The Indigo Eye

[Fenmapus]

Year 626 by the King’s Calendar, 10th of July

"It is in my best knowledge that with the recording of this memorandum I have made a grave mistake and have betrayed everything I have believed in for the past 250 years of my life. Nevertheless it is a mistake I am forced to make by circumstances I have no power over.

Several months ago I have succeeded in my endeavor, with the unwilling assistance of my newfound allies, The Ebon Flame, to restore my memories that were lost due to the results of a cataclysmic event (that I will explain in greater detail down below). However, said event did not only erase all of my memories, but has also possessed me with an unknown entity. The exact nature of this creature I have still not figured out completely. Ebon Flame was instrumental in the defeat of this fiend inside me and for the first time in two years my will, my memories, my sanity were my own.

It was after this restoration that a shadow of the magical kingdom of Dalaran has resurfaced. The shadow of an organization that is as old as the Kirin Tor itself, an organization I used to be a member of: The Society of the Indigo Eye."
_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed

[Fenmapus]

"2800 years ago the human and high elf magi founded the kingdom of Dalaran, which a few years later split from the human empire of Strom and its many political struggles. Setting their differences and political opinions aside, the magi of Dalaran had only one goal in front of their eyes: knowledge. The pursuit of knowledge, a better understanding of the world around them became the sole agenda of the Kirin Tor, the ruling class of Dalaran, for the next two and a half millenia.

As a kingdom, Dalaran had to establish order, a set of morals, regulations and laws to prevent the abuse of arcane powers. Practicing the art outside the walls of Dalaran and the watchful eyes of the Kirin Tor soon became a crime and mages who would not bow to the wizard nation’s will were branded outcasts and hunted down. (It is ironic to note here that despite their best efforts, the Kirin Tor could not prevent the Burning Legion to discover the fallout of their magical experiments and thus lead them to Azeroth).

These regulations soon became obstacles and certain mages felt that because of these laws their initial goal, the pursuit of knowledge, could not be attained. Fearing exile and the fact that Dalaran still proved the best possible place to continue their research these pioneer mages have decided to remain in the kingdom and form a secret society under the gaze of the Kirin Tor.

And thus the Society of the Indigo Eye was born. At first it only counted a handful of mages, but in the centuries to come the Society has expanded and it soon became a haven for scholars who would not let their faith, their morals or anything else stand in the way of progress in the fields of the arcane arts, history, science and technology. The First Generation of the Society of the Indigo Eye was formed, who would take on the role of leading the organization. Recruitment soon became selective, which ensured that only the representatives of the best and brightest of their generation would be given the privilege to be called a member of the Indigo Eye."
_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed

[Fenmapus]

"Over the next two millenia the Society expanded and soon every breakthrough in science, technology or archeology could be tied to the secretive order. The Society knew of the of Kalimdor and Northrend decades before the nations of the Eastern Kingdoms have discovered them. It experimented with the gunpowder before the dwarven race has even emerged from the deepest bowels of the earth. It knew of the Titans, the Old Gods and it had solid theories regarding the Burning Legion and its master Sargeras. Thanks to the records provided by the high elves from the Old World, the Society knew of the night elves of Kalimdor and the five Dragon Aspects.

But as time has passed, the Indigo Eye has realized that their organization has much more potential than simple research and discovery. It has realized that instead of hiding in secret underground caves and abandoned ruins, never revealing itself to the world, it could shape the world to its own liking. Soon the Society would take upon itself a new agenda: political power. Being an organization full of only the smartest men and women of the realm, in their endless arrogance the members of the Indigo Eye began spreading their influence in the Seven Kingdoms (especially Dalaran) and all over the Eastern Kingdoms.

They would market their discoveries, always aiding both sides of the wars which were the results of political upheavals between the human nations. And while the struggling factions slowly destroyed themselves the Society’s vaults filled up, its political influence spread. Never showing its face in public, the Indigo Eye held in its grasp countless nobles and many of the human nations’ royal houses. Believing themselves to be above the average mortal, the world’s brightest fancied themselves omniscient, always knowing best what’s good for the world. The old scrolls suggest that some of them even attained position within the Council of Tirisfal and that many Guardians thanked their ascension to the Indigo Eye."

_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed

[Fenmapus]

"By the time I became part of the Society, its political influence was already widespread and solid. I was fascinated by everything the Indigo Eye represented: knowledge, power, wealth. We believed ourselves the kings of the world.

But in our blind arrogance and hunt for more power and knowledge, we became ignorant to the events surrounding Azeroth… as has the world. In 592 by the King’s Calendar, Medivh, son of Aegwynn and the Last Guardian of Tirisfal opened the Dark Portal and led the Orcish Horde into Azeroth. The First War has begun.

It caught us all unaware: it was a new menace from a distant world, a threat that would have needed an alliance of all the nations of the Eastern Kingdoms. But the constant political struggles and bickering between them made it impossible. With the fall of Stormwind and the assassination of King Llane, it became evident that Azeroth could not be saved and under the guide of Lothar the humans of the south fled to Lordaeron.

Although Azeroth held many of our interests, the focus of the Indigo Eye shifted from the War towards something far more interesting: The Last Guardian Medivh and his tower Karazhan. Medivh has always been an enigma to Dalaran. Of course, we knew his true nature of being the son of Aegwynn, Guardian of the Tirisfal. We also knew that she has transformed all of her powers to him at his birth.

And yet, he differed from the previous Guardians: he would construct a tower for himself, his own sanctuary and would perform his duties from there. At the same time, however, it was said that he performed many experiments and researches and has made countless discoveries. Of course we wanted to learn more. We tried to recruit him inside the Society, constantly tried to request audience with him, but he would hear none of it. (it is ironic how his arrogance infuriated us, while at the same time it was the same kind of arrogance we showed the world.) As we were on the brink of giving up on Medivh, a new opportunity has arisen: Khadgar. A young and promising ascendant amongst the ranks of the Kirin Tor, but more importantly: he was chosen by Medivh himself to become his apprentice. Along with the Violet Citadel, we have given Khadgar exact and accurate orders on what to learn from the Magus and his mysterious tower. For a year he has provided us with useful insights on Medivh’s discoveries. Of course we didn’t know back then he was possessed by Sargeras and was bent on destroying our world…"

_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed

[Fenmapus]

"Though the fall of Stormwind and the death of King Llane were a fatal blow to the human nations, they also showed that the Orcish Horde is not a power to be trifled with. Under the guidance of Lord Anduin Lothar, the Lion of Azeroth, and King Terenas, ruler of Lordaeron, the Alliance of Lordaeron was born. Uniting the Seven Human Kingdoms, the Dwarves and Gnomes of Khaz’Modan and the High Elves of Quel’thalas, the Alliance proved to a be an efficient force against the Orcish Horde.

Dalaran also pledged to support the Alliance and gave a large amount of aid, mages and sorcerers to the war effort. The city itself came under siege by the Horde at one time and was raided a second time when Ner’zhul sought the Eye of Dalaran and although it was ravaged, the Kirin Tor recovered fast.

Being dragged into war along with the Kirin Tor, the Society had to answer the call to arms. Many of us perished during the wars, but we prevailed. And although our lands were torn asunder with war, we never failed our initial agenda: we would continue to amass knowledge. The orcs proved to be interesting subjects of research: hailing from a different world than ours, they had an aura of exoticism surrounding them, one we were eager learn more about.

Soon we got our hands on orcish prisoners of war, who provided us (through torture and mental manipulation) with insights regarding the Orcish Horde. It was then we learned of Draenor, their homeworld, of their shamanistic heritage which they have abandoned in favour of their „new gods” (which were none other than Kil’jaeden and the Burning Legion, as it is common knowledge today). It was here we learned of our soon-to-be-allies the draenei.

But what I was interested most of in were the stories of Gul’dan and his warlocks. I was always fascinated by the awesome powers the demons of the Burning Legion wielded, and here they were: simple mortals who wielded just as much power and were even granted dominance over some of the lesser demons. The price of it, naturally, was unacceptable, nevertheless this encounter with warlocks sparked a newfound curiosity in me, one that I intended to follow through.

As we later found out the Horde could thank Gul'dan for its defeat: had he not betrayed his brothers to pursue his search for the Tomb of Sargeras, splitting the orcish armies in two in the process, who knows what the outcome of the Second War would have been."
_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed

[Fenmapus]

"The most fascinating encounter I’ve made during the Second War did not involve any orcs, surprisingly. Reports of an exceptionally big black dragon have been circulating around in Dalaran for some time. I was amongst the group of archmagi dispatched to deal with the menace. I remember to this day the magnificent beauty and destructive force of the dragon we would later nickname Deathwing (of course I did not know back then that Deathwing and the Dragon Aspect Neltharion, who lost his sanity during the War of the Ancient, were one and the same dragon. Had I known, I would have refused the request to hunt him down).

However, against all odds, we were victorious, albeit the losses were great on our side. Through the blood of many fine archmagi, Deathwing plummeted into the depths of the Great Sea and – or so we assumed – to his death. Two years later we discovered that he just feigned death in order to pursue his nefarious deeds in order to reclaim the fabled Demon Soul from the orcish Dragonmaw Clan.

Not many inside Dalaran knew of the secret mission of the Kirin Tor’s current leader, Rhonin, under the guidance of the mysterious mage Krasus (who was none other than Korialstrasz, consort of the Dragon Aspect Alexstrasza as it is commonly known today), but we of the Indigo Eye knew of it of course.

With the defeat of the Orcish Horde and the repelling of the second invasion by the destruction of the Dark Portal Azeroth had tasted peace for the first time in eight years. The Wars have changed the face of the Eastern Kingdoms forever, but with the orc’s newfound lethargy and Deahtwing’s defeat at Grim Batol we assumed that the troubled times were over.

We could not have been further away from the truth…"

_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed

[Fenmapus]

The ten years following the Second War have been relatively peaceful. The orcish threat has been wholly neutralized due to the greenskins’ inexplicable lethargy. Massive internment camps were built all around Lordaeron, where they would spend the rest of their lives in slavery. Only the Blackrock Clan had resisted capture and did not appear to be afflicted by the lethargy that struck their brethren. However, the Blackrocks did not seem to care much about the rest of Azeroth, and reports have surfaced of an ongoing war between them and the volcano’s other inhabitants: the Dark Iron dwarves. The Alliance has decided to ignore both Blackrocks and Dark Irons, in hopes that the two factions would slowly destroy themselves.

After the Wars the Indigo Eye returned to its true purpose once more: research. The arrival of the Orcish Horde opened our eyes to the endless possibilities of traveling between worlds. Entire divisions were founded inside the Society dedicated only in the research of Draenor. As our brethren learned more about the orc’s homeworld, the rest of us returned to learn more about our own. It was during this time that several of the Bronzebeard dwarves started to express intensive curiosity regarding their origin. Their newfound Explorer’s Guild was a welcome ally in our quest to learn more about Azeroth. Once again, we sent out ships to explore the far, untamed reaches of Azeroth, establishing outposts on the forgotten lands of Kalimdor and Northrend.

But as our focus on the outside grew larger, trouble was brewing within.

_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed

[Fenmapus]

One of our greatest minds, a member of the our ruling body, the Indigo Senate has betrayed us. Kel’thuzad, the archlich, greatest lieutenant of the Lich King was once once of us. It is of no surprise that a man with such a thirst for knowledge would find his way to the Indigo Eye, after all that is how we have been operating for thousands of years. He quickly grew in power within the Society and just after a few years he was offered a seat in the Senate. For over a decade he lead the Indigo Eye along with the Senate and we counted him as one of our brightest.

But his thirst for knowledge and power soon outgrew what we had to offer. We constantly researched every aspect of magic on Azeroth, but he was only interested in one thing: necromancy. We first heard of this form of magic from the scrolls that told the stories of the War of the Ancients. Few knowledge has survived the millennia, but the few stories that spoke of demons reanimating the dead, binding them to their will fascinated Kel’thuzad. He saw the entire Kirin Tor’s future in necromancy and he wanted to learn more. Apperantly we couldn’t give him what he desired, even with all the knowledge the Indigo Eye at his disposal he could not get further with his research. His obsession with necromancy bordered on the insane. His careless experiments, his research with the secrets of life and death has threatened the stabily of the entire Society. Failing to come to a reasonable solution with him, the Senate decided to strip him from his rank and forever exile Kel’thuzad from the Society. It was a few months later that insanity has completely overtaken his mind and he set sail towards Northrend. We assumed death has found him on the frozen continent.

In the years that followed the Alliance has once again facing dissension: with the Horde defeated the nations were once again and each other’s throats: petty conflicts errupted and Lordaeron could barely hold its Alliance together. Gilneas, the most powerful nation in the Alliance, has been the most extremist and decided to seclude itself completely from the rest of the world: with the creation of the Greymane Wall they have essentially cut all ties to the Alliance.

As the Alliance slowly crumbled, after a decade, it seemed the orcs were awakening from their depression: reports have surfaced of a new leader, under whose banner the greenskins were uniting. He led his armies againts the interment camps, freeing more of the savages, esentially forming the New Horde. Although they claimed uninhabited and inhospitable territories as their own, the ever-growing threat of a Third War between orcs and humans was enough pressure to keep the Alliance intact for a while.

And the Third War came… in a form unlike anything we could’ve imagined.

_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed

[Fenmapus]

"We were too blind. Azeroth was too blind to see the incoming disaster. The signs were all there, the heralds of doom have been deployed... but we were too busy with our internal struggles and the looming threat of Thrall’s New Horde.

We dismissed the Cult of the Damned as another crazy band of demon-worshipers, bent on spelling death and destruction upon Azeroth. After the Wars occult groups like these have spread throughout the kingdoms like a plague, but usually they were poorly organized and were quickly eradicated. We failed to see the connection between their religion-like obsession with undeath and our exiled brother, Kel’thuzad.

The Prophet warned us. The Last Guardian of the Tirisfal warned all mortal races of the upcoming threat. But we saw it too late. We dismissed Medivh as a crazed lunatic. Many of us believed he was the member of the reformed Twilight Hammer Clan, who were known for their beliefs that the end of the world is upon us.

By the time we realized the significance of the Scourge, the undead host has grown too big to be stopped. First fell Lordaeron. The bastion of the human kingdoms for over two millennia, razed to the ground by the savage undead. The last line of the Menethil family, King Terenas, killed by his own blood.

Then came Qule’Thalas. If possible, the destruction caused by the undead there was even greater. The entire high elven civilization was crushed under the boot of Arthas, their precious Sunwell, the source of their magical powers, befouled and destroyed. And to what end? To grant the traitor, Kel’thuzad, rebirth? Even after all these years, even thinking about his treachery makes the bile rise in my throat...

By the time of Quel'Thalas' fall the Alliance’s full focus was on the Scourge. There was no room here for political struggles or hatred amongst our own. Our full attention was on fighting a force whose goal was not conquest, or glory, or spoils of war. We were battling a force whose only goal was to eradicate all life on our planet. For the first time in ten thousand years Azeroth was battling the Burning Legion again.

But even with our combined might, the Scourge could not be stopped. Even with every able-bodied mortal fighting against the undead in the Eastern Kingdoms, we could not stop their infernal plans to reach fruition: they summoned Archimonde, leader of the eredar onto Azeroth. And his arrival spelled our doom.

One spell. That is all what it took. One spell to destroy the center of magic and knowledge of two millennia. One spell and fifteen minutes. That is what it took to completely destroy Dalaran. And the Indigo Eye with it."
_________________
"The road to hell is paved with good inventions"

"I've got the soul of an artist... right here in my jar"

"You can't spell 'slaughter' without 'laughter'" - Warlock's Creed