"Codex: The Imperial Cult of the Sacred Phoenix Empire
The roots of the Imperial Cult could be traced to the Elemental Temple, which worshipped the Elements of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air, and their respective Elemental Spirits, as it was prevalent in the Bending Culture. Over time, the Elemental Temple incorporated the worship of the ancient gods of the Fire Nation and, after The Great Shift, even the teachings of the Light.
Over some time, this culminated in the Imperial Cult as it is known today.
The missionary arm of the great faiths, the Imperial Cult, brings divine inspiration and consolation to the Empire's remote provinces. The cults combine the worship of the 7 Divines: Asuryan, Kaela Mensha Khaine, Cegorach, Isha, Ynnead, Vaul and Morai-Heg. The Clergy of the Imperial Cult provided worship and services for all these Gods at the Imperial Shrines in the settlements throughout the Empire.
Not only that, but the Empire also teaches the traditional teachings of the Church of the Holy Light, through the difference that, in the doctrine of the Imperial Cult, the Asuryan, the Phoenix God, is the embodiment of Light and Fire, but also the Void.
Contrary to the worshippers of Light in the Eastern Kingdoms, the clergy of the Imperial Cult was never shy of using Light as a weapon during times of need. The usage of the Light offensively was thought to be offensive to the teachings of the Sacred Light or outright heresy among the human kingdoms.
High Elves of Quel'Thalas were the first ones to discover that the Light could be used as a weapon, but that was a secret that they kept to themselves. Like the rest of the Sacred Phoenix Empire, even the Imperial Cult is heavily militarized, with its prominent force being The Holy Templar Order of the Secret Fire, even though they are two separate organizations.
The Hierarch of The Holy Templar Order of the Secret Fire holds a rank equal to that of the Grand Theogonist of the Imperial Cult. The relationship between the Imperial Cult and the Holy Templar Order of the Secret Fire was always peculiar, because the Templars represented the military face of the Imperial Cult, even though they were separate organizations.
As of today, the Imperial has become an essential part of Imperial society. Nearly every city, town or village within the Empire has dedicated a portion of its wealth and land to the creation and maintenance of an Imperial Shrine, from which a priest of the Imperial Cult will attend to the spiritual well-being of its citizenry, whether it be through holy words of prayer or through heroic actions and trials by combat.
Due to strong devotion to the Aeldari Pantheon, the clergy of the Imperial Cult demand that its followers fight all forms of evil in the Azeroth with the strength of their arms as well as their faith, with many of the cult's priests accompanying the Empire's armies when they march off to war.
This sense of righteousness, self-determination, and divine attention from a strict yet caring god has ensured that the citizenry of the Empire is a people of strong faith, will, and unconquerable spirit. Due to this, the Imperial Cult is the most active in hunting down Cultists of the Old Gods, Evil Entities, Demons of the Burning Legion, or anyone who wants to do evil.
Yet his true gifts to his people are those of healing and hope. Their greatest mercy unto them was to unite them under the indisputable belief that they could be something more. Every day, they grant hope to their people and pride in their noble heritage that they might summon the strength to overcome their foes and ultimately cleanse their blood, body, and soul from the dark influence of Old Gods or Demons.
The Imperial Cult was crucial in combatting the Orcs during the First Great War of the Dark Portal and Second Great War of the Dark Portal, War on the Undead Scourge when the Legions of the Sacred Phoenix Kingdom relieved the lands of Quel'Thalas, and they also played a crucial role in the singing of the Covenant between the Fire Nation and Quel'Thalas and other species that gave birth of the Empire.
Teachings of the Imperial Cult is something that is holding the Empire together as one entity, aside from the worship of the Aeldari Pantheon of Gods, the Imperial Cult also gives a lot of importance to the worship of the Ancestors like the Shamanism of the Dwarves and Trolls."
- Religions of Azeroth: Holy Church, Imperial Cult and Evil Cults by Grand Theogonist Benedictus of the Imperial Cult of the Sacred Phoenix Empire, Year 25 ADP
***
Caverns of Time
Bronze Dragonflight.
The Titan Aman'Thul blessed the wise Nozdormu and his brood with the ability to travel through time and master temporal magic. Generally stoic and detached from current events, they rarely interact with mortals unless they require help safeguarding the One Rrue Timeline.
Bronze dragons exist to keep the time stream inviolate and the order of events progressing as fate intended. Considered to be protectors, the Bronze Dragonflight finds itself greatly attracted to areas of civilization. They display great cunning in all things and are very patient by nature, always relying on observation and acting with a plan before being hasty.
Yet now, for all of their cunning and planning, everything was in grave danger, as the entire Caverns of Time were being sealed by the greater power after the event known as The Great Shift that completely destroyed the One and True Timeline if it was left unchecked.
Since the sealing of the Caverns of Time, it was clear that the very existence of the Bronze Dragonflight and the appearance of the Fire Nation and their changes to the One and True Timeline were devastating for the Bronze Dragons.
In every possible scenario that the Bronze Dragons foresaw was that, if not stopped, their entire flight would cease to exist.
Nozdormu, the Timeless One, Aspect of Time of the Bronze Dragonflight and Guardian of Time, is one of the Dragon Aspects empowered by the Titans to watch over Azeroth. He fought against the demons of the Burning Legion during the War of the Ancients.
Since the appearance of the barrier that had sealed up the entirety of the Caverns of Time, the Bronze Dragons, under the leadership of Nozdormu, were working tirelessly to break through the barrier, but it was of no use.
Anyone could see that the origin of whatever was sealing the Caverns of Time was at the God Level.
Even though the Dragon Aspects that were blessed by the Titans were comfortably in the Demigod Level in terms of power, due to their very own nature, when conformed with real God Level sources of power or some specific Demigods, they were at a disadvantage.
Not to mention, there were weakened due to the creation of the Dragon Soul before the War of the Ancients, so neither of the Dragon Aspects was at their full power, and their power was mostly around the peak of the Legendary Level.
Which, though, was still far above 99,99% of the mortals in Azeroth.
Nozdormu, like most of the Dragons, took the appearance of the High Elf, in which he had long brown hair and azure blue eyes. He was working together with several tens of Bronze Dragons to break through the barrier that was sealing the Caverns of Time, but to no avail.
Thus, they changed their focus to something different. Their aim was to create a small opening for a few of their Dragons to leave the Caverns of Time, destroy the Fire Nation, and correct the Timeline.
As long as they managed to destroy the source of their current problems, which was the human nation that appeared during the Great Shift in the lands of Azeroth.
Nozdormu sensed the appearance of the new lands on Azeroth when the Great Shift happened, even before the Caverns of Time were sealed, and knew that the natives didn't seem to be particularly powerful, not enough to stop the Dragons that he planned to send there to deal with them.
It required a lot of power for them to manage and create even a tiny opening for a few Bronze Dragons to pass through and leave the Caverns of Time, but fortunately, the Aspect of Time succeeded in his endeavors.
"Chronormu, take Zidormi, Andormu, and Nozari and enter the hole. Do everything in your power to preserve the streams of the time."
Nozdormu said as he observed several Bronze Dragons pass through the portals together with a few hundred Dragonkin. Dragonkin or Dragonkind are all creatures descended from and including dragons, from drakes to drakonid. Nearly all dragonkin belong to one of the main or lesser Dragonflights.
This should be enough to destroy the nation of humans that was causing the problems as the portal slowly closed.
As the portal was going to close, suddenly, a god-like figure in elaborate, metallic red and gold armor with intricate details appeared. The character wore a tall, ornate helmet adorned with a phoenix-like crest, reinforcing a divine or celestial theme. His eyes glowed with an intense, supernatural light, and his muscular form exuded an aura of strength and authority.
The background is set in deep space, filled with stars, cosmic dust, and swirling red and orange hues, giving the impression of a divine being overseeing the universe. At the forefront, a massive, glowing cosmic phenomenon, possibly a nebula or a black hole's accretion disk, radiated brilliant white and yellow light, contrasting against the darker surroundings.
"Burn."
With a single word, an enormous torrent of flames burst out from the closing portal hole into the Caverns of Time and started burning down Bronze Dragons in huge swaths as, in mere moments, tens of them were burned to ashes.
Nozdormu watched this with rage, but he was powerless to do anything as this was the might of a true God-Level Entity, and it seemed that the power of this being was on the same level as the leader of the Titan Pantheon, Aman'Thul the Highfather of the Pantheon.
The Aspect of Time did everything that he could to prevent the destructive flames from spreading around the Caverns of Time, but he noticed that the flames were bearing some of the divine essences of the God that cast them.
"Create the shield and contain the flames! Prevent them from spreading further!"
Any Time Magic that he cast on the flames was totally useless because no matter how powerful he was, he couldn't outdo and suppress the power of God. Such a thing was far above him, and the flames seethed in the Divine Power of the God and were destroying the Caverns of Time themselves.
Yet, this was the home of the Bronze Dragons, and thus, Nozdormu was able to mobiliíze the power of the Wards of this place to boost up the power of the Bronze Dragons, and soon enough, they were able to contain the flames.
However, the losses were very steep as several tens of Bronze Dragons were burned to death, and more than two hundred were injured from the fire. An unknown number of the Dragonkin and Lesser Dragons perished when the fire burst out.
It was far above what they could withstand.
"We managed to contain the fire in the lower caves, but the losses are great, and the barrier around the Caverns of Time is still standing very strong. It seems that that the Gods of that place are very active in intervening in mortal matters, and they don't like us at all..."
Soridormi, the Prime Consort of Nozdormu, the Timeless and second in command of the Bronze Dragonflight, stated as she appeared next to her mate. Even though the Bronze Dragons were tasked with protecting Azeroth's Timeline, it didn't mean that it was without danger.
However, it was today when the Bronze Dragonflight suffered such a grave loss, and at the hands of God, no less. Their only hope was that the Bronze Dragons that they sent out would be enough to wipe out the humans that appeared in Azeroth after the Great Shift and save the Dragonflight.
"Dammed foreign Gods!"
The only thing that Nozdormu could do was curse at the Gods because the Gods were behind this danger to the Timeline, and there was not much he could do about that because, frankly...
Even as the Aspect of Time, he was far from the True God Level beings like the Titans, Gods, or Sargeras, the Lord of the Burning Legion. The Aspects were nothing like a child with some bits of power in front of the entities like that, and even among them, there were clear distinctions.
Obviously, Sargeras, who was mightiest of the Titan Pantheon, was one of the most powerful of the God-Level Entities, able to destroy entire worlds in mere moments like one would squash an ant on the ground.
What Nozdormu was feeling right now...
It was exactly the same feeling that he felt during the War of the Ancients when he felt the presence of Sargeras, who was summoned to Azeroth by Azshara.
***
Port of the Imperial Capital Wei-Jin, Fire Nation, Fire Islands
Today was a very important day for the Fire Nation, as Fire Lord Aenarion Septim was departing the Fire Nation to visit the Stormwind. The sole human kingdom in the southern continent of Azeroth.
Establishing a relationship with the Stormwind sounded like a good idea because they would be the first line of defense against the Orcs when the Dark Portal opened in two decades.
Stormwind was the first of the nations to fight against the Orcish Horde, and they stood their ground. Even though, in the end, Stormwind and its capital were overrun by hundreds of thousands of Greenskins, they still managed to inflict great losses on the Orcs as the soldiers of Stormwind fought for every inch of their land.
Nothing was given for free to the Orcs, as the beasts needed to pay for everything that they conquered with their blood and their very own lives. Stormwind was a heavily militarized society where a large part of their society served in the kingdom's military at one point.
Another reason why he chose the Stormwind was due to the ongoing religious tensions between the human kingdoms and the Fire Nation. The very own branch of the Church of Holy Light, or rather, the religion that was created in the Fire Nation, was considered as blasphemous by many in the Eastern Kingdoms.
The worship of the Aeldari Pantheon, which combined the worship of the Aeldari Gods together with the worship of the Elements and Holy Light together, was something that wasn't sitting well with a lot of dogmatics in the Eastern Kingdoms.
Especially those in the north who were more traditional and stuck up in their way, and anything different was heresy. In Stormwind, the situation was somewhat different due to limited connection and contact with the rest of the human nations in the north.
Aside from that, Stormwind had more pressing matters to take care of than some religious disputes that were admittedly relatively insignificant in the threat of the Gurubashi Trolls, Dark Iron Dwarves that served the Fire Elemental Lord Ragnaros, and other threats that were in their continent of Azeroth.
Thus, they decided to establish the content with the Stormwind as the first human nation with whom the Fire Nation would establish some contact with the Dwarves of Ironforge, and the Gnomes were vouching for the Fire Nation.
Aenarion decided that they would be using their Airship as the means of transportation and not the Navy. Flying had its own beauty, and since his bonded companion dragon grew enough to fly, Aenarion took a liking to flying very much.
He was departing together with Esdeath on the journey, as Azula needed to remain in the Fire Nation and act as the Acting Fire Lord in Aenarion's stead for the time being.
Accompanying them was a whole contingent of the Phoenix Guard and many soldiers from the Imperial Military as they were not only conducting diplomatic visits to the Stormwind but also transporting a lot of resources that they would sell in the Stormwind.
After the visit to Stormwind, there was another thing that Aenarion wanted to take care of, which was the topic of the Goblins.
The Goblins, collectively known as Goblinhood, are small green humanoids from the Isle of Kezan. Their love of money, explosives, and technology makes them a very dangerous race, both to their enemies and themselves. Most goblins have a neutral standpoint, preferring to sell their contraptions, knowledge and services to other races for the right price.
A number of trade princes rule over the various goblin holdings around the world. In turn, each controls rings of trade, mining, deforestation, slave rings, and poaching. In the canon of the World of Warcraft, the Goblins were more aligned with Horden than Alliance...
Some of them even directly joined the Horde like Trade Prince Monte Gazlowe, who is the leader of the Bilgewater Cartel of goblins, who are part of the Horde in the canon.
Aenarion was, this time, aiming at the Blackfuse Company.
The Blackfuse Company is a mercenary group comprised of goblins that specializes in constructing siege weapons, founded by the Siegecrafter Helix Blackfuse.
The Blackfuse Company was the prime reason behind the creation of the Iron Horde when the members of the Blackfuse Company industrialized Draenor and Orcs on the behest of Garrosh Hellscream in one of the alternate timelines.
The Iron Horde was formed initially as a union of the uncorrupted orcish clans of a parallel Draenor and created by Garrosh Hellscream and his father, Grommash Hellscream, who was convinced by his unknown son's, who was never born in the alternate universe, knowledge of advanced machinery and the existence of a different world in order to attain orcish supremacy in the universe.
The clans were united under a single leader, Grommash Hellscream of the Warsong clan. Garrosh introduced modern technology from the prime timeline, courtesy of Blackfuse Company engineers and Blackrock clan smiths to arm the orcish clans of this parallel Draenor.
Not to mention, the Blackfuse Company was probably the most honorable among the goblins, and Aenarion wanted to obtain the services of the Blackfuse Company or, rather, to have the goblins of the Blackfuse Company join the Fire Nation.
He knew that under certain circumstances, even the goblins could join some factions, even though it went against their nature partially. The goblins and their appearance were rather problematic because there was a huge possibility that when the Dark Portal opened, the goblins would be aiding the Orcs.
That would be a most problematic aspect because the Orcs were primitive, and they were barely using any armor or proper weapons according to the standards of the Azeroth.
But the orcs armed to the teeth in the perfectly made goblin armor and armed with the goblin's weapons?
Then their danger rating would be shot over the roof.
They were like armored juggernauts that were cutting through everything in their path without any resistance to their slaughter.
"Is everything prepared? I want to arrive at the Stormwind within two weeks..."
Even with their fastest Airship, it would take them around two weeks to arrive from the Fire Nation to Stormwind, as Azeroth was just too huge.
Azeroth was an enormous planet, so traveling from one point of interest to another took a lot, though; it wasn't that noticeable because even ordinary horses were faster and stronger than the horses of their old world by a multiplier of ten due to the Mana in the enviroment.
"Yes, we are loading the last supplies on the ships, and the engineers are checking the ships' engines. The new Orbal Engines were installed on the ships, so we need to ensure that everything is working as it should be."
The journey to the Stormwind took two weeks, mainly because of the new Orbal Technology that was able to create new Orbal Engines that were much faster than the old engines that were used by the Air Force and Navy of the Fire Nation.
"Then increase the pace... and bring more Benders with us... we would be flying over the territories of the Trolls. Who knows if those barbaric creatures won't attack us when we would be flying over."
Aenarion said as he was standing at the airport of the Wei-Jin, though something wasn't sitting that well with him as he sensed that something was wrong. He couldn't describe the feeling at all, as all of his senses were telling him that trouble was coming, even though everything seemed to be safe.
Though...
Aenarion trusted his senses more than anything because they had already saved his life several times during the Great War when he was on the verge of death or in the most dangerous situation.
Suddenly, far above the Fire Islands, a portal opened, as that was all that Aenarion needed to know that things were going to shit. And when he saw what was exiting the portal, he knew that it was finally time.
Dragons.
More precisely, the Bronze Dragons.
The self-proclaimed guardians of the True Timeline of Azeroth.
And there were eight of them that were exiting the portal in their true forms of humongous dragons.
Their bodies were covered in gleaming bronze and gold scales, which shimmered and shifted in the light, sometimes giving off an almost ethereal glow as if reflecting temporal energies of the endless timestreams at once.
Their eyes glowed with golden amber light, though there was a flicker of the Time Magic in their eyes, which represented their deep connection to the sands of time as they were blessed by the Aman'Thul.
They possessed curved, swept-back horns that resembled gilded crowns, often adorned with ridges or extra spines. Their massive, leathery wings were veined with golden energy, occasionally leaving behind shimmering motes of sand-like light as they move. A long, serpentine tail trails behind them, often lined with sharp, golden spines that reflect the light in a mesmerizing way.
When in motion, a subtle warping effect sometimes surrounds them, as if reality itself bends slightly in their presence, symbolizing their ability to move through time. Several of them have ornate decorations, like extra glowing runes or flowing golden energy in their veins.
Even though there were eight of them, Aenarion was calm because he was able to sense that all of these Dragons were Hero-Level ones. if there was one thing that Aenarion was waiting for, it was the appearance of the Bronze Dragonflight to attack them and wipe the Fire Nation out of the face of Earth.
He knew that the appearance of the Fire Nation messed up with the envisioned One True Timeline of the Bronze Dragons, and the Bronze Dragonflight would do everything in their power to protect their vision of the future.
Though...
With what the overthrown arranged murdering lizards were not counting on was that...
He had the power of the True Gods on his side.
The entire might of the Aeldari Pantheon was watching over the Fire Nation, and with the action worship of the denizens of the Fire Nation, the Aeldari Gods were returning back to their full glory.
Especially Asuryan, the Phoenix God, whose power has recovered considerably enough to protect the Fire Nation from the Bronze Dragonflight at all.
Still, Aenarion knew that the Gods would sooner or later give them a test, or rather, this test was more specifically aimed at him.
"Immediately lock down the entire area and evacuate the port area. This is going to be one hell of a fight."
Seeing the stern expression on her husband's face, Esdeath knew that this was the time to argue about things as she complied with his orders and departed to carry out as they started evacuating the port, as the portal above the sky had closed.
Aenarion meanwhile stretched out his body a bit and looked at the eight Bronze Dragons that were approaching the Imperial Capital Wei-Jin. It would be rather a tough fight, because the Dragons were one of the most powerful creatures in the entire Azeroth.
'Keepers of Time... among them only Chronormu, Andormu and Nozari would be problematic to fight.'
Aenarion was somewhat versed in the lore of the World of Warcraft, at least to some degree, and recognized some Bronze Dragons based on their Dragon Forms.
The Keepers of Time were bronze dragons hand-picked by Nozdormu to watch over the Caverns of Time, being sufficient caretakers able to deal with most ordinary disturbances to the timeways.
He knew that there was zero possibility of reasoning with them as these creatures were mad.
They let their own species fall on the brink of extinction just to fulfill the vision of their perfect True Timeline. One could argue that the fate of Malygos, Neltharion, Ysera, and Alexstrazsa was the work of the Bronze Dragonflight, as they had the means and power to stop it.
Yet they did nothing.
Just watched the world burn so the Timeline could be fulfilled.
Aenarion knew that, from a certain aspect, they were right because, in the end, everything played in their favor of them, or it seemed to be like that at first glance. At a deeper research one would realize that the situation was just less messed up.
Yet the price?
It was too steep.
Aenarion outstretched his right hand, and in a flash of fire, a spear appeared in his right hand.
It was his personal weapon, forged by the God of Blacksmiths Vaul from the heart of the dying sun, blessed by the God of War to carry out his righteous fury and aura of slaughter and will of the Kaela Mensha Khaine, and finished by the Asuryan, the Phoenix God, to be the embodiment of Burning Fire.
The Spear of Twilight.
"You know... I have been waiting for you lizards to come... but it is rather a surprise that three leaders of the Bronze Dragonflight came, and even the commanders of the Keepers of Time. Chronormu, Andormu, and Nozari... it is my pleasure, but ultimately, you will become skulls mounted above my walls."
Aenarion didn't wait for the Bronze Dragons to react as he unleashed a burst of purple-light colored Flames that were an amalgamation of the Light and Void, the two antitheses and fundamental aspects of the Cosmos.
Light and Void.
The Void, also referred to as Shadow, is one of the two most fundamental forces in the Cosmos, along with the Light, and is situated outside the barriers of reality. Although contradictory by their very nature, the Void and the Light are bound together on a cosmic scale, and the two cannot exist without the other.
Nevertheless, the Void itself is not necessarily "evil"; it is a primal force with its morality characterized by how it is wielded. Pure Void cannot exist within the physical universe but shades of it manifest as Shadow Magic or Void Magic and can be a source of terrible power, the kind of power that comes at a price, as the very nature of the Void is hostile to what the mortal know as life and sanity, and will do whatever it takes to drive them to madness.
The Light is the source of all life in the cosmos, but not necessarily "good"; it is a primal force with its morality characterized by how it is wielded. The Light cannot fully see destiny, though neither can the Void, for neither are singularly responsible for creation. The Light seeks one path and shuns all others as lies.
Like Void, it also cannot exist within the physical universe, but shades of it manifest as Holy Magic, also called Light Magic, Holy Energy, Holy Arts, and sometimes referred to as Divine Power or Divine Magic. Summoned by emotions, willpower or faith in one's ability to do so, the powers of the Light can be harnessed to heal, cleanse, protect, or harm.
Its positive energies, residing in every living being, in every heart and soul, is everywhere, binding all sentient beings together as one, as it pervades and shines through everything, resonating within all things in the universe.
Generally, it is accepted that while they cannot exist without each other, they cannot be fused. Such was the general understanding of the natives of the Azeorth, but...
But Aenarion's understanding was different.
Due to his own transmigration and blessing of the Asuryan, the Phoenix God, and the Aeldari Pantheon, his soul was uniquely ill acclimated to the Void and Light in a way where he could merge them together in the form of Holy Light through proxies of Holy Flame and Void Fire.
Holy Void.
The Holy Fire and Void Fire.
The Hellblaze.
The Phoenix Hellblaze unleashed by peak Hero Level congregated into the form of a wing beneath his back as he shot towards the closest Bronze Dragon before anyone could even react to their shock.
"Enchant: Hellblaze."
The Spear of Twilight burst out with flames as it was aimed at the heart of the Bronze Dragon.
"Divine Thousand Slashes."
Just as the Bronze Dragons realited what was about to happen, all seven of them rushed towards Aenarion, but it was too late as the Spear of Twilight was already buried deep in one of the Dragon's bodies, piercing through his heart as the Hellblaze made sure that the overgrown lizard died as he should.
"Dante!"
One of the Bronze Dragons screamed in a high-pitched voice, as it was already late and Aenarion wasn't stopping there.
"I sacrifice thee the soul and body, to the Great Harlequin for the time to be steady and strong."
Aenarion's voice boomed through the area as suddenly the body of the Bronze Dragon that he had killed started decomposing at a staggering rate until not even ashes remained from it, and from nowhere a booming laughter was heard.
"As it shall be."