World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 Read Free Page B

horrific breeds of demon.
    The mightyannihilan, or pit lords, took a more direct approach to conquering worlds. These monstrous butchers existed only to brutalize and torture the mortals who crossed their path. The pit lords often enslaved the lesser demons that stalked the Nether, using them as fodder to besiege the mortal civilizations of the Great Dark Beyond.
    The Pantheon soon learned of the demonic incursions that flared at the far corners of creation. Fearing that these demons would disturb the Pantheon’s quest to find and awaken other world-souls, the titans dispatched their mightiest warrior, the nobleSargeras. Without hesitation, the great-hearted titan set out and pledged he would not rest until he had cleansed the universe of all demonic influence.

E ven among the extraordinary members of the Pantheon, Sargeras displayed unmatched courage and strength. These traits would suit him well for the harrowing task of hunting demons. Girded by his unshakable conviction, he launched himself into the Great Dark.
    Sargeras was soon drawn to worlds inundated with erratic and volatile energies. In these places, the influence of the Twisting Nether had spilled into the physical universe, allowing vast numbers of demons to manifest.
    For ages, Sargeras traveled to these beleaguered worlds, fighting to spare their mortal inhabitants from invading demons. He saw his foes reduce entire civilizations to smoldering husks, warping their denizens into hateful and depraved aberrations. Witnessing this staggering loss and ruin filled Sargeras with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Before embarking on his mission, he had never imagined such evil could exist in the universe.
    Nevertheless, the unruly demons were disorganized and incompetent. Sargeras easily defeated his foes, winning victory after victory. As his battles dragged on, he became aware that some demons had learned to wield Void energies. Through investigating these dark powers and where they originated from, Sargeras discovered that malign intelligences were spreading corruption throughout the cosmos.
    These intelligences were the void lords, and they were far more powerful than demons. The presence of the void lords left Sargeras deeply troubled. He pondered what the powers of the Void were planning, and what their existence could mean for the universe.
    Despite his unsettling discovery, Sargeras continued waging his war on demons. The work of the Pantheon progressed without hindrance. They searched for nascent titans, ordering new worlds in the process. Sargeras often looked upon these budding worlds. Seeing life bloom, free from demon influence, gave him a sense of satisfaction. His love for life galvanized his will to confront the void lords and undo their sinister plans for creation—whatever those plans might be.
    In time, the demons redoubled their efforts, engulfing ever more worlds in death and devastation. To Sargeras’s dismay, he realized that he had fought many of these demons before. After he had defeated them in the physical universe, their spirits had simply returned to the Twisting Nether. Eventually they had been reborn in new bodies.
    The only way to kill demons permanently was to slay them in the Nether, or in areas of the Great Dark saturated with that volatile realm’s energies. Sargeras, however, was yet unaware of this fact. He knew only that his current tactics were ineffective. It was not enough to destroy his foes. He needed a means to contain them.
    Concerned about this development and the continued influx of demonic activity, the Pantheon sent another titan to aid their champion. His name was Aggramar, and though he was inexperienced in battle, he proved a quick study. He earned Sargeras’s admiration and became the titan warrior’s trusted lieutenant. For many millennia they fought shoulder to shoulder, an impenetrable bulwark against the ravaging demonic onslaught.
    With Aggramar able to hold his own in battle, Sargeras had time to