Day of Conflagration

The Day of Conflagration was a campaign involving the Magus Senate of Dalaran. It spanned the month of June and ended during the Midsummer Fire Festival.
==Background and Buildup==
During the invasion of Draenor, the Magus Senate of Dalaran stormed the Dark Portal along with the rest of the Alliance-Horde forces. The battle was a disaster, and ended with most of the Senate dead or scattered by the Iron Horde forces. Elsewhere in the field, the Undercity Nexus was also participating in the battle. However, they were short one member as soon as they stepped through the portal. Viserth Arenall, who had recently returned from his execution, accompanied them to Draenor - and no further, as he disappeared moments after stepping through the portal into the chaos. The Nexus heard nothing from him for months.
Viserth traveled through Talador and Gorgrond, eventually arriving at Frostfire. There, he discovered an orc village, high up and isolated in the mountains. Within days of arriving, he had converted the entire village to a religion called the "Cult of the Resurrector". The Cult worshiped a god known as The Resurrector, who they believed lived in a cave behind the village. In their doctrine, The Resurrector was a mortal man who had died and brought himself back, ascending to godhood. If they served him, Viserth claimed, the Resurrector could teach them the secrets of ascending to divinity. Viserth also took up a position as the "Speaker", and was the only person permitted to speak to the Resurrector.
Weeks into the Draenor Campaign, Lysabet Drostone, better known as Drossy, found herself in Gorgrond. Infected by parasites, she was forced to amputate her arm and likely would have bled out. However, Viserth found her first. He cauterized the wound and brought her back to the village. There, she spent three days in a drugged state, listening to him talking about and being forced to tell the Cult how she had seen him die. At the end of the three days, he brought her to see the Resurrector. The sight of it, coupled with the hallucinogenic drugs, terrified her so much that she fled in a blind panic. She was found in a half-feral state by Farel Arc, who brought her to the main Senate camp. There, she reported what she had seen to Meriahm Lausten. 
The Senate had their first direct encounter with the cult days later, when they attempted to ambush a caravan of Apexis crystals. The guards of the caravan were killed by members of the Cult, who had the ability to turn themselves into living bombs. Fortunately, the Senate was able to recover the Apexis crystals before the cult could swoop in and take them. 
Upon completion of the portal between Draenor and Azeroth, Oliviaxi Shadesong went hunting for Viserth herself. She was captured by him, but managed to escape and even wound him slightly in her flight. Shadesong returned to the Inner and Outer Councils of the Senate, where she reported that he did, in fact, have some sort of being of fire aiding him. Mage-Commander Vanidicus Alexander then created a task force to locate Viserth, placing Shadesong at the head. 
The cult was quiet for months after that. The Senate's scouts combed Frostfire, but could find no trace of them. 
Then, without warning, Viserth reappeared. He joined the Undercity Nexus' hunt for an artifact in Uldum called the Eye of Rajh. There, he demonstrated a technique by which a being can be transformed into a living bomb, and the energy sealed in them using a rune, to be detonated remotely at the proper time. He also claimed that his work in Frostfire was sanctioned by Forsaken High Command, though no documents were able to be declassified to confirm this. At the end of the search, the Eye of Rajh and a tome of sun-based magic were handed over to the "proper authorities" by the expedition leader. 
Following the death of Farel Arc, Viserth honored him in a eulogy to the Cult of the Resurrector, calling him a worthy ally. This did not stop him, however, from sending several taunting letters to the Senate playing on his death and offering to help bring him back to life. His correspondence with Foreign Minister Meriahm Lausten ended when Meriahm sent him a letter telling him to "go fuck yourself, you omnicidal asshole." 
==A Needle In A Snowstack==
Then, out of nowhere, the Senate had a breakthrough.
Eillina Arenall, the bastard daughter of Viserth, had also been tracking her father. She managed to torture a cultist into revealing the "Day of Conflagration". In the doctrine of the Cult, the Day of Conflagration was the day that the Resurrector would leave his cave and, as Viserth put it, the Cult "would burn everything." She brought this information to Meriahm, and the two decided to push the hunt for Viserth as a way of luring him out. Meriahm then instructed Oliviaxi to head to Frostfire with a recon team and meet up with Eillina.
The team assembled at Frostfire, and after a brief misunderstanding, joined up with Eillina. None of the scouting party seemed to realize what her connection to Viserth was. The group then ventured into Frostfire, but were ambushed by orcs and nearly buried by an avalanche. Injured, tired, and beaten down by the elements - not to mention far too large to get anywhere close to the compound undetected - the Senate retreated to Dalaran.
It was clear that scouting Frostfire was not going to locate the compound. The Senate would need another way to locate the Cult of the Resurrector.
==Crime Scene Investigation: Gorgrond==
A week after the failed scouting mission into Frostfire, Eillina reported in with a new mystery - the disappearance of a research camp in southern Gorgrond. Led by Shadesong and Mage-Commander Alexander, a team met up with Eillina at the research camp, fully prepared for an ambush by Cultists or other hostiles. Upon arriving, however, it became clear that all hostiles had long since cleared the area. The camp was burned and empty, and a large area of the surrounding area was scorched and filled with corpses. 
The investigation turned up a variety of clues as to what happened. The camp was destroyed with mage fire, but the overgrowth was superheated with solar energy. A book found in the camp confirmed that the Cult of the Resurrector had been active in the area. The corpses turned out to be mostly botani, with one human corpse in the dead center. Forensic work, both magical and non-magical, confirmed this was the corpse of Archmage Maltorin, the last traitor the Senate had been hunting. Finally, Mage-Commander Alexander discovered the research camp's rings in a neat pile at the top of the cliff nearby, along with one set of human footprints and one set of undead. 
Presented with these clues, the Senate was unable to fully confirm what had happened. Theories and speculation bounced around for some time even after the Senate returned to Dalaran. Doubt seeped into the Senate's ranks that the mages had defected and that Viserth had people inside the Senate; strong enough doubt that Drossy revealed Eillina's identity as Viserth's daughter to Mage-Commander Alexander, which she was forced to confirm. However, the Mage-Commander remembered encountering her murderous alternate self, and didn't outwardly doubt her commitment to killing her father, continuing to allow her to operate her own investigation so long as she reported to him. 
The day after the discovery of the research camp, Mage-Commander Alexander issued Executive Order 72-A. The Order upgraded the hunt for Viserth from just being an investigation to military action, as well as recalled all forces deployed on Draenor to report to the nearest outpost for testing and "loyalty screening". 
While all of this was occurring, Meriahm made a routine visit to the Senate's "shadow consultant", Nadaelius Longpath. The meeting was confidential, but afterwards, she emerged visibly shaken. Eillina informed Shadesong, Drossy, and Mage-Commander Alexander that she was worried about an "assassination attempt". The day after the research camp disappeared, she abruptly cancelled her final two classes for the month of June and announced she would be withdrawing to Widow's Rise as often as she possibly could, operating through proxies and illusions in Dalaran. 
==A Touchy Subject==
As the investigation began for anyone within the Senate's ranks who might have joined the Cult of the Resurrector, Eillina revealed at one of the Senate Sessions that she was Viserth's daughter, making it public knowledge. Meriahm wrote to her contacts in Stormwind, asking them to send her anything related to the Arenall family. She also had the archives compile documents from the Ministry of War's campaign on Draenor.
Once the boxes were assembled, Eillina called everyone to the Foreign Affairs office, which was now vacant as Meriahm had moved to Widow's Rise. There, the Senate casually drank beer and sorted through files, chatting to pass the time. They were assisted by a sixteen-year-old girl named Amelia from the archives, who helped pin anything they found to a board. 
In their search, the Senators found a few promising things; an autopsy report that explained that the suicide runes had strange draining properties and could be detonated remotely, a description of the Resurrector (which was mostly incoherent babbling), and a list of prisoners captured from the Cult (all three died under interrogation). They also found some files related to Viserth and Eillina. One was a newspaper clipping announcing his first death by hanging, and Shadesong and others learned for the first time Meriahm was involved in his sentencing. They also found a list of his apprentices, all killed under suspicious circumstances, and records of Eillina's failed attempt to get the land and titles back.
After some time, Chief Archivist Oswald entered the office and asked where the boy he had sent was. The Senate, upon realizing that Amelia was not sent from the archives, panicked and rushed from the building. Amelia detonated her self-immolation rune, destroying both the Foreign Affairs office and all the files contained inside. Multiple injuries were sustained by Senators, but there were no causalities besides the girl herself. The fire was quickly contained and extinguished before it spread to the other buildings on the block, but the Foreign Affairs office was no more.
In the aftermath of the bombing, tensions and distrust rose, especially between Eillina and the Senate. It was clear that Viserth needed to be found, quickly, or else the Senate may implode on itself.
==Beta Testing==
Mere days after the bombing at the Foreign Affairs office, Chancellor Halliwell repealed Executive Order 72-A and moved the investigation to Interior. Interior was able to root out six traitors in the Senate's ranks, while SI:7 in Stormwind found two. Ralph Riddle also killed four of them as revenge for the bombing. Their numbers dwindling, Viserth pulled the remaining cult infiltrators out of the city.
The day that the Alliance and Horde invaded Tanaan, Viserth and a hundred cultists were spotted on the battlefield - roughly a third of his total forces. The Senate rushed to head him off before he could do whatever he was in the jungle to do. Their first attempt to find him ended with a group of Iron Horde attacking them, and while Eillina got him in her sniper crosshairs minutes later, the bridge the group was standing on collapsed from under them.
It was not until they encountered a group of Horde soldiers, however, that they got some clarity on the situation. The Horde seemed to know exactly where they were and attacked, but were defeated. Mage-Commander Alexander ripped from the mind of a dying orc exactly what had happened; The soldiers had been contacted by Viserth, who gave them the Senate's exact location and told them to capture the higher-ups to use as bargaining chips. He said the information had come from the Senate. 
Theories were bounced around as to how Viserth got information from the Senate if there were no traitors in it anymore. It was Shadesong who figured it out - Viserth had a Senate ring and access to the network.
Armed with this new information, the Senate was able to get the jump on him. They found him and Ralph Riddle standing in a clearing of dead cultists, all of whom had been blown apart, as well as a massive demonic gateway. The two exchanged some words about a "her" that had been moved to a secure location before Viserth realized that the Senate was standing there. When he did, he panicked and shouted for Riddle to destroy the gate before rushing into it. Riddle complied, shattering the gate before surrendering to the Senate and being taken back to Dalaran.
The Senate was able to track the ring, gaining the exact location of the compound. Mage-Commander Alexander ordered troops mobilized and on the march, but it would take several days for them to reach Viserth's location. Still, he was finally on the run.
==Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies==
With troops marching to Viserth's location, the Senate began to take steps to move on once the Cult was finally taken care of. Eillina approached Erfaun and asked him to make something to counter what she suspected to be hallucinogenic drugs that Viserth was using to control the cult. She also spoke to Meriahm and took a permanent position within the Magus Senate, though she had yet to decide in what capacity. Elorae Sunwraith hosted a class on cults, and included the Cult of the Resurrector as part of the curriculum, introducing many new Senators to the danger the Cult posed. Lysabet, feeling unsafe where she was staying, asked to stay at Widow's Rise for a few nights, to which Meriahm agreed. Ralph Riddle was tried, but before he could be imprisoned, he died - whether it was an accident or he killed himself remained unclear.
Viserth, however, was not done. Secretly, he entered Widow's Rise thanks to a few well-placed bribes, bringing cultists with him. Once inside, he planted his cultists around the city, instructed them to detonate, and began murdering the magi support team holding the wards in place. Once he was free and clear, he began unraveling the wards holding the rocks in place. The city began to break apart, and chaos broke out.
Meriahm, upon realizing what had happened, sent out a distress call and rushed to find Lysabet. Instead, she found Viserth. The two exchanged words, and he blamed her for the devastation, stating that she should have never gotten the Senate involved in their private war. He then mocked her anger, and informed her that he had won. Just as she realized this is the scene that Elder Longpath saw, Lysabet, who had been hiding behind her, slashed her throat open.
The Senators who had responded to the distress call, meanwhile, splintered into two groups. One, led by Mage-Commander Alexander, went directly to the Estate and cleared a path inside. The other, spearheaded by Verus Baelheit, helped see to the evacuation of civilians. Eillina, who was with the first group, saw what appeared to be Viserth fleeing. As she took off after him, she told the Senators to find Meriahm and that she would let them know where Viserth was so they could find him.
The scene that the Senate saw when they entered the study was brutal. Meriahm lay on the floor, bleeding out. Lysabet had her hand over Meriahm's throat, whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again. When she realized the Senate was there, she turned and jumped from the window into the falling rocks below.
Meriahm was taken back to Dalaran. She was successfully revived, though still weak and frail. However, due to her age and the extent of her injuries, it was unclear whether or not she would survive the next few days. The Senate kicked into high gear, pulling up file after file on Lysabet, delving back into the events that surrounded her first encounter with Viserth during the initial push into Draenor. Many of them, including Eillina, refused sleep in favor of attempting to piece together that had happened.
By the time the sun rose, the facts remained; Widow's Rise was a pile of rubble, thousands of people were dead, and the fates of Meriahm Lausten and Lysabet Drostone remained unknown.
==The Day of Conflagration==
Before the Senate Session on June Twenty-Seventh, opinions and theories widely varied as to what had happened. Some, such as Erfaun and Chancellor Halliwell, believed Drossy had been framed. Others, like Eillina, believed she had done it but had been manipulated. Reports continued to surface about the events in Gorgrond at the start of the Draenor campaign, and they pointed to obvious trauma that the girl had suffered. The speculation got so bad that Eillina left the city to join the troops marching to the compound.
The Senate Session began as usual. Eillina used an illusion-transmission to attend from Frostfire. While she gave her report on the status of the troop movements, however, the illusion-transmission suddenly cut out. When it came back, it wasn't Eillina, but rather Viserth himself. He idly waved off threats of being cut off or bombed, instead telling the Senate they could feel free to ask him questions. Only one did, Erfaun, who wanted to know how he managed to hijack the ring system. Viserth explained that he had used Drossy's ring from Frostfire, and had one of his agents change the name on the records, allowing him to continue its use.
The final few punches, however, came at the end. Viserth told them that the Resurrector was fake - a puppet of fire and charred bone. He had convinced the Cult to follow him on the premise that people would do anything if one gave them hope and freed them from the fear of death. However, he acknowledge, the Senate may not believe him, and perhaps, he mused, they would believe someone they trusted. At that point, he brought Drossy into the illusion-transmission, and introduced her as his "inside man in the Senate, and the new Cleric of the Resurrector." She told them that he wasn't doing anything world-ending, and asked that they be left alone - right before revealing that there is a cave at the back of the compound and being cut off.
Damon Halliwell locked down the Halliwell lands immediately after this, and the Ministry of Justice opened an official investigation into what happened. They investigated throughout the night, discovering Drossy's journals and sketchbooks. They painted a grim picture, and offered many clues but no answers as to her allegiances. 
The next day, the Senate marshaled their forces to attack the compound. They elected to ignore the cave, instead taking the safer route of charging directly into the compound. Before they could do so, however, the ground shook and smoke appeared, rising above the compound. When the Senate entered, they discovered that every cultist had detonated at once. The compound was a charred ruin. 
Upon entering the cave from the compound entrance, the group found Lysabet kneeling near a pool of fire. Before they could recover her, Viserth appeared. He summoned the Resurrector, who while a puppet of charred bone and fire, was very much real and could attack. Under Viserth's direction, it attacked the Senate. Eillina ran after Viserth, telling the Senate she trusted them and to keep the Resurrector distracted while she found a way up to Viserth. Lysabet called out to the Senate and instructed them to attack the bones, provoking Viserth's fury. He unleashed hallucinogenic drugs on the Senate through vents in the cave, causing some of them to hallucinate and even attack each other. However, Erfaun was on hand with his antidotes, and the Senate was able to recover, counterattack, and destroy the Resurrector. Viserth used a magical artifact to stun the Senate with blinding light and fled back further into the cave. 
The group followed. They found Viserth on the other side of a wide chasm in front of another gateway, along with a ginger-haired human man and Lysabet. As he mocked Lysabet, telling her that her efforts had been for nothing and he had won even before the Senate arrived, Eillina snuck up behind the human man and snapped his neck. Furious, Viserth attacked her, and as they grappled, he demanded Lysabet kill her. Lysabet, however, refused and hurled a spectral dagger at Viserth's head. He pulled Eillina in the way, however, and the dagger pierced her forehead, killing her instantly. Her corpse fell through the gateway, and as Viserth attempted to follow, he screamed at the Senate that he hoped that winning was worth it. Some Senators, however, such as Hellissa Brisby, Arranax DeVin, and Erfaun were done with him and attacked. He lost an arm, both of his legs, and parts of his ribcage, and fell screaming into the portal, which broke behind him. 
Lysabet was apprehended and taken back to Dalaran. The ginger-haired human man was identified as Viserth Arenall - the Draenor timeline version of him. Meriahm Lausten awakened shortly after the group returned, and after being informed of Eillina's death, she entered a state of shock and retired to her room. Prayers were said for Eillina at the Cathedral of the Holy Light by Tyragonfal, and as the sun rose, the Senate was going to be faced with the task of putting the shattered situation back together. 
They had won, but at great cost. 
==Aftermath==
In the days that followed the Day of Conflagration, the Senate moved to rebuild and put the event behind them. The death toll at Widow's Rise was counted, and though the initial numbers ranged in the seven thousands, the final confirmed number was only three thousand and two hundred - one thousand and three hundred on the island itself, and another one thousand and nine hundred caught below. Of those, a great deal were ships that had sheltered under the island during the storm and were unable to move away in time. 
Eillina's body was never recovered. At the request of Meriahm, no funeral was held.
Lysabet was arrested and subjected to a month-long investigation. In the end, she was brought up before the Ministry of Justice on three charges: Attempted Murder of an Inner Councillor, Aiding a World Traitor, and Treason against Dalaran. At trial, her lawyer, Andevan Icestrider, argued that Lysabet had attacked Meriahm to convince Viserth that she was dead, that she had not done anything to aid him and in fact had sabotaged him at every front, and that getting close to him was done to acquire information for Dalaran. He argued that she had run this operation secretly because she feared backlash against the people she loved. The trial rendered a not guilty verdict on all three counts. 
However, Lysabet was removed from every Ministry she was a part of, and she faced great backlash against the idea that she had run an off-the-books operation of this scale. Negotiations with Raingate for a suitable punishment are sealed by order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Viserth disappeared, his whereabouts unknown, though he was presumed to be alive. If he survived, he did not return to the Nexus, instead disappearing to parts unknown to lick his wounds.
With the Cult of the Resurrector dealt with, the Senate turned it's attention back to Tanaan and joined the battle in progress, leading to the events of Orcish Insurrection - another series of events which would shake up the Senate's leadership drastically, and set the stage for their careers post-Draenor.
In the future, at least one other cult would borrow elements from the Cult of the Resurrector for unknown purposes. As the entire Cult was killed during the Day of Conflagration, it is highly unlikely that any members from the true Cult of the Resurrector remain to this day.
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Category:Campaigns
Category:Magus Senate of Dalaran