World Of Warcraft AU
Disclaimer: World of Warcraft belongs to Blizzard. That is all.
Black Knight
By Mage-Alia
Summary: A Deathknight wakes up after the first battle against Tyrion and the Argent Dawn and is cast on a new path to find the remnants of her family and take on a greater destiny. Oneshot AU. Unbeta'ed.
A/N: This is for shits and giggles, It's a different point of view on another story I was writing but never finished. It likely won't be continued ever and it won't be cleaned up so fair warning. It's an AU of WotLK, makes a mockery of cannon and if you don't like, don't read. It's all OC player stuff and anything paired is just implied. So it'll fit in just fine with all the other stuff on , no prob. lol.
Waking up had been an experience all of its own.
Light. Pure and utter light burned her like fire as it radiated across the holy lands around the Light's Hope Chapel and with painful clarity she remembered.
Remembered her birth, Remembered her family, Remembered her Friends, Remembered the Life that had been stolen from her and most of all She Remembered the thing she had Become.
It was painful, it tore at her soul like nothing else. Guilt ate at her for killing one of her friends, but somehow, somewhere deep inside her, something screamed against it all, rejected the pain, rejected the Lich King and called out loudly to be heard from behind the haze of dark and cold that had consumed her.
It was a shock to realize that this wasn't just a voice or a shadow.
It was her soul.
Keridrwen dropped to her knees, gasping loudly, clutching her throat against the ghostly sensation of rising bile. She couldn't vomit. She hadn't eaten anything in months. She was dead.
Around her others seemed to be waking up. The leaders fought amongst themselves, raging against the Lich King that had been banished from the field by the Ashbringer and the powers of the light. The Argent Dawn had been declared the Argent Crusade and Lord Morgraine had declared them the Knights of the Ebon Blade.
Keridrwen couldn't care less.
She stumbled to her feet, ignoring the few looks she got from the Death knights and the Crusaders and stumbled away from the crowd. Pushing those who didn't move aside as she turned her back on the light, and the plague ridden valleys from which she'd come as the final set of forgotten memories slammed into her like a sledgehammer.
"Auraion…." The name sounded wrong, whispered in the voice that echoed with the power of the dead. She shivered at the sensation of ice that accompanied the name.
Her sister.
Auraion had only been a child when she'd left. She'd been 16 when she'd been accepted as a knight's Squire and left Stormwind. Auraion had been 10, left to rot in the orphanage. She'd never visited, never even gone back to see her once after she'd left. Not wanting to be reminded of the painful past they'd shared. Eventually she'd found news of her by way of an old friend. Theli, somewhat younger than her but still older than Auraion, had been friends with her sister since basic training. She'd told her of the timid priest that had disappeared from Stormwind on what had appeared to be a royally sanctioned delivery to the Night Elves, only to return nearly a year later dangerously ill and in the company of a troll. She'd lost track of her after that. Auraion, for all intents and purposes had dropped off the map….
"Don't you remember her? Your sister? She loved you! She still would. She made friends with a Troll! Please, just listen! Don't let him take hold! You know this is wrong, so Fight!"
She desperately wanted to cry.
But she couldn't.
Because she was still dead.
Keridrwen tore off her helmet, throwing the cold metal to the ground and hearing it clatter down the hill into a ravine as she tore off the unforgiving amour she'd been given and tossed it after. Finally, dressed only in the plain cloth padding that went under the amour she collapsed at the base of a tree, her shoulders shaking violently.
But there were no tears. They'd frozen a long time ago.
She'd felt detached.
Apathy was the only bastion of sanity she'd had left by the time someone stumbled across her. A soldier, one of the Argent Crusade had resumed his patrol as the chaos of the battle ended, and was first to notice her form sitting deathly still looking out over the plagued scar that tore the lands apart. He'd noted the missing amour and the lack of blades, deciding that she wasn't a threat he'd left her alone, moving on past her to continue his route. She theorized that he'd mentioned her to someone else as not fifteen mintues later a night elf came along. Keridrwen's memories recognized her as Rayne, the representative of the Cenarion Circle that had arrived only a few months before the attack that had taken her life.
The night elf disregarded the cool look Keridrwen set on her and sat down, blocking her view of the ravine.
"The guards said that a Death Knight was lingering." She commented. "The others have returned to Acherus." Keridrwen ignored her, turning her gaze back to the scar, looking right through the elf to do so. Rayne didn't seem to be disturbed, she simply continued to speak.
"Now that your people are once again awakened to the world, you have been given a choice. Highlord Tirion will send missives to the Horde and the Alliance alike. He says there is no reason the Ebon knights cannot rejoin their factions-"
"Stormwind." Keridrwen cut her off, surprising the elf into silence.
"….Stormwind?" Rayne looked at her a little uncertain now.
"I have no intrest in the Aliance, or the Horde. Or the gods be damned Lich King." All this was said in a flat monotone that gave away more than intended. "But I will go to Stormwind." Pale eyes crinkled in a frown as glowing blue eyes finally focused on the present. Finally Rayne nodded.
"Then we can make a request of Highlord Tirion and see if you may escort the messenger to King Varian." Keridrwen gave a short nod as the Night Elf got to her feet, urging her up after her, insisting that she find her something to wear, if she was to travel into the realms of Human's. The blonde Death Knight followed her without a word and without feeling.
Thassarian watched as his newest travel companion was escorted toward him by the Night Elf that had been amongst the Argent Dawn during the attack. His only friend amid the Knights had been sent as the Emmisary to Thrall and the other leaders of the Horde, but he was to be sent to King Varian of Stormwind and the other races of the Alliance. Although the situation had been explained by other members of the Argent Crusade he still couldn't help but think in the old ways that had been part of the world before his transformation into a servant of the Lich King.
The Knight, Keridrwen, if he remembered correctly. Had discarded her amour. In its absence she now wore plain guard amour that looked as though it had been acquired from the argent dawn's own quartermaster. Thassarian frowned but said nothing as she pulled a blue hood deep over her face, disguising everything but her eyes. An old, dirt smeared and torn Tabard of the Argent Dawn had been dug up, most likely of a literal sense, and was now worn in place of any insignias of the knights.
Tirion Fordring had them teleported to the gates of Stormwind and they faced the first task ahead of them, reaching the keep. Tirion had been firm in his instructions, casting a spell to restrict their powers and their voices until Varian himself granted them the counter. Thassarian held the letter, while Keridrwen followed along obediently behind. Crowds drew along their route and guards melted out of the woodwork to spit at his back. Thassarian stoically ignored the rotting fruit and jeering comments thrown at him while his companion was spared the worst of the attention, her tabard and the hood sufficient enough disguise to fool the causal glance. More often than not, the onlookers thought her to be His escort or Jailer, taking him to the King. But she was just as powerless as he was.
Finally, arriving before their target Thassarian handed over the letter, while Keridrwen knelt off to the side. Varian, listening to the words of his old friend for once Varian offered the knights a place back into the Alliance and graciously enough, gave them permission to speak again. Thassarian went to speak but at that moment, no longer bound, Keridrwen rose to her feet, not noticing or caring as her hood fell back and made to leave the throne room when a shout echoed across the room.
"LADY AURAION!"
The blonde Knight froze.
The Prince Anduin almost sprinted across the room and threw himself at the woman's Waist, only to step back when he realized that something was very wrong.
"Auraion?" he asked, and the knight finally looked down into his eyes, the blue light of the undead casting an unearthly glow as she knelt, lowering herself to the Prince's eye level.
"What do you know of my sister?" She asked surprising anyone who understood the confrontation.
"Your sister?" Anduin asked, confused as he narrowed a sharp gaze on the blonde. "You look older." He said abruptly and Keridrwen nodded.
"She is my younger sister by six years. I was a Knight of Stormwind on permanent detachment to the Argent Dawn. I died in a raid eight months ago and two months ago I was Raised as a Death Knight." She explained. "Where is my sister?" The question cast the room into silence as the King finally spoke up, drawn into the conversation by his son's involvement.
"The Priestess Auraion travelled to Northrend almost a year ago with the exploration teams." Keridrwen could "Feel" the things that weren't said. The questions of When, where, how, what and WHY. Varian didn't offer any explanation and Keridrwen didn't ask for one as she stood.
"Thank you, your highness." She gave a shallow bow and turned on her heel, pulling her hood up over her face once more as she made to leave, only to stop when the prince shouted.
"STOP!" she stopped, looking over her shoulder as the boy scampered over to her, pulling something out of his pocket as he went and reaching up to place it in her hand.
"I think you need this more than me." He said, closing her fingers around the object and stepping back. Keridrwen nodded to him, expressionless, before she swept from the room. Had she been wearing a cape like Thassarian it would have been flaring out behind her, but instead she marched down the hall and out of the keep without a word.
When she reached the outside world once more, she opened her hand and looked at what the prince had given her. The tarnished ring of Tibus Heth stared back at her from the background of her glove. Her fist closed around it once more and she closed her eyes, feeling for its power. The Signet pulsed weakly with a dim light and she slipped it into a pouch.
She'd deal with it, and the memories it brought later.
First, she had to find passage to Northrend.
When the customer was a Death Knight, a place on a ship to Northrend didn't come cheap. Cast out by the factions and still somewhat scorned in spite of their slowly changing reputation, ships captains rarely gave her a second glance. Eventually she found a place on a Warship headed to the north. Green recruits and conscripts crowded on the decks, responding to the call to arms announced by the King. In the weeks since the Knight's rebellion they'd been working with the Factions. Keridrwen had avoided the other knights, including Thassarian who was also on the ship, bound for the Icy north on the behest of the King. She'd locked herself in her cabin the moment she'd come aboard, grateful that someone had had the foresight to place her on her own instead of with the recruits in the hold. The only difficulty was the few female crew she shared the space with.
They didn't appear fussed by her presence, and said nothing of her choice to remain in her rack. In fact they treated her like she was sleeping most of the time, except they would never whisper if there was still a sun in the sky. She didn't need to appear for meals, and was more than happy to remain stationary for long periods of time, but eventually, Weeks into the cruise, she finally gave into the urge to see the sky… to know it still existed.
Creeping out she discovered quickly that it was night. A skeleton Crew manned the ship, meaning there were very few people who might bother her as she crossed the deck to the prow. Shaped like an eagle and cutting through the waves the ship bobbed gently up and down as she sat atop the figurehead. She was there for what felt like a few hours before footsteps approached from behind. She didn't bother to look but the intruder announced himself not long after as he stepped up beside her and spoke.
"So you finally tire of your Cabin."
It was Thassarian.
Keridrwen merely made a discontent noise, feeling the need to point out that not even she could tolerate staring at four wooden walls and a ceiling for days on end without feeling as though she were back in a coffin. However, the words never rose as the other Knight sat down uninvited.
Although he technically still outranked her in the order she had made it clear that she hadn't wanted anything to do with the other knights. Thassarian had approached her a few times while she stayed in Stormwind but her goals and his had never aligned. He was to fight the Lich King. She just wanted to find a connection to her past. The thought made her frown, as she wondered over the reasons. It felt more like an obsession than a conscious decision. She didn't know how or why, but she just Knew, that she needed to find Auraion, and she needed to find her, Now.
They sat in tense silence most of the night, Keridrwen staring up at the stars as if they'd give her the answers she sought.
The moment she stepped out onto the docks of the settlement in the Borean Tundra, Keridrwen KNEW that Auraion had been there. A latent power thrummed in the air as people busily went about unloading the ship of its supplies and recruits. For a while she was ushered along with them but before they could herd her into a line she stepped away from the others, her hood pulled tightly over her face as she made her way to the inn. She ignored the innkeeper's inquiring look as she took the stairs up to the highest level and out onto a balcony, taking a seat in what felt to be the warmest spot in the room.
And Icy wind she didn't feel whistled around her, but the feeling from the chair didn't change.
She'd been here.
Auraion had sat in this place for a long time. At one point, she'd even spent time casting spells, of Protection, of Healing, of Fortitude…. The feeling was one so ingrained into the keep that Keridrwen started to relax for the first time since she'd awoken in the plague lands. Grizzled looking soldiers patrolled the ramparts and the makeshift streets radiating the sensation, animals, men, women and children…. They all carried the magical scent of a healer that she was particularly sensitive too.
Keridrwen was on the right track.
She hadn't realized just how far her thoughts had taken her until she "woke" for lack of a better word a few hours later to find an unwelcome visitor standing by the window before her, watching her with more than a little curiosity. Her hood had fallen back again in a gust of wind and she had been getting a few strange looks from the warm ones, but she simply glared at Thassarian.
"You are a curiosity." He spoke, his voice a dual toned reminder of the world outside her memories. "You are undead, yet you reject what that means, the responsibilities. Yet, here you are in Northrend. Are you looking for something? The Prince mistook you for someone he appeared to be familiar with. The king said they were here in Northrend. Who is It you search for? Why do you search in the manner you do? We have been here nearly a day, but you have not asked a soul about what you seek-"
"Don't you feel her?"
The question took the Death Knight off guard.
"Feel who?" He quearied, looking interested.
"The Warmth. The Healer." Thassarian's face twisted like he was trying to reconcile something in his mind. "The Light. The Power. The difference between the people of the fortress and the people of the ships." He closed his eyes and appeared to be thinking before the blue glow reappeared and focused on her.
"There is… something…" He said, his voice carrying a faint wonder. "It stings me." Keridrwens face fell into a darkening frown. She got to her feet, once again feeling the chill of death. Without a word she crossed to the opposite side of the balcony and rolled off the railing and into the cobbled street bellow. A gnome jumped out of the way in surprise and Thassarian called out to her from above but she wove into the crowd of people, pulling up her hood against a few startled looks and moved toward the keep. Unable to return to her sister's chair, she'd find some other source of her power, and maybe the knowledge of where she'd gone.
Getting the information, turned out to take longer than she'd anticipated.
She'd discovered that she couldn't track Auraion's magical residue past the walls of the keep. Outside, things moved, the land changed, and the trail was months, if not years cold.
She'd taken up residence in the keep for the time being. Thassarian and the other Death Knights eventually moved on. They went east toward an outpost of the Lich King's forces in order to start dealing their revenge against the Lich King. The people of Valiance Keep where more than happy for her to stay and defend them from the constant attacks and incursions, she took up a blade, no better than any of the ones given to the recruits and made use of all the training she'd received as a Death Knight.
In spite of her own attempts, The power of the Light she'd once wielded as a Paladin, was lost to her indefinitely. A fact, that while expected, hurt more than she'd thought possible. It rendered most of the training prior to her death, moot. Still, she could wield a sword, and that made all the difference in a fight. It took a month of fighting, of dragging wounded off the field and of sitting in her sister's chair before someone finally approached her about their similarity. News of her identity spread around the Fortress quickly to a mixed reception but the revelation did bring forward some new information.
One soldier spoke of how she often went out to the Kulukua villages in the area, and another mentioned how she'd last been headed in their direction the day she'd left the fortress for good. So, with the information, a map, and supplies she didn't really need, Keridrwen set out for Inale Village.
"I've known about you since before you where born."
The words had a meaning Keridrwen couldn't even begin to fathom as she looked into Alexstrazsa's Eyes. The glowing Teal burned through her, and she felt uncomfortable, knowing that the Dragon Queen was seeing deep inside her, into the very core of the taint that had poisoned her soul. The blonde was reminded, and not for the first time that she was different, she was a stranger now in her own home… if this world could even be called home now.
Seeing the torment in her eyes Alexstrazsa's gaze softened and she reached out a hand to touch her arm, plate mail warming at her fingertips.
A Queen she was… but a mother she had been first.
"I saw your soul nurtured into life, as was my charge as the lifebringer." The Dragons powerful voice softened in a way that belied her demonic appearance. "And it sadden's me to see any of my children tormented by the taint of the Lich King's power. But I see strength in you… the power to resist his call. Your sister gives you this power, does she not?"
Keridrwen started, her eyes darting from the hand on her arm to the Dragon queen's face as it crinkled in a remarkably expressive smile.
"She faught the one known as Arthas. Nearly a year past she was defeated in Icecrown and is now held captive by the same spell that once held the Lich King on his throne. We felt her battle, and willed her and her companions power, but she was not strong enough. However, I believe she was more successful than we'd hoped." The Death Knight looked at her oddly and shivered in her brittle skin at the light in the Dragon Queen's eyes.
The woman's hands moved again, large soft scaled fingers brushing over her cheeks, but when she spoke, it wasn't to her. It was to something beyond her… something that could only be seen Through her.
"I see you, little priest." She spoke and a corresponding surge of power welled up from somewhere inside her body. Alexstrazsa's smile widened. "You are weak now, but you bide your time. Your knight will find you soon, I have no doubt."
Then suddenly, against her will, her lips parted, but the voice that came out wasn't one torn by the mystical ice that clouded her identity, it was warm, quiet, Familiar and filled with a flow of emotion that Keridrwen could no longer Achieve.
"Arthas will pay for his crimes." Her sister spoke passionately, using her as a mouthpiece. "He trapped me in the ice, but he keeps me close. I was the only one to make it to the top of the tower. There are weaknesses, some we might even still exploit." Keri felt the presence recede and something in her grabbed at it, her own desire to find her sister dragging her back, though the voice that continued was strained.
"My time here is short, even with Keri keeping hold. Please… there is one who could help you. My companion, a Troll. Rhuk was wounded and frozen just outside the tower. I don't know where he is now, but he has been moved Somewhere in Icecrown. I feel his life, held strong in stasis, but that can not last. Please, find him, save him, and he will lead you to the Lich King's fortress when the time it right…."
There was a long moment of silence and Alexstraza sighed.
"I no longer feel her." She spoke and glanced up to the rest of the room, glancing from dragon to dragon before her eyes landed on her consort who shook his head solemnly.
Keridrwen nearly collapsed when the Dragon Queen let go of her face, her hands having been the only thing keeping her on her feet.
"I remember a Rhuk… I think." To the knight's left Chromie stood with a look on her face that clearly said she was trying hard to remember. "Lady Auraion was with him last time they helped me out of a pickle in Stratholme. I remember it because this one time Rhuk lost his cat and-"
"I don't need to hear the story again Chromie." Nalice, the representative of the Black Dragonflight, snapped across the room. The Bronze Gnome gave her a lofty look that was equally as snooty before she turned her nose to the air.
"Hmmph. Just because you can't appreciate a good romance in the works doesn't mean that I can't tell people now can't I." She pouted and Keridrwen nearly gagged on the air, her breath catching in shock at the words. The Representative of the Emerald Dragonflight giggled, the Dazed looking High Elf watching the Undead human's reactions with an absentminded amusement.
"I think you surprised her." He said like he was letting out a breathless sigh. "Not everyone peeps on history so often…. Some aren't quite… privy to human secrets." He waved at Keridrwen before drifting over to offer her a hand, helping her to her feet. "Sisters for example." He offered.
Chromie's eyes widened but she just smiled as she realized something else as a glimpse of the future flashed through her mind.
"Oh." Was all she said as a knowing smirk twisted her lips, an unrepentant look in her eyes as it widened to a grin. "Now that's going to be interesting." She flashed out of time briefly, and came back a moment later, her grin still in place as she giggled.
Keri didn't want to know.
Alexstrazia gave a short bark of laughter.
"I think our path is now clear." The demonic looking woman turned to look to the north. "The Lich King will not make your task easy, he may devine your target and hide the Troll Rhuk from us, but it is evident he will be important to the fight. I suggest you make your way north to the city of Dalaran, the Wizards there will offer you sanctuary before you make your way to Ice Crown. Who knows, you may find assistance amongst those who wait there." Keri bowed at the dismissal and with a nod from her consort turned to take her leave before the Green Dragon Ambassador called her to halt. He broke ranks and strolled over to her, his eyes unusually serious.
"Knight of the Argent Dawn." He intoned seriously. "Yesera understands the importance of your quest. If not more so than the others here." He held out a small pouch and Keri accepted it, no sign of uncertainty on her face even if she felt that the Elf could see the nerves swirling under her skin. "Her gift, a way into the emerald dream when all else seems lost." He bid her luck, and stepped back into place. None of the Dragons spoke again as she walked to the balcony to where the red drake she'd befriended stood waiting.
"The Queen has granted me leave to escort you to Dalaran." Koristrazia spoke in the deep draconic tones. Keri offered her hand to the Drake as the proud red being knelt to allow her to climb aboard.
"Thank You, Koristrazia." She said just before her voice could be lost in the wind generated by the beast's wings. The Drake snorted softly and with a powerful heave she threw herself off the balcony and into the sky, soaring above the distant snowfields of the Dragonblight.
An hour or so later the great towering trees of Crystalsong came into view and Keri allowed herself a moment to feel hope, and somewhere in the back of her mind a boiling rage and warm confidence began to thaw away at the Lich King's magic, aided by the powers bestowed by the red and Green Dragonflights respectively.
She had a bearing, there was a chance….
She'd be damned if she didn't take it.
He was close.
Keridrwen stared at the icy room and noted all the frozen figures trapped in the ice. Heroes of the Aliance and the Horde alike stood side by side and the death knight in Argent Dawn colors frowned. The presence of the others made this difficult. At first she'd thought he'd be the only one in the room but she'd chided herself for being foolish when she realized that he and Auraion weren't the only warriors to go after the Lich king. More than one troll stared back at her from the neatly lined ranks of the statues that glistened in the hall.
She grumbled a curse, ignoring her traveling companions and closed her eyes.
Auraion wasn't there. Her presence was trapped somewhere else, but there was a weak feeling. The one that had carried her this far. She lifted her head, catching the scent of life from amid the statues and began to follow it. The first statue with the scent was an alliance foot soldier and although Keri had no interest in freeing him the others did. They bundled him into a blanket and unfroze him, breathing life back into the preserved body.
Creeping further in Keri found at least four others like the first from both factions before she stumbled across one particular entombed Troll that screamed at her to be unfrozen. His blue skin had gone icy pale from the cold, red hair was frosted into fragile spikes and large tusks pierced the skin from his lip. His face was painted with Orange and White battle markings she remembered from old battles and acquaintances.
He was laying on his side, propped up on one elbow holding his side while the other hand was raised in the air to guard his eyes from something… or someone.
An image tore from her memory, Auraion glowing like a star as she tried to heal the troll only to be disrupted by-
She stumbled as the image faded but it confirmed her feelings.
"THIS ONE!" she called to the druid in her party. He came over, looking at her like she was insane before grumbling and going about the defrosting process, healing him as he went. Keri pulled back her hood, revealing her face for the first time, making the mage of the group gasp suddenly as she knelt by the Trolls side, strategically placed so she would be the first thing he saw when he woke.
As soon as he was defrosted enough to move though, he awoke, shooting up from where he lay, still protecting his side like it was hurt and screamed. "PETITE!" He looked around wildly and finally lunged at Keri wrapping her in a desperate hug. She weathered the embrace, even bringing up her hands to pet his back soothingly as he mumbled about fear and missing her. Reluctant to break his rant Keridrwen sighed, the duel tone of her voice making the Troll tense in surprise.
"I'm sorry Hunter Rhuk." She said softly, with more emotion than she'd allowed herself since the day she'd awoken. "But your Petite is in another castle." The troll leaned back, really looking at her for the first time before abruptly letting go, eyes going shifty as he looked for a weapon. Keri shook her head at the others who all tensed at the reaction and sat back on her heels.
"I am Keridrwen. I was once a knight of Stormwind and of the Argent Dawn. Nearly a year ago I died and six months later I was brought back to the world of the living as a servant of the Lich King. In a battle in the Eastern Plauge Lands the Deathkinghts were awakened to the light, and I was freed of Arthas' influence. Ever since I have been searching For the Priestess Auraion. When I visited the Dragonflight Alexstrazia in Dragonblight, Auraion managed to make contact via a channel. She told us she was trapped in Icecrown citadel, and that if we were to free her any time soon, we'd need you. I have spent weeks combing through Icecrown and the Lich King did not make my search easy."
Rhuk eyed her distrustfully.
"Why shou'd I be 'elpin yo 'mon?" Keri closed her eyes
"Because, I intend to free her from the citadel, I want to see my sister again."
If he was surprised the Troll didn't show it. Although the others in their group who had all signed on mostly for a chance to find a way to defeat the Lich King, few had met her sister and those that did, hadn't known she'd had one. The mage that had seemed to recognize her stepped forward, the gnome barely reached their knees but he drew himself up and spoke none the less.
"You should have told us lass." He said, eyes looking old. "She was a member of our guild after all."
Keridrwen, eyes still on Rhuk, said nothing.
-While the others all thanked their saviors aboard the Airship after their near escape from Arthas in the Halls of Reflection, Keridrwen felt herself scowling up at the familiar armored form of her Superior on the upper deck. Thassarian stared back, an odd expression in his eyes as she turned up her nose and stormed away from the others in her party, moving below decks and breaking the line of sight. Her emotions had been growing since those early days after she'd awoken. The more often she came into contact with the remnants of her sister, or with the higher order of dragons, the more she found herself, for lack of a better word, Thawing.
She felt annoyance, Anger, frustration, and on the rare occasion Joy. When she discovered those touched by Auraion she could sometimes feel compassion, and sometimes she could even bring herself to care for whether or not someone survived a fight or achieved a goal.
Right now, she could feel warmth, something she'd only ever associated with her sister before. But when she'd looked up at Thassarian….
It's very presence made her want to lash out and violently destroy the things that made her feel that way. So stewing in frustration she marched right in the other direction, slinking into a darkened corner of the ship and ignoring the voices and sounds around her, sitting with her eyes closed so she could meditate.
Around her there was life, but beyond that, there was nothing but the cold empty lifeless wastes of Icecrown. When she spread her senses wider she could feel the shambling dead, and the blinded and enraged locals that had been indoctrinated to the Lich King's will.
She tried to feel for that one speck of light, but feared reaching out for it…. feared that her jailors attention might be drawn back to her.
There was a scuffle of an amoured boot on the deck beside her and she leapt up, blade going to the throat only to find the one person she'd been avoiding at the other end.
"It's been months. This is all the greeting I get?"
Keridrwen snarled at the Death Knight's words and pushed her blade just a little closer. Thassarian didn't even flinch. "You appear to be doing well for yourself." He eyed the weapons and the amour she'd cobbled together. Although it did nothing for her, she'd found amour in shades of silver, blue and gold. Not a single line of black appeared on her form but for the Argent Dawn tabard that still encased her Torso.
"Why are you here Thassarian?" She bit out. The man gave her an unreadable look and didn't speak for a long time…
"I've been hearing news of you." He said at last. "There are tales coming from the south. You've become legend in the ranks of the Alliance. You seem to have a talent for being in the right place at the right time." She scowled, remembering her quest up to that point. It had been string after string of failures in her mind. However it seemed that someone else thought differently.
Thassarian just smiled at her and her heart almost felt like it wanted to beat again before she ruthlessly squashed the feeling.
"Leave me be." She growled, wanting nothing to do with him. His smile almost fell then. But he drew himself up, ignoring her savage expression and looked at her seriously.
"Do you not feel it?" He asked, gesturing between them suddenly. "Do you not feel the pull? I've watched for months as it grew stronger. As you came nearer. I felt you arrive in Icecrown and I convinced the commander of this vessel to rush to your aid when I felt your life force come so close to that of the Lich King! Do you not feel when we are near?" Keridrwen turned away, looking small against his massive frame, and for the first time, the woman looked vulnerable.
Thassarian stepped back, unthinking before she suddenly lunged past him, out into the lit hall where she looked back only long enough to give him a parting jab.
"I only feel the pull toward her. Nothing else."
Thassarian could only watch as She walked away once more.
Passing her on the catwalk the Troll she'd arrived with took one look at her stormy expression and shook his head. He'd heard the conversation. Thassarian hadn't exactly been quiet. He approached the silent knight and gave him a knowing look.
"If she bein' any'tin like petite, den she ain't gonna just decide ta like ya mon." Dark beady eyes examined him with far too much understanding. "Der be some'tin at work 'ere. Some'tin we ain't seein. Petite did some'tin. Me knowin Petite too well, dis be 'er doin. I be feelin da call when Petite be reachin out. She be sendin 'er power some'where, me tink's she be sendin it ta de knight. When petite get mad, she don't be likin to loose."
Thassarian's attention had slowly been captured during the last minute or so as Rhuk spoke. His mind translating the broken common and realization started to set in.
"Possession?" He asked, and Rhuk shook his head. "Who is this "Petite"?" Thassarian asked for clarification.
"Petite? Dat bein da Knight's leetle sister. She bein a stubborn one. Preistess Auraion."
The name was familiar. More than Familiar. Of all the stories he'd heard of Keridrwen, there had only been more of one other woman who'd braved the wilds of Northrend. With the same talent for being in the right place at the right time, and had vanished nearly a year and a half ago somewhere in the wastes of Icecrown.
Priestess Auraion.
Thassarian suddenly understood why Keridrwen couldn't feel the growing connection… the attraction. She was playing host to an entity that was forcing her onward, driving her to find a woman trapped somewhere in the depths of the Lich King's lair. A selfish part of himself wanted to be rid of the entity, another wanted to find the woman himself and give her what for….
Rhuk gave a wheezing laugh, as if seeing through his thoughts.
"Don worry mon." he hunkered down on his heels for a moment. "Petite be knowin whut she be doin. N'n so does da knight. Dey be sisters. Rhuk gets da feelin dat when dey together, dey be doin great t'ings."
"Great enough to destroy the Lich King?" Thassarian asked. His voice low, and his eyes still on the exit Keridrwen had left through. Rhuk laughed again, his voice hoarse.
"Petite be gettin all da way ta de top o'h de tower." He said in his broken common as he bounced to his feet and slapped Thassarian on the back. "Whachu t'ink be happenin when da Knight gonna climb too?"
"She won't go alone." Thassarian muttered, his voice determined. Rhuk just smirked around his tusks. "I refuse to let her fight the Lich king alone." The troll laughed and passed him on the catwalk, heading in the direction of the deck.
"Whuchu be sayin mon, and whuchu be doin, dey two very different t'ings."
With that said, he left leaving the Death Knight alone with a growing love he hadn't realized he was still capable of and a fragile heart.
Before all this had begun Keridwen might have been the woman he could have settled down with. She was younger…. The gap in their age spanning nearly a decade, but the pure beauty and fury in her soul…. She was far more precious a gem than anyone realized… but he'd died, and in the end, so had she. And now, as realization had taken hold, he was left standing with nothing but a feeling and a knight that was possessed and charged with finding a way to end the Lich King's life once and for all….
He resolved then and there that he would do everything in his power to help her. If it meant having her survive in one piece until the end then there would be no great enough price to pay.
~Don't you resent her? She's grown powerful…. You've heard the stories…. Even the Dragonflights have heard of her…. You hate her for it…. you despise her success…. You could end it…. End her legacy now and take your rightfull place as a hero… my General….~
The Lich King's voice was no less alluring than it had been the day she'd met him on Acherus. He whispered in her ear, standing by her shoulder as she looked deep into her ice where Auraion stood, frozen eternally, still channeling the mind vision spell within the ice… She could feel her in the back of her mind, her emotions a simmering calm now that Keridrwen was standing right in front of her….
But if she killed her, she could take the credit… If Auraion died she would be a general, not just a knight. She'd be loved…
Keridrwen raised her sword above her head, bringing it into line with the body. Auraion's eyes watched her from the ice, the presence in her mind flickering out as it returned to it's original body and the shock felt like having ice dumped into her amour, the sensation cut through her almost violently freeing her from the empty haze that had engulfed her mind upon contact with the Lich King.
~kill her…. Kill Her… KILL HER!~
Keridrwen swung her sword high and drove it hard into the ice.
Only to stop.
"You know what…. Let's Not."
The voice that emerged was still dual toned… but instead of the echo of death, there was another voice. A Warm, living voice overlapping Keridrwen's own as the power surged right back into her body, stronger than before. The sword that had stopped only an inch away from Auraion's face twisted in the ice and with a heave she pulled it free as the Ice block started to crack. Keridrwen raised her eyes to meet those of the Lich King, revealing that instead of the Icy blue fire she'd been left with, her eyes now burned with a golden light.
Behind her the ice gave a sharp crack and it finally exploded,
"ARTHAS!" They spoke as one, voices melding into a single being as both the Paladin and the Priest glowed brightly. The Ashbringer appearing, torn from Tirion's hand, in Keridrwen's own.
The Lich King reeled back, his hands raising as a shield. He lashed out with Frostmorne but Keridrwen batted it aside like it was a feather and followed with the broadside of her blade. It hit Arthas dead on and in spite of the obvious advantage he had in size and strength he went flying into his throne, roaring in pain. Slumped in the icy rubble he struggled to his feet as Keridrwen raised her blade again and this time there was a steady stream of light passing from Auraion into her.
"No More Arthas." They intoned, walking toward him. "Your time has ended, your kingdom has gone. The rule of the Lich king is no longer absolute. A new Lich king will rise in your place, but you will die here, today. Your Judgement has come, and you are found wanting. May you find salvation in the Holy Light!" Ashbringer arched high into the air, Raised above her head she drove it right through Arthas's chest piece just as several bolts of light arched from Auraion, crucifying him against the throne.
And just like that, the fight was over.
"PETITE!" Rhuk shouted as he broke past the barrier and ran across the rooftop, going into a slide to break Auraion's fall as her strength finally gave out.
Keridrwen's body went limp for a moment, almost following her sister into unconsciousness before she felt herself regain control of her body. With a gasp she managed to use Ashbringer as a crutch and forced herself to stay on her feet. Her eyes scanned the rooftop like she was seeing it for the first time and her eyes lay upon the view before her.
"Tirinas…" She whispered and gave into gravity, sliding to one knee and bowing her head as the ghosts of Frostmourne finally began to appear from the blade. Soul upon soul gathered around the scene, some she knew, but many more she didn't. King Tirinas approached his son, kneeling beside him, and welcoming him back into the fold.
"No king rules forever." His whispered words rang with a tone of final truth as Arthas took his final breaths, his helmet rolling away as his body, and the ghosts finally vanished. The Helmet came to a stop at her feet, resting beside Ashbringer. Keridrwen picked it up and heard its whispers, enticing her with power, until she finally tore herself away and heard someone call her name. Moving around the throne, she found a darkly burning figure sitting against the ice, looking toward the east where the sun was rising on a new day.
"You know what to do girl." The man spoke in a voice that was more familiar than she dared to admit. She nodded, and raised the helmet over her head.
"One must always rule." Like a ritual she uttered the words as she lowered the helmet to his head and it burned red as ice grew around him, unable to stop the flames that burned on eternally.
"Now go." Keridrwen nodded, stepped back, and went to one knee, before she returned to the others, ushering them down the tower with the last of her strength and out into azeroths new day.
No one was the wiser… no one but her knew of the Lich king that had been crowned that day…
It was a secret she'd carry to her grave.
There was a literal Roar of drunken partygoers and celebrations all throughout Stormwind when the warship finally slid home into Stormwind habour and news of the Lich King's defeat spread like wildfire. Missives where sent to the king and people cheered loudly for the returning hero's of the knights of the Ebon Blade and the Argent Crusade. They grinned and smiled, accepting the praise as soldiers streamed off the boats, greeting family and loved ones.
Keridrwen watched it all with empty golden eyes.
Sheathed at her side, Ashbringer pulsed with a holy light that only a paladin of the order might be able to entice from the magical blade. The events atop the tower had reconnected her to the light. It's power flowed through her like a torrent, brighter than ever. But she didn't feel a thing.
The emotions and feelings fueled by Auraion's presence in her mind had vanished as the Woman had woken up inside her own mind, leaving her Feeling hollow, empty, and alone. Moving out of the way of the crowds she was ignored for more familiar faces and found herself moving into Cathedral Square. It was almost abandoned, even the Archbishop having gone to the harbor to greet the returnees. Climbing the stairs to the great cathedral she walked inside, only to find that someone had beat her to it.
Auraion knelt at the Altar, her eyes closed in prayer.
Keridrwen hadn't spoken to her. Not even after the fighting had finished. She hadn't even tried to make contact, instead retreating into her shell and going mostly unnoticed. Moving with a quiet grace that barely caused her amour to clink even a little, she moved up beside the Altar and knelt, closing her eyes and starting a prayer of her own. With the warmth of a short blessing, she opened her eyes again and looked down at her hand where the edges of the Heth Signet Ring pressed against her fingers. A glance to the side showed her sister was still caught up in prayer, and after a moment she closed her hand, moving it to the altar where she placed the ring so it was visible to her sister when she opened her eyes. Then with barely a moment of hesitation, she rose to her feet, saluted the altar, and turned on her heel to leave.
She never once looked back.
Auraion felt when her sister left.
Opening her eyes she noticed the Ring on the altar right away and let the tears that had been gathering free. They slid silently down her cheeks as she reached out and cupped the ring in her hands.
"I'm sorry." She whispered to the dove rampart. It said nothing back as it pulsed with recognition of her blood. As she slid it on her finger, she understood what it meant. She was the last. The only Living Heth left to carry on their name. She also knew, that where ever her sister decided to go. It would be unlikely that she'd ever return.
"I'm so sorry…." She whispered again, but there was only the ringing of the bells in the square marking the noon hour.
Keridrwen was walking toward the gates. People where in the trade district behind her, still in the midst of revelry, but aside from the usual guards looking longingly in the direction of the party the valley of Heroes was empty. She let the ghost of a sigh pass her lips as she lead her Deathcharger to the great gates.
In the end she'd decided that she'd need time. Time to think over what had happened and what she'd do. The fight was over, she could feel it in her bones, but at the same time she felt a wonderlust. She wanted to go out beyond the borders of Elwynn, beyond the mountains, beyond the dark Plauge lands that had been her battlefield, her graveyard and her home for far too long.
The chill of death was gone. New life stirred in her in a way she didn't understand, but the gentle power of the light was a comfort she'd sorely missed since waking up as a Death Knight. But she was something different now…. Something else…. And it showed.
Walking her charger to the very edge of the stones of Stormwind she stopped one last time, taking a moment to check the saddle and her supplies as she hesitated on that last step into a new world. Eventually, what she appeared to be waiting for arrived and a shadow fell over her. She looked upward and there framed by the sky, sitting atop his own mount was Thassarian. He too had changed that day. Although his eyes still remained the blue fire of the undead he appeared to be more alive than before. There was a warm cast about him of someone healed. She turned away, pulling on the saddle as she hauled herself up into it.
"So where will our path take us?" Thassarian asked, waving an armored hand to the world beyond the gate. Her charger shifted restlessly under her as she looked unseeingly into the serene woods of her childhood.
"I don't know." This time, there was no need to protest, no desire to hurt or maim for the distraction. She welcomed the company.
"Then we will just have to see where we end up." He said sagely and for the first time since she'd awoken, Keridrwen finally smiled.
"Didn't you know? It's not the destination; it's how you get there."
She kicked her mount forward
….and took the first step.
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Cya