedro received a Sha'tar ring and an "offering from the Sha'tar" - a green Illidari tabard taken from one of the slain blood elves.

Battles with the Anaithnid
Leaving behind the self-centered orders he had joined in the past, Saavedro became a member of the Army of Anaithnid, a group of entertainers who had taken up arms against the enemies of the Alliance after the Third War. While at first he was skeptical of their abilities, he became convinced that this, at last, was what he was looking for. With their aid, Saavedro obtained both the Master's Key to Karazhan as well as the Key of Time, allowing entry into more difficult aspects of the Caverns of Time.

After obtaining Medivh's key, Saavedro accompanied the Anaithnid as their healer as they travelled back into Outland, to do battle in Auchindoun. First, they entered the Shadow Labyrinth, where they defeated the minions of the Shadow Council - and finally came face to face with Murmur. Weakened by his battle with the Shadow Council, Murmur proved to be easy pickings for the Anaithnid; his sound-based spells had no effect on them, and so he was destroyed by their onslaught. Next, at the request of the arakkoa known as Isfar, Saavedro entered the Sethekk Halls, where he obtained the relics of Terokk. He was given one, the spear known as Terokk's Quill, for his own use.

"High King Saavedro": Aiding the Ogres of Blade's Edge
When the gates of the Black Temple opened, Saavedro was approached by a naaru named V'eru, who told him that an ogre named Grok was seeking help for the Bloodmaul clan in the Blade's Edge Mountains. Travelling to Sylvanaar and flying from there to the Circle of Blood, Saavedro met with a surprisingly articulate ogre named Mog'dorg the Wizened. Mog'dorg was seeking aid for the ogres of Blade's Edge in order to free them from the subjugation of the Sons of Gruul, the gronn overlords who ruled the ogre clans. His Alliance party (Saavedro himself, two hunters, a warrior and a warlock) joined with a Horde party (a priest, a shaman, a rogue, and two warriors) in hunting down and destroying the Sons of Gruul, officially ending the reign of Gruul the Dragonkiller and his puppet, High King Maulgar. Saavedro and the other members of the Alliance and Horde parties were declared the new High Kings of the ogre clans of Blade's Edge, and sent to the "ogre heaven" - Ogri'la, where the ogres had achieved enlightenment courtesy of the powerful Apexis Crystals, relics of an extinct clan of arakkoa that lived in Blade's Edge.

During his visits to Ogri'la, Saavedro learned the secrets of the Apexis Relics, and how to attune himself to them to benefit from their vibrations and other eminations. He saw that they provided great benefits to both the ogres and those who could harness their powers. Each day, Saavedro tests his mind and attunes himself to the crystaline Apexis Relics, in order to achieve some degree of enlightenment himself.

Much later on, Saavedro would travel into Gruul's Lair and put an end to gronn domination...permanently.

Flying for the Skyguard


Around the time that he battled the Sons of Gruul, Saavedro joined the Sha'tari Skyguard, the air force of the Sha'tar that did battle with the legions of Terokk at Skettis. At first, Saavedro conducted bombing runs in Skettis itself, destroying the eggs of the monstrous kaliri that patrolled the skies, and rescuing captured Skyguard scouts whose nether rays were downed by the kaliris (as Saavedro himself had to endure - he lost fifteen mounts in the first two weeks of his missions in Skettis). After destroying the Sons of Gruul, Saavedro went into battle with a very familiar foe - the Burning Legion...

The area around Ogri'la - and the Skyguard outpost to the north - was surrounded by a variety of foes, including elements of the Black Dragonflight, the Ethereum, and the Legion. There were two of their vile forge camps, to the north and south of Ogri'la, and Saavedro conducted his bombing runs against them. The Skyguard tasked him with destroying the ammunition of the fel flak cannons that constantly downed members of the Skyguard in the area. It took him some time, but he eventually learned the lay of the land, and how to best avoid the flak from the cannons on the ground.

Destroying the Houndmaster
While combatting the Burning Legion in Blade's Edge, Saavedro slew an individual known as a fel corruptor - one of the Legion's mortal servants, who had been corrupting the raptors and wind serpents of Blade's Edge. Upon its death, Saavedro picked up the damaged gas mask it had been wearing - which, apparently, allowed it to communicate with its masters. Taking the mask to Evergrove, where it was repaired, he was dispatched by Wildlord Antelarion, one of the Sons of Cenarius, to create a power vacuum in the Burning Legion's power base in Blade's Edge. Saavedro convinced the fel corruptor's master that Forge Camp Anger, east of Evergrove, had risen in arms against the Legion, and proceeded to put down both the "revolting" Legion engineers and the camp's leader, Doomcryer.

After Forge Camp Anger was left in disarray, Saavedro joined forces with a human warrior, and both men were dispatched to Death's Door to deal with bigger prey - Baelmon, an eredar warlock who had apparently succeeded Hakkar the Houndmaster (destroyed during the War of the Ancients, according to the altered history), and is maintaining the portal in Death's Door...one of the four opened by Ner'zhul and used by Magtheridon during his reign in Outland. Summoning the ancients of Evergrove, both men destroyed Baelmon and sealed the portal in Death's Door.