When he said this, the women were taken aback. Why go to Blackrock Mountain? That place was only home to the Dark Iron Dwarves and the remnants of the Old Horde.
Moreover, what did he mean by "Onyxia's brother"? Was there a Black Dragon there? The women were full of doubt, save for Onyxia herself.
The Black Dragon Princess's expression shifted instantly. She looked at Rhodes in sheer shock. Is he serious? How does he know my brother is there?
Nefarian's presence was a closely guarded secret. Even other Black Dragons didn't know where his domain was; the only ones who knew of Nefarian's hiding place were herself and their father. Nefarian had been carrying out a mission assigned by their father: researching a new breed of mutant dragons to serve as an army in preparation for the coming Cataclysm.
How could such a hidden matter be known to an outsider?
"Rhodes, what do you mean? Who is Onyxia's brother?" Tyrygosa asked, her brow furrowed.
The Blue Dragonflight didn't dare relax when it came to anything regarding the Black Dragonflight. Since they had captured the princess alive, she had already considered reporting it to Malygos, let alone news of another high-ranking Black Dragon. The great Spell-Weaver was obsessed with the movements of the Black Dragons, especially anything involving Deathwing.
"How... how do you know this? It's impossible. You shouldn't know. My father and I would never have leaked this," Onyxia said, staring at Rhodes in disbelief.
Seeing Onyxia's reaction, the other women realized immediately that Rhodes was telling the truth. A Black Dragon was indeed entrenched in Blackrock Mountain—and a son of Deathwing at that. They just didn't know which prince it was.
Rhodes let out a chuckle. He knew of quite a few Black Dragons. There was Ebonhorn (Ebyssian) with the Highmountain Tauren in the Broken Isles, the much younger prince Wrathion, and Sabellian wandering Outland—who would eventually be redeemed.
In the future of Azeroth, it was clear the Black Dragonflight would return to their role as Aspects, with Ebonhorn ultimately becoming the true Black Dragon Aspect. The Black Dragonflight had few surviving members; the most famous were the siblings, Deathwing himself, and a handful of "good" dragons.
"Rhodes, you seem to understand many secrets of Azeroth—secrets that shouldn't be known by any ordinary person," Tyrygosa noted.
"Of course an ordinary person wouldn't know. But I am not ordinary. Have you forgotten my other identity? I am favored by the Holy Light. I possess the power of foresight; the Light has shown me many visions of the past and future. I know about the Black Dragonflight, and I know about Deathwing's corruption by the Old Gods," Rhodes said with a smile.
This time, Rhodes planned to kill a certain Black Dragon Prince ahead of schedule to farm some experience. Azeroth was about to enter a period of relative peace for a few years. In this era, the only "raid bosses" strong enough for him to farm were C'Thun and the Fire Lord Ragnaros—famously known as "Big Daddy Ragnaros."
The women nodded to each other, saying nothing more. They were well aware of Rhodes's prophetic abilities, though the Blue Dragon lady was experiencing the sheer weight of it for the first time. Onyxia had been stirring up trouble in Stormwind, so being discovered there made sense, but knowing what lay hidden deep within the mountains was another level entirely.
Currently, the surface of Blackrock Mountain was ruled by the two sons of Blackhand, chieftains of the Old Horde, while the underground city of Shadowforge was ruled by Emperor Dagran Thaurissan of the Dark Iron Dwarves.
"What... what exactly do you know? How much more do you know about our flight?" Onyxia asked.
For the first time, the Black Dragon Princess felt that the man before her was terrifying. Truly terrifying. He seemed to know everything; nothing could be hidden from him. Opposing such a person gave her a chilling sense of dread.
"You should be glad, Dragon Lady. Right now, you are officially my mount. If you play that role well, your future achievements will be high. You might even have the qualifications to become the new Black Dragon Queen. But if you dare defy me, believe me, you don't want to know the consequences," Rhodes said, tilting Onyxia's chin up with a playful, mocking smirk.
"It's... it's impossible. You cannot defeat my father. You have no idea how strong he is, nor do you know the nature of the existence behind him," Onyxia stammered.
"Heh, you mean the Old Gods? They told your father a 'truth' that drove him mad, leading him to think the Titans deceived them. So now he serves the Void to 'purify' the world, right?" Rhodes asked with a chuckle.
"That is the truth! My father can distinguish right from wrong. The Titans are a group of liars—they are nothing but enslavers, no better than the Burning Legion. You don't understand the complexity. And my father is only using the Old Gods; he hasn't joined them. No one can be my father's master," Onyxia argued.
To her, the Titans were deceivers. Even the Aspects' power wasn't given directly by the Titans, but by the Keepers. While it was done with Titan approval, except for her father, all the other Primal Incarnates were sealed away by those same Keepers. Furthermore, Azeroth wasn't just a "Titan"—she was a true Goddess.
Rhodes just laughed and didn't argue further. Part of what she said was actually true based on recent lore. Titans were the Progenitors of Order, planetary-scale beings who could shatter a world with a single sword stroke. To mortals, they were indeed gods.
But they weren't purely selfless; they were agents of Order, spreading it across the cosmos. If something on a planet broke that balance, they would intervene—sometimes violently, even "resetting" a planet's environment.
For example, Draenor was once an overgrowth of plants (like Catachan in Warhammer), until Aggramar forcibly changed it, creating Titan-forged constructs that destroyed the ecological balance to prevent the planet from being consumed by growth. The transformation of Azeroth was even more thorough, though it didn't result in total extinction; many indigenous lives like Trolls, Elves, Proto-Dragons, Pandaren, and Mantid remained.
While the Titans weren't perfect, they were slightly better than the absolute corruption of the Old Gods, who would turn all life into mindless shadow monsters. In this regard, the Holy Light actually did the best job.
The six primal forces of the universe were all essentially expanding their power, reshaping the cosmos to fit their desires. Rhodes's goal was not to be a servant to any one force, but to increase his own power—to move from being a chess piece to being the one playing the game.
The Heroes of Might and Magic system wasn't just about summoning troops; that world had its own gods, like the Goddess Asha. Rhodes wanted to see if slaying an Old God would drop something truly unique.
After speaking with the women, Rhodes went to see King Varian. For the past few days, Varian had been training with the two Holy Light Elements. Varian was impressed by their power; as flying units, they were highly mobile, and their support spells—blessings and heals—massively boosted his combat efficiency.
"Lord Rhodes, what brings you here?" Varian asked, sheathing his weapon.
"I see you're getting along well. Their power is particularly effective against darkness," Rhodes said.
"Indeed. Their radiance dispels fatigue and heals wounds. I owe you one, Rhodes. Tell me, what do you need from Stormwind?"
"arian, I have a proposal. This time, we won't take a ship, a flying mount, or a teleport. I intend to lead you by land. We'll cross the Burning Steppes, head to Blackrock Mountain, and then return to Lordaeron. I have a bit of business to handle in the mountains," Rhodes said, stating his purpose plainly.
"Rhodes, I am bringing my son and the nobility to attend the coronation of a new Queen. We are not on a crusade. Isn't this a bit reckless?" Varian frowned. Rhodes clearly wanted to stir up trouble again, this time targeting the Old Horde in Blackrock.
"It's on the way. Don't you want to collect some debt from the Black Dragonflight? There's a Black Dragon Prince entrenched there."
"I am more than willing to slay dragons, Rhodes. But I will not bring my son along to do it," Varian stated firmly.