Fear. Darkness. Aloneness. Pure and utter terror. All such feelings ran through Verona as she sat curled up inside the main closet of her home. Her pulse was racing, adrenaline pumping as the loud, banging noises that were once outside of her home now moved through the kitchen and living areas. What was worse than the sound was the smell. From under the doorway came the unmistakable odor of dead, decaying flesh. It seemed to fill her nostrils, cling to her own skin and worst of all; she even tasted the decay on her tongue.
The undead Scourge, it had to be. After all, she had heard the rumors that made their ways from the battlefields and into the local homes. The way they mercilessly killed anything and everything, and in the destruction adding more bodies to the ranks of the undead. She hoped, no, prayed to somehow be saved from such a fate. Verona consciously held on to whatever threads of hope she had, although there was still the nagging thought in the back of her mind that knew she was already dead.
Her legs getting sore from remaining still in such a cramped position, Verona quietly shifted her weight in the closet to get the circulation back. However she accidentally bumped the coat rack, sending several garments down on top of her. She took a quick breath and tried to make no other noises, seeing if what was in the house had heard the commotion. Exhaling out of relief after an absence of noise outside, some dust stirred up from the coats caught the tip of her nose.
Without any chance to attempt holding back Verona let out a loud sneeze. Cursing at herself for her carelessness, she heard the shuffling outside coming closer to her hiding place. They had figured out where their quarry went to. She only prayed now not for herself but for the rest of her family that was spending the day in the city of Lordaeron. The door opened revealing the imposing visage of a foul ghoul. Verona screamed. The entire woods around the small home rattled with the sound until it was cut short.
--
The entire city of Lordaeron was electric with all the excitement of the people that had gathered to salute their hero. Prince Arthas, son of their beloved king Terenas Menenthil, was coming home with news of victory over the dreaded Scourge. Entire families had come out just to get even the tiniest glimpse of him. The entire city was packed, and good viewing areas were few and far between. That was why two teenage boys, Khalid and Aranaut, had arrived early morning with their father, Argus, who was a soldier for Lordaeron's army. Although Argus had never been sent out with the forces that went out with Arthas to battle the undead, he was quite happy with his place as guard for their grand city.
As for his sons, only one of them wished to follow in his steps. Aranaut, the older of the two boys, wanted to become a mighty warrior and destroy demons and undead alike. He spent time training in the use of a sword, and was getting pretty good at it too. His only problem was that his brother Khalid was not into that kind of thing, and so he had no sparring partner until his father had come home from work, in which case he was usually too tired to train his son. Khalid instead spent time reading and learning all he could. Despite his family history of physical strength and might, he was not muscularly built at all. He was more amazed at the doings of some of the great wizards of Dalaran. He read their tales and imagined that one day he could do things like them.
Despite the brothers' differences they were best of friends, and were said to be inseparable. And so they stood together along the streets of the city, just outside of the king's chamber where the Prince was meeting the King. They got such a good place to stand because their father was one of the king's personal guards, and so he ensured that they would be standing near where the action would take place. Their father also managed to receive the post in front of where his boys were standing, mainly so they could see him standing there in his suit of armor looking important.
As both the boys and the rest of the crowd neared the point of restlessness, the bell rang out near the city gates and fanfare reigned. The Prince had finally arrived it seemed, as the crowds that could see him cheered with as much enthusiasm as they could muster. The boys strained to try to see him as he came along, and they were not disappointed. Prince Arthas had walked through the city gates wearing a massive suit of armor that showed a few marks from battles against the Scourge. What caught Khalid's eye however was the fact that it did not look at all like the highly polished silver armor that Knights of the Silver Hand usually wore.
Something else that caught Khalid as funny though was the fact that the prince had no one else with him. No valiant soldiers returning from battle, only two men that flanked him, wearing similar suits of armor. Also as Prince Arthas rode past where they were standing he noticed that Arthas's face was a little pale except for the big, dark rings around his eyes. Also his hair was not blonde as he remember the tales saying, but almost pale white. It must have been something that happens to someone who has seen the hells that the prince must have seen Khalid thought, and just dismissed any kind of doubtful thoughts of the prince.
"Wow, he looks incredible brother, do you see that armor? Man, I want to be a warrior like him some day."
"He's not a warrior Aranaut, he's a…" Khalid began to correct his brother on the difference between a paladin and warrior when it hit him. Somehow for reasons he couldn't understand, he could sense what could be taken as the prince's soul. Also the magnificent sword that he carried had a darkness about it, and he sword he could hear whispers of a strange voice. He didn't know how or why, but he saw something that scared the hell out of him.
Khalid stepped up next to his father and tapped him on the arm to try to get his attention. Argus turned around to see his son standing there and flipped his visor up so he could hear what his boy wanted.
"What do you want son?"
"Dad, I have a bad feeling about this. I don't know how to explain how I know what I know but I believe what I felt."
His boy was talking in riddles. "What do you mean?"
"Dad, I don't think Prince Arthas isn't here to be glorified after victory in some war against the Scourge."
"What other purpose could he possibly have? He is a hero, a stout paladin, and protector of his people."
"He has been corrupted dad. I think he is here to kill the king."
"That preposterous son, I think reading all those stories about the crazy spell casters have given you some crazy thoughts.
Then after a minute of tense waiting Prince Arthas walked out of the king's chamber, wiping off his mighty sword. The crowds began to cheer for him once again, until someone standing near where the prince had stepped out screamed. The crowds died down as they for the first time really looked at their prince. He now was wearing the crown their King Terenas was wearing; only now there was blood on it. And what Arthas had wiped off his sword was also blood. He had indeed killed the king. Wallowing in his deed, the prince simply stood there and laughed. Now another scream had come, but this time it was one near the gates to the city. News spread through the crowd as people began to run for their lives. The Scourge was invading the city.
--
"Boys, go, find a place to hide, this is not a place for you to be."
"But dad, I can…" Aranaut tried to argue.
"Not this time son, I am not putting my sons into this fight. Now go and hide."
Khalid needed no second order, and turned to go. However he had to grab his brother by the sleeve in order to get him to follow. Aranaut watched their father move with the rest of the city guards into the crowds to go face the threat. After he could no longer see his father, Aranaut turned and joined his brother in finding a place to hide for safety. At least Khalid was trying to find some safety; Aranaut on the other hand was looking for something to arm himself with. After all the time he had spent training himself, he was not going to turn back on an opportunity to put that training to practice.
After going through some of the main chambers near by where the king had been killed, Aranaut spotted his prize. On one of the walls nearby was a decorative display of two crossed swords and a shield. However decorative it was, the sword was still sharp enough to do its job. He grabbed the second one to give to his brother, but Khalid promptly refused.
"We're not looking for a fight."
"What if the fight finds us?" Again he offered the sword.
"Then I'm not going to use those." As he said that, he was compelled to grab one of the wooden staves hanging on the wall next to the display.
"Suit yourself." Aranaut said as he promptly took both swords for himself. He always wanted to try dual-wielding.
Despite Khalid's protests the two crept back out to the courtyard to see if there was a place out there for them to go to, but there was nothing. There were no more civilians anymore, just city guards locked in a fierce battle with the restless undead. For once thinking with his head, Aranaut decided digression was the better part of valor and snuck off to the side to get around the main body of undead. They wanted to find a way out, but something glinted in the sun and caught the boys' eyes. It was the armor of one of the fallen guards on the ground in a pool of blood. What was worse, it was their father; he had been slain by the murderous ghouls.
Khalid stood there, a tear coming to his eye but however he kept his emotions down at this point. It was his brother that reacted, yelling in anger and turning to see if any Scourge were coming to face his wrath. He wanted nothing better than to skewer them with his sword. There was nothing there though. However that did not last long, as a few of the Scourge had heard Aranaut's cry and were now coming for them. The two readied themselves for the fight and engaged the coming undead. Aranaut used his two swords he found with precision few his age had, and surprisingly Khalid has his staff moving in ways he didn't think possible. The first wave was cut down easily, but more and more came.
The two fought as valiantly as any of the city guards, but they didn't have the stamina of the older men. Aranaut's aim faltered just once, but it left himself open. One of the nearby ghouls grabbed his arm and pulled him forward into the droves of undead. Khalid saw it and tried to get to him, but there were too many of them. His brother's screams of pain were heard as he was torn asunder by the ravenous corpses, and there was nothing Khalid could do to help him.
Now filled with fear and rage Khalid had no choice but to let it all out. His last shred of hope was gone now, he had lost everything. Even as the last of the guards fallen way and the other Scourge came for him, Khalid did not move. Rage was building up inside him. These bastards had taken everything from him, right before his eyes. He would make them pay. He knew now how his brother felt at the sight of their father's corpse.
The rage that built up inside him gave him some kind of awesome power he didn't know, yet he didn't need to. He placed the end of his staff on the ground and let the rage take over. It had built itself from his emotions of seething hatred to licks of flame that now circled around him. The fire grew larger and larger, yet it didn't seem to burn him at all. Flames even replaced his pupils making his eyes aglow with flame. Any human who would have seen such a sight would have run by now. Finally, he let it all go, all the rage, all the hatred, and the fire that built around him was unleashed, a wall of flame moving outwards, engulfing and turning any Scourge within its wake into cinders.
It was not enough however, and the attack had left him weak, and vulnerable. With no strength left in his body, Khalid collapsed to the ground, and the remaining scourge around him flocked towards this fresh body to consume. Even as they ravenously tore at his flesh, he let no scream escape because he simply didn't have the willpower to do so. As the last living breath escaped him, he heard a raspy, evil voice inside his head.
"You will serve me now…"
Chapter 2 to come soon...