User:Joshmaul/Saavedro of Stratholme/In the Service of the Netherwing



Saavedro of Stratholme has faced his share of foes throughout his adventures in Azeroth and Outland. But upon attaining the ability to handle the wilder, swifter gryphons that the Wildhammers bred at their stronghold in Shadowmoon Valley, Saavedro was called on by the Netherwing Dragonflight to undertake his most dangerous quest yet: To infiltrate the Dragonmaw Clan and put an end to their operations...permanently.

The Death of Zuluhed: The Beginning
Saavedro had been tasked by Mordenai, an elf wandering the Netherwing Fields, to aid the nether drakes flying above them, and to put himself at the behest of Neltharaku, the patriarch of the Netherwing Dragonflight. Neltharaku revealed that the Dragonmaw were attempting to enslave the Netherwing, as they had the Red Dragonflight in Azeroth almost two decades earlier. Upon collecting necessary items and freeing some of his children, Neltharaku asked Saavedro to free his mate, Karynaku, who was being held at the top of Dragonmaw Fortress south of the Black Temple. The key was held by the shaman-turned-warlock Zuluhed the Whacked, who had been the Dragonmaw chieftain during the Second War.

Realizing the opportunity that freeing Karynaku provided, Saavedro agreed to aid the Netherwing and, with the help of allies, killed Zuluhed and took the key from his lifeless corpse, unlocking the shackles that kept Karynaku imprisoned. In gratitude, Mordenai - whose true name was Mordenaku, son of Neltharaku and Karynaku - granted Saavedro a special shield and swore that Netherwing would stand by him.

The Deception Begins


A year later, Saavedro learned how to handle the fastest gryphons that the Wildhammers could provide - far swifter than other gryphons despite the armor plating on their heads, chests, talons and back feet. Choosing a red one, which he named Intrepid, Saavedro flew east to the Netherwing Fields and sought out Mordenaku.

Mordenaku revealed that the Dragonmaw had set up their primary operations on the Netherwing Ledge, an island floating off southern Shadowmoon, where the nether drakes had once roosted. The Illidari had moved in, set up a base camp, a mine and other operations on the island, and began to strip-mine it bare. This would not be allowed to stand with the Netherwing, so Mordenaku asked Saavedro to aid them. The paladin agreed.

In order to completely destroy the Dragonmaw's operations, one had to get inside the Dragonmaw Clan and both aid them in their mission (collecting materials) and completely undermine them at the same time. To that end, Mordenaku cast a spell on Saavedro that would disguise him as a fel orc, and his steed as a Dragonmaw nether drake. (Saavedro had also taken his Illidari tabard, a trophy from the Battle of the Crimson Watch, to aid in this plan.) Saavedro had expressed concern that his notorious reputation among the Illidari might jeopardize the mission, but Mordenaku reassured him that the Dragonmaw on Netherwing Ledge were not in full contact with the mainland; in fact, they did not realize that Zuluhed was dead. With this reassurance, Saavedro went on his way with forged Illidari service papers. They claimed that the bearer could be of use to the Dragonmaw's operations since he did not have a future as a death knight. It was signed by Teron Gorefiend, the first of the Horde's original death knights, who now served Illidan in the Black Temple.

Flying to Netherwing Ledge - allowing the spell Mordenaku had cast on him to take hold - Saavedro landed at the Dragonmaw Base Camp and presented the papers to Overlord Mor'ghor, who commanded the operations there. Setting him to work, Mor'ghor - who, as Mordenaku had rightly guessed, had never heard of Saavedro before - sent him to Taskmaster Varkule Dragonbreath, who sent him after the crystals that the island's wildlife seemed to have, as well as after nethercite ore (Varkule seemed to appreciate that Saavedro was a miner, and a master at that). While there, Saavedro was also approached by a goblin named Yarzill the Merc. As it turned out, Yarzill was of the Netherwing, another agent sent to insure that Saavedro accomplished his mission. To that end, Yarzill tasked him with using mutton and fel glands from Shadowmoon wildlife to poison the Dragonmaw peons, find Netherwing eggs hidden on the island, and retrieve Netherwing relics from Dragonmaw transporters that flew the "Dragonmaw Skyway".

While disguised, Saavedro and a fellow infiltrator - a draenei mage - encountered a giant flayer named Arvoar the Rapacious and defeated him. In his gullet was a partially digested hand belonging to a Dragonmaw fel orc, carrying orders from Overlord Mor'ghor. With so much empty space - now that the Netherwing had been run off the island - rock flayers had taken over much of the island's interior. The missive found in the hand of the dead fel orc ordered the slaying of many of the Netherwing flayers as well as Barash the Den Mother, their matriarch; Arvoar was her consort. With his ally aiding him, Saavedro destroyed Barash and returned to Mor'ghor with his success.

Rise of the Overseer
Through his early efforts "aiding" the Dragonmaw operations, Saavedro was promoted to the rank of Overseer. With early successes in gathering the necessary materials under his belt, he was sent by Mor'ghor to undertake a far more dangerous task: Entering the mines beneath the Dragonmaw encampment. He met with the shivarra twins who were designated "Mistresses of the Mines", located at both entrances west of the encampment.

The flayers, as well as ravagers aiding them, had taken over the interior of the Netherwing mines, making it difficult to obtain the raw ores mined in the winding tunnels. While he wandered the tunnels, he found a nether dragon named Toranaku cornered in the center of the mine. His appearance had driven several of Murkblood Broken slaves insane; Saavedro was tasked by Ronag, a fel orc slave driver, to kill the crazed Murkbloods. He also slew many flayers and ravagers as he wandered the interior.

Art of the Booterang
Afterwards, he was approached by Chief Overseer Mudlump, the self-proclaimed "Beater of Peons". As the newest Overseer, Saavedro came under Mudlump's authority, and the Chief Overseer tasked Saavedro with the creation of his own "booterang" - the preferred weapon of choice when enforcing discipline among the peons. Many of those peons began to disobey their masters at the base camp; some fell asleep on duty, some wandered aimlessly, and some became angered and decided to openly rebel. Saavedro was reminded of the tales that the shaman Noggra had told him of peons sleeping on the job in the Valley of Trials in Durotar, back on Azeroth.

In order to craft his booterang, Mudlump said, Saavedro would have to collect knothide leather and the hardened hide of Tyrantus, a devilsaur that lived in Eco-Dome Farfield in Netherstorm. In the saddle of Intrepid, Saavedro bolted north from Netherwing Ledge and within five minutes had arrived in Netherstorm (the paladin still a little unused to the speed) and landed in Farfield. Though Tyrantus was several times Saavedro's size, the paladin prevailed and slew the devilsaur, taking the hardened hide back to a grateful Mudlump, who informed him that Tyrantus had been the bane of many an orc.

With his booterang in hand, Saavedro flew around the crystal fields surrounding the camp. Before he was killed by Joshmaul, Noggra had told Saavedro that if he ever infiltrated an orcish work camp - fel orc or otherwise - to be aware of any signs of disobedience or laziness. In Durotar, if they weren't chopping trees, they would be smacked. Saavedro took the orc shaman's words to heart as he flew around and with careful flings unleashed "booterang discipline" on the peons, forcing them to continue their work. (In a private moment, Saavedro found it mildly ironic that the Dragonmaw wanted him to insure that the peons kept working, while Yarzill - the nether dragon infiltrator - tasked him with killing them.)

The Murkbloods' Secret
While in the Netherwing Mines, Saavedro recovered a set of plans from one of the "living slimes" that resided in the depths. The plans revealed that the Murkblood Broken, enslaved by the Dragonmaw to work in their mines, intended to revolt. While he sympathized with their plight, Saavedro knew that in order to avoid suspicion, he had to report such activities to one of the Mistresses of the Mines. So he did, and was ordered to locate and interrogate one of the Murkblood overseers, and return with his hand.

Upon finding an overseer, Saavedro was surprised to discover that the Murkblood knew who he was, and that he worked for the Netherwing. Saavedro discovered that the dragon Toranaku, who had taken up residence in the mines, had been sent by the Netherwing to rile up the wildlife and force the Dragonmaw to leave the mines - and eventually the whole island. The overseer willingly cut off his own hand to complete the deception, leaving Saavedro to wonder at the tenacity of the Murkbloods. Returning to the mistresses, Saavedro was now more determined than ever to end the Dragonmaw's operations by any means necessary.

Captain of Dragonmaw
Saavedro's exploits in the mines and his discoveries of the Murkblood plans earned him another summons from Overlord Mor'ghor. Saavedro was surprised when Mor'ghor referred to him as "Captain", indicating that he had earned a new rank for himself in the army of the Dragonmaw. It was then that Saavedro received his first command from the eredar standing next to him - an Illidari lord named Balthas.

Both Mor'ghor and Balthas informed Saavedro of an encampment in the mountains of western Nagrand in an area called the Twilight Ridge. There, a dimensional gateway - one of those opened by Ner'zhul two decades earlier - stood dormant, surrounded by Shadow Council cultists. Six years earlier, Illidan had sealed the gateways of Outland in order to cut off Magtheridon's reinforcements and take control of the shattered land themselves. The Shadow Council, under the direction of another eredar named Reth'hedron the Subduer, was attempting to reopen the gateway and summon more demons. As a servant of the Light as well as a "soldier" for the Illidari, Saavedro agreed to disrupt the portal rituals in Nagrand.

The Soul Cannon of Reth'hedron


Balthas gave Saavedro a list of instructions that would allow him to forge a weapon capable of battling Reth'hedron the Subduer. The four components required were felsteel bars, an adamantite frame, a khorium power core and a flawless arcane essence. Saavedro could craft the felsteel himself, and he had access to master engineers who could create the frame and power core. The last part was mentioned in the hand-written instructions.

Along Lake Jorune, above the Horde outpost of Stonebreaker Hold, lived an arakkoa heretic named Sar'this, who owed Balthas a favor. Sar'this led Saavedro around the lake to altars to the elements, where he summoned acolytes of those elements for Saavedro to defeat, so their essences could be harnessed. Fire, water, air and earth were combined to create a flawless arcane elemental, which consumed Sar'this for its sustenance. Saavedro defeated the being and took the essence, along with the necessary parts, back to Balthas. Attuning the soul cannon (as the weapon was known) to his own blood, Balthas sent Saavedro to the Twilight Ridge to force Reth'hedron to depart.

Saavedro landed atop the gateway structure and activated the soul cannon, managing to use the stone to shield him from the Subduer's attacks. After about three minutes, the Subduer ran through the portal and was not seen again. Saavedro then proceeded to kill the Deathshadow cultists who were attempting to activate the portal, as Mor'ghor had commanded him to do, before returning with his success to Netherwing Ledge.

Going Places: A Commander of the Dragonmaw
After days of continued raids against the Deathshadow, Saavedro was once more called before Mor'ghor. By order of Illidan himself, Mor'ghor promoted Saavedro to Commander, the first Dragonmaw outside of the Black Temple to obtain that rank. Part of his duties as a commander was to lead a battalion of Skybreakers to the Altar of Sha'tar, northwest of the Black Temple, and destroy the Aldor there. Mor'ghor gave him a flare gun and told him to send a signal when all was ready - when the Aldor would be caught unawares. Saavedro, however, had other ideas.

The Battle of the Altar
Saavedro - having donned his "proper attire", the symbol of the Shattered Sun proud on his tabard - flew immediately to the Altar of Sha'tar and went before Anchorite Ceyla with the news. Ceyla sent him to Commander Arcus, the military leader of the Altar, who took the flare gun and sent the signal that the Skybreakers had been waiting for. Standing at the side of the defenders, Saavedro and Arcus immediately set to work. Arcus handed Saavedro several Aldor medals to complete the illusion; all that remained now was to destroy the Dragonmaw attack.

The fighting was fierce, but in the end Saavedro was victorious and the Dragonmaw attack shattered. Not one fel orc survived to bring the word of their humiliation to Mor'ghor - only Saavedro himself, whose illusion once more took hold when he arrived at the base camp, bringing news of "victory".

Highlord Saavedro: The Deception Ends


The continued "raids" against the Altar of Sha'tar, the battle with the Deathshadow cultists, the cleaning out of the Netherwing mines, and the tasks for the Netherwing's security had apparently made the clueless Mor'ghor very appreciative of Saavedro's abilities. Upon returning with a fresh batch of Netherwing relics, he was approached by Taskmaster Varkule, who seemed hesitant to even speak to him - saying that Mor'ghor had asked to see him. Saavedro was soon to understand Varkule's hesitancy - Saavedro was to be the first highlord of the Dragonmaw. Illidan himself was coming to Netherwing Ledge, to honor the hero that Mor'ghor had sung praises about. It didn't take long for Saavedro to become very, very nervous...

Stepping into the courtyard of the Dragonmaw base camp, Mor'ghor shouted out:

"Warriors of Dragonmaw, gather 'round! One among you has attained the rank of highlord! Bow your heads in reverence! Show your respect and allegiance to Highlord Saavedro!"

It was just after this pronouncement that Illidan appeared before them. Saavedro, seeking to maintain the illusion, knelt before the Betrayer. Mor'ghor introduced Saavedro to Illidan, who knew who he was from the Battle of the Crimson Watch. Over a year earlier, Saavedro had led a force of Alliance and Horde warriors against the Crimson Sigil, Illidan's blood elf guard, at Crimson Watch while coming to the aid of Sha'tari high general Marcus Aurelion. The Crimson Sigil was all but destroyed, and Saavedro had earned Illidan's personal attention.

Upon seeing that this same man now knelt before him as the "hero of Dragonmaw", Illidan was furious. He realized that Saavedro - under Mor'ghor's clueless nose - had completely destroyed the Dragonmaw operations. The Lord of Outland stunned Saavedro with a powerful spell and ordered his execution. He commanded Mor'ghor to bring his carcass to the Black Temple within the hour, or he would suffer a fate worse than death. An angry Mor'ghor prepared to exact justice for his humiliation in the eyes of his master, and raised his axe.

It was then that Yarzill, the goblin mercenary, sprung to Saavedro's rescue - transforming into his true self and taking the paladin from Netherwing Ledge, leaving Mor'ghor to his likely slow and painful death at the hands of Illidan. He flew across Shadowmoon Valley into Terokkar Forest, landing in a small area in Lower Shattrath. It was there that Saavedro met Barthamus, the first of the nether dragons. Barthamus congratulated Saavedro for bringing down the Dragonmaw, and offered him one of the Netherwing's drakes to carry him into battle. Saavedro chose an onyx drake named Tanith, connecting dragon and rider in a bond that would only end when one or both of them were dead.

All in all, the effort to bring down the Dragonmaw lasted two weeks - through genuine aid at first, but later through assassination and trickery. Though disgusted by the beings he had to live and work with during his time among them, Saavedro remained committed and focused to ensuring that the Dragonmaw suspected nothing. He knew the ascendants and Skybreakers would be able to see through the disguise, but he managed to avoid detection until the very end, when he faced Illidan. The fact that he had earned Illidan's wrath twice over did not appeal to him, but he knew that one day Illidan would get what was coming to him.

This would be Saavedro's first direct meeting with the Betrayer, and he had a feeling it would not be the last.