That was why, when he did finally lift his head, he looked straight at the cloaked figure to his left. "I would be happy to recount events, Prince Kael'thas," he said politely, "but I would find the telling far easier were I able to see my audience properly."
He heard a gasp off to the side, but the cloaked figure he had addressed chuckled instead. "You are correct, young Khadgar," the mage replied. "I would find it difficult to speak to such shadowy figures myself." With a quick gesture the elven prince dismissed his disguise, standing revealed in his ornate violet and gold robes, his long golden hair flowing past his shoulders, his sharp features alert with anticipation. "Is that better?"
"Much, thank you," Khadgar said. He glanced around at the other council members. "And what of the rest of you? May I not see your face, Lord Krasus? Lord Kel'Thuzad? Lord Antonidas has not bothered with a disguise, and Prince Kael'thas has been considerate enough to dispense with his. Will the rest of you do the same?"
Antonidas, seated before Khadgar on an invisible chair, laughed. "Indeed, youngling, indeed," he agreed. "This matter is far too serious for such parlor tricks, and you are no longer a whelp to be fooled and amazed by such sleights. Unveil yourself, my friends, and let us be to this matter before the night grows older."
The other magi obeyed, though a few grumbled, and seconds later Khadgar found himself facing six people clearly. He recognized Krasus at once by his slight build, delicate features, and silvery hair still streaked here and there with red. And Kel'Thuzad was familiar as well, an impressive, charismatic man with dark hair and a full beard and strangely glassy eyes, as if he were not really looking at the world around them. The other two, a pudgy man and a tall, statuesque woman, Khadgar did not know, though their faces seemed vaguely familiar. Most likely he had passed them in the halls of the Violet Citadel back when he had been a student here and had simply not been important enough for them to address him directly.
Now, however, they were all attention.
"We have done as you asked," Kel'Thuzad complained. "Now tell us what has happened!"
"What do you want to know?" Khadgar asked the older mage.
"Everything!" And from the look in his eyes, Kel'Thuzad meant it. He had always had a reputation as a dreamer and a researcher, constantly questing for information, particularly about magic, its sources, and its potential. Of all the Kirin Tor he had been the one most interested in gaining access to Medivh's arcane library, and Khadgar assumed one of the ones most upset about its destruction. He had not bothered to mention that he had taken the choicest tomes for himself before vacating the tower.
"Very well." And so he told them. Gratefully accepting a chair the pudgy man offered, Khadgar sat and described everything that had happened since he had left Dalaran more than two years before. He told them about his strange apprenticeship with Medivh, about the master wizard's mercurial moods and strange disappearances. He told them about the first encounters with the orcs. He told them about the wizard murders. He told them about Medivh's betrayal, and about how he and Lothar had ended the wizard's life. Then he went on to talk about the Horde and the battles that had occurred, about the siege of Stormwind, Llane's death, the city's conquest, and their subsequent flight.
The master magi remained quiet for much of the recitation. Occasionally one would ask a question, but they showed surprising consideration for someone so much their junior, and the few questions they did ask were short and to the point. When he had finished, ending with the Alliance and the Paladins, Khadgar leaned back to catch his breath and waited to see what the magi might ask next.
"You did not mention the Order of Tirisfal," Kel'Thuzad pointed out, eliciting a sharp cough from Antonidas. "What?" the mage—researcher demanded. "It is relevant, when discussing Medivh!"
"It is," Khadgar answered, "and I apologize for my lapse. But" — he glanced around, trying to judge the magi's knowledge by their faces, and opted for discretion—"I know little of the Order's true workings. Medivh was a member, and spoke once or twice of the Order's existence, but he did not name any other members or discuss its activities."
"Of course," the woman agreed, and Khadgar saw the look of frustration and disappointment she and Kel'Thuzad exchanged. He had been right then, he realized. They knew nothing about the Order, and had merely hoped to trick him into revealing its secrets. That had failed and they would not press the issue. "But I am more concerned with Medivh himself, and with what happened to him," she continued. "You are certain it was Sargeras you saw within him?"
"Absolutely." Khadgar leaned forward. "I had already seen the titan in a vision, and recognized him at once."
"So it was Medivh—or Sargeras through him—who opened a rift for the orcs," the pudgy man mused. "And what did you say their world was called?"
"Draenor," Khadgar answered, shuddering slightly. His mind flashed back to another vision from Medivh's tower, that of himself as an old man—or at least, looking as he did now—leading a small force of warriors against a multitude of orcs. On a world with a blood—red sky. Garona had told him it sounded like Draenor, which meant he was destined to go there. And most likely not survive. He forced himself back to the conversation before him.
"What do we know of it?" Krasus was asking. "This world? You've told us of the sky, but can you tell us anything else?"
"I haven't been there myself," Khadgar replied, thinking at least not yet. "But a companion, a half—orc, told me a great deal about the world and about the orcs." He could see Garona in his mind's eye, and quickly turned away from that painful memory as well. "The orcs were considerably more peaceful at home—they squabbled but didn't fight one another. Their only real enemies were the ogres, and orcs are far smarter and considerably more numerous."
"What happened?" Kel'Thuzad asked.
"They were corrupted," Khadgar explained. "She didn't know all the details—the why and how of it—but gradually their skin changed from brown to green and they began practicing different magic from what they had known before. They turned more savage, more violent. There was a great ceremony and a chalice of some sort. The chieftains drank from it, and the warriors—most of them, anyway. Their skin changed to a vivid green then, and their eyes turned red. They grew more powerful, stronger and fiercer, and they all went blood—crazy. They killed any foe they encountered and then began turning on each other. Plus their magics had leeched the life from the soil and their crops would not grow. They were on the verge of killing themselves, or of dying from starvation. But Medivh approached Gul'dan, the Horde's chief warlock, and offered him access to this world. Our world. Gul'dan accepted and together they built the portal. They sent through a few clans at a time, and gradually increased their numbers. Then it was just a matter of waiting, building strength, scouting defenses, and finally attacking."
"And now we have them approaching us full force." Kael'thas frowned.
"Yes."
Khadgar waited, but no one else spoke and at last he stirred in his unseen chair. "If there is nothing more, noble gentlemen and lady, I will take my leave," he said. "It has been a long day and I am very tired."
"What are your plans now?" the woman asked him as he rose from his chair.