BLOOD LEPRECHAUN by J Cae
AUTHOR'S NOTE ADDED NOVEMBER 4, 2004
Your author is trying to graduate from university and is struggling to get her homework done--getting World of Warcraft will undoubtedly lead to her dropout, so she won't be doing that. This story will be set in an alternate universe , post TFT . She wishes to apologize in advance for her lack of knowledge in the WOW storyline. She welcomes correction if her fic is ridiculously inconsistent with the canon--but if you flame, and she will simply assume that you have no idea what a FANFICTION is.
AUTHOR'S NOTE, AS OF MARCH 28, 2004
This is the direct sequel to RANGER GENERAL. It's not intended as a standalone, so I guess it'll be easier to understand it if you read RG first. Please?
DISCLAIMER: Every recognizable character, race etc belongs to Blizzard.
POLICY: Reviews are very welcome, and gee, thanks!! I will respond to you individually at the end of the next chapter. I'm open to criticisms as well, but I will not tolerate groundless insults--flames will be ignored.
PROLOGUE
Leprechaun: le-pri-kon n, mischievous sprite in Irish folklore.
Blood leprechaun: cruel spirit with the face of a cherub that takes pleasure in bloodbath and delights in another's pain.
Khecomo Wingowl had always taken much pride in his keen eyesight, but that evening thirteen years after the Dark Lady sailed for the western continents of Kalimdor, it was the first time he ever knew what 'not believe in one's eyes' meant.
He patted his dragonhawk and tried to keep it from making any noise. But it seemed to have sensed its rider's fears and began to panic.
Below them were the torches of an invading army, their dark emblems flying in the dimming sky--he counted heads of approximately seventeen hundred. But numbers, he knew, was not an issue to his opponent. He heard she could turn ten men into a hundred with her telepathy. How vast could her powers be down there?
He whirled his mount around and flew as swiftly as the hawk's wings could carry him, back to Quel'dara, the lonely home of the Blood Elves. He knew he was a good sixteen miles away from King Kael'thas and the castle, yet he knew he must make it.
The smell of things burning intensified and he risked a glance back--and he gasped. The forest was set on fire!
Smoke and soot billowed from the canopies and blew into his face, making his eyes sting and nose run. But he could not afford to worry about those things. He must make it in time to his king. Urging his stallion to fly faster, he managed to escape from their sight and headed to the heart of the elven city.
It was dark when he arrived. Guards at the castle gates blocked his path, but he pushed them out of the way.
"Stand there!" the guards tried to retain him. "You can't just go in. You need to present a letter to see the king."
"To hell with the letter," he yelled without turning back. "We're under attack!"
"Under attack?" the guards cried aloud in shock. "But it's impossible..."
Oh, but it was possible.
Quel'dara was concealed behind miles of lush trees, protected by the enchanted energies of Mother Nature. For one who did not know the geography of the land would have trouble finding the hidden city if at all--but the invader was no stranger. Rather, she was someone they knew too well.
Khec raced down the hallway to the throne room. He had only been inside the huge mazelike castle once, and yet he somehow managed to find his way to the throne room. More guards barred his way, and he just shouted through the doors, "Milord! We're under attack! The treacherous woman has returned!"
"Be quiet, you ragged beggar!" from his soiled clothes and his blacked face, the guards could not see that he was a border patrol and not a crazed pauper and shoved him aside.
But the heavy mahogany doors flew open, and he was let into the throne chamber before King Kael'thas and the high council who were in the middle of the meeting.
"Milord, it is the Dark Lady!"
The king stood up from his high throne and regarded the scruffy dragonhawk rider with anxiety etched in his face. "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely," Khec answered, forgetting to bow--but Kael did not seem to notice. "She still has that wretched dreadlord with her."
"Are you sure she is hostile?" Kael rephrased his question.
Khec heard the rumours that Kael had a thing with the Dark Lady before she left, which might explain his reluctance to believe. But the rider only said, "She's setting the forests on fire, milord. We must send out an army to stop her before she gets any further inside."
"I will send men to parley with her," Kael cast a glance at his high council. "General Iria."
The shrewd but young ranger general stood and saluted him, "Your will, your majesty?"
"Ask Sylvanas to come in and talk to me. She must come alone."
"Aye, your majesty," she turned to leave. But just before she passed Khec she heard the rider speak and paused.
"Milord, you're sending Iria to her certain death. If Sylvanas wanted to talk, she would have just come in and talk. You know her better than the rest of us. She wouldn't have to burn the forest to get attention."
Young Iria bit her lips. Though she hated to think that she would be in any mortal danger, she believed Khec was right. Thirteen years had passed and the Dark Lady was without a trace. If she could return this day and burn the forests, there was no telling what she had in mind.
"Spare Iria," Khec spoke again. "You will have need of her on the battlefield. I will go in her place."
"But..." though Iria was grateful to Khec for offering to take her place, it was still a task her lord entrusted to her. If she shrank back from it, she would...
"All right," Kael nodded slowly, "Stay, Iria." It seemed that he was finally beginning to accept that the woman in whom he once placed his complete trust had turned her back on him and came back to remove him from his throne--or from this world. "Rider, what is your name?"
"Khecomo Wingowl, milord," Khec replied. "I'm on my way."
Khec flew back to the devastated outskirts. The flames had already migrated deeper in to the forest, but it would still take a while to reach Quel'dara. He cautiously ventured near the Forsaken army, located the Dark Lady, and lowered his lance in the elven courtesy to demand a peace talk.
The crypt fiends were ready to ensnare him to the ground and he said his prayers out loud to the Highest Light. But Sylvanas Windrunner stepped forward and raised her hand in the signal of peace. He noticed that she was hooded and veiled and she never once looked up at him--he wondered why. It was not her nature to be so...humble.
"Sylvanas Windrunner," Khec did not get off his mount as he should have when parleying with the opponent. He dared not, for he knew he would be a dead man the moment he did so. On his dragonhawk, he might yet have a chance to escape.
The Dark Lady did not speak. Instead, a dark-haired sorceress by her side spoke, "You will now address our lady as the Queen of the Forsaken."
Khecomo raised his brow. He was certain the sorceress was living and robed in outlandish fashion. No doubt she was a very powerful sorceress--and he could smell raw magic about her.
"All right, Queen of the Forsaken," he could do nothing about the sarcasm in his tone. "Our king wishes to speak with you. He invites you to come into his castle--but you must go alone."
"I know what it is that Kael wants," the Queen finally spoke, her voice as cold as the winter's chill down Khec's spine. "I only wish to bring one other with me. I know he'd agree."
Khec sighed--if his speculation was accurate, it would have to be the sorceress. He could not concur--for she would be a threat to his king's safety. Yet Sylvanas sounded so sure about Kael's decision...
Khec made no promise, and only led them to the castle.
"Sylvanas!"
Kael, indeed, as the Queen of the Forsaken suggested, agreed to let her bring the sorceress with her. He emptied the throne chamber, leaving only Iria and two guards at his side, just in case.
He was surprised as the familiar figure strolled into his hall with every inch of her skin concealed behind black garments--only her eyes remained unshielded, and there was something different about them...
Yes. Her once blue eyes had become a dull shade of grey. And he was suddenly worried. Was this really Sylvanas? Or was this just some fraud?
"Show yourself to me! Why do you..."
But the voice was definitely hers, "I just thought you might not want to see."
"What do you mean?"
Slowly, she removed her hood. Long silver curls fell over her shoulders.
"My queen..."
Kael was hardly aware of the sorceress's presence until she spoke up.
But Sylvanas chose to ignore her and reached to remove her veil.
He gasped as he stared at a figure bleached to deathlike white.
Her face was devoid of emotion and life as she studied his reaction calmly.
"Sylvanas...what happened? Why...why are you like this?"
"Sylvanas Windrunner had died completely," replied the stranger before his eyes.
Gone was the woman who had once been so willful and spirited. Left behind was an empty shell that refused to give in. Still it walked, still it fought for a cause so distant she could not even recall. But the need to destroy was far greater than any sense she had left.
She terrified him.
"But why..."
"It is Ner'zhul. He killed me again."
His heart wrenched painfully. He should have seen it coming. He should have stopped her from throwing herself away. "Tell me everything..."
"He destroyed me, and now I am him!"
J Report:
Hello people!!! Been a while since I uploaded here. My account had been suspended and unsuspended for some strange reason, and my computer has been down for the third time in the last two months because of a problematic motherboard--whatever that means. I'm still working on 'Listen'. I'm also currently writing a StarCraft thing titled 'Infested', though I have absolutely no idea what I'm gonna do in that. Been replaying StarCraft again, but my computer doesn't really like the game and keeps on crashing. So stupid. Anyway, thanks for reading.
A 'Thank You' note to people who reviewed Ranger General's final chapter:
Demongod86: Thanks. Of course Illidan couldn't die or else what could I do in the sequel? That warden who tortured Illidan is Maiev, true. He knocked her out, yes, but I didn't say THAT happened (grins evilly--what's THAT anyway?!). You got close about Leprecha, but to your great disappointment, she is NOT Maiev. She is an original character.
Rowan Seven: Oh no...if Naga lay eggs, how would that VxK thing go?? (has a mental image of Vashj with her tail coiling protectively around her egg: "Nobody touch!")...Anyhow, thanks for all your comments. I really do appreciate your reviews. You should have seen my original draft. I didn't even get as far as this Nerz vs. everybody scene and ended just with Syl sailing away. But I decided against it and instead made up a sequel, even if it means I'd hafta venture a bit into the WOW storyline (I don't think I'll be getting the game though cuz I won't have time to play it anyway). But I promise you Blood Leprechaun will have a more 'final' conclusion, just cuz it will be the final instalment in the RG series, and probably my final War fic as well. Of course, I will complete what I've started with e.g. Listen, To Honour, Maiev etc, but I'll be trying to find something else to get obssessed with. You might find the answers to some of your questions in the sequel, actually, especially regarding Maiev and Illie-dan (oops, there is no 'e' in his name). Vashj was, in a way, my deus ex machina, and she returned to solve my problems...point taken though. Must admit that you're right, and I didn't focus too much on the epic battle itself--that was too much for me to handle, and my poorly wired brain kind of had an imaginative-overload. Sor/ree. Why should Nerz desire Kael's service in undeath? That's because Nerz wants everything and everyone dead or undead--and I'm working on a more unknown and (gasp cough wheez) twisted side in him...but I heard you scream for NerzxSyl somewhere in your review of Chapter 6. Poor Varimathras. Even though I don't really like him in the canon, he's a good character.
San: You can't kidnap Kael yet, cuz I still need him for this story, and 'Test of the Princes'. But I'll let you have him after, okay?!...
Anouymous: Thanks. Heh, I know--it took me a few tries to spell leprechaun right. I thought of titling it Blood Sprite, but that didn't sound weird enough. You REALLY want Maiev and Illidan to go together? REALLY?
Wolfarine: Sorry, my bad. Would you forgive me??? OMG, you can make campaigns? All that time and patience...jeez. I have a b-net account too, but I haven't been on since I lost my first battle 2 years ago. I never win my brother when we LAN either (IMO he desperately needs to get a life (snickers)). So frustrating. Anyhow, I really appreciate your support, and I'm glad I inspired you to make a SylxKael campaign.
Queen of the Harpies: Thanks!! That thing Nerz said is my favourite line too!! though I suppose a writer shouldn't be choosing among her children...anyhow, don't worry, you didn't miss anything. I just haven't said everything yet. ArthasxSyl, I personally still can't accept it. NerzxSyl is a different story though, as you know I'm a Nerz fan but NOT an Arth fan it's just too bad they had to merge--Ar'zhul is probably not the only one with multiple personality disorder.
GG Crono 4: Thanks for your support! Can't tell you how grateful I am.
wingchumonZERO: Thanks so much all the same.