Disclaimer: The characters and settings created by Blizzard Entertainment Inc in this story are owned by their creators. I do not claim them as mine in any way, shape or form. I am not receiving monetary profit from this story and no copyright infringement is intended.
Once upon a time,
in an alternate universe far, far away…
when Kael'thas was king…
If you can believe it!
MY LIFE FOR MY PRINCE
[cue victorious Sunfury Imperial March music]
Episode 1: The Embarassing Story of How I Became a Bloodknight
When Warchief Sylvanas learned a powerful lei line of Light magic
had erupted in The Barrens, she was forced to call on the SILVER HAND,
the Horde's only hope in the new, semi-reunited Azeroth.
However, her communication was intercepted by a secret order of BLOODKNIGHTS, determined to control the volatile font of magic for themselves
and for the mysterious Bloodmage they served, KING KAEL'THAS SUNSTRIDER
The fate of all AZEROTH now depends on who will control the abundant Light source in Kalimdor. The ALLIANCE, who would take even more control and imbalance
the so-called "peace" in the realm, or the rebel BLOOD NEXUS who are secretly determined to strengthen the interests of their desperate HORDE allies…
If only Kael'thas wasn't so SHADY, maybe people
would trust him more, even in an alternate universe…
The orange dust of the Barrens trailed the cavalry of red Hawkstriders like dragon's breath. Each Sunfury soldier wore a helmet with red jewel eyes that glinted above the snarling open jowls of a lynx cat. Each Blood Elf man and woman held tightly onto the reins with one hand. The other rested easily over a golden scimitar. The grip of each was the head of a wide-eyed phoenix, and the scabbard its swift wing, ready to fly into the fight. Their red and gold capes were the same, all open wings flapping as they climbed the dunes, and soaring as their swift mounts slid on clawed feet or leaped with avian athleticism down onto dry earth and scrub grass on the other side.
They passed zhevra that startled into stampede at the sudden appearance of so many Hawkstriders. The big red birds were larger than the native plainstriders, but yet somehow as mean as the savannah lions that raced downwind of this terrifying cavalry.
Then, on the horizon appeared the fiery explosion of Light magic. The Orcs, Tauren and Trolls had nicknamed it The Golden Wraith, and it had been hungrily ripping a deeper, wider crater into the earth with every day that passed. No one could control it and no one knew what to do about it. The Blood Elves, organized into warparties headed by a pair of Bloodknights each, swarmed around the sun-yellow fissure, divided into ranks and set up banners in moments. They intended to tame the Golden Wraith while the whole Horde was still fast asleep.
General Sunthraze was a Bloodknight by training, and this was all his brainchild, it seemed. He shouted orders and pointed with his ranseur. Much of what he said was swallowed up in the roar of the conflagration raging in pulses around them. However, points of amethyst light glowed at the temples of their helmets, beneath stylized red lynx ears, and the ones being commanded suddenly heard and rode off to their new positions.
Sunthraze then shouted in the other direction, pointed. The soldiers at his left shoulder spread out in that direction, forming an arc around the western brink of the fiery crater. The Hawkstriders even had the red 'cat masks' over their eyes, made specially to protect them from the raging tempest of Light. None were afraid or blinded by it, thanks to his ingenuity. The soldiers just focused on doing what they were trained to do.
And speaking of Tempests…
At the center of the army, five black boxes were set up and tall red and gold flags with phoenixes were arranged around them. Magisters rode a circle around those, tapping each with their staves, and then stopped their Hawkstriders to conjure. A bright blue portal opened up and the black boxes unfolded to puzzle together columns, five walls, a pentagram, and then a pentagonal shrine seething with green fel energy. From within, the blue light flashed. Soon after, a Bloodknight known better as Tempest the Raven, a tall and vain woman determined to look alluring in her armor, even in this moment, raced down on her Thalassian charger, a large phoenix shield at the ready.
Sunthraze, still on his own armored horse and unwilling to give the order for anyone else to dismount, noticed her when they all made way and she rode close to the crater's edge. He raised his free hand to the side of his mask. The purple light glowed softly as his muffled voice spoke to her helmet, using magic, "You ever tanked anything on a charger, Tempest? I think the extra armor will help us here."
She inclined her head, and the light over the ear nearest him flickered back, "Well, I tangle with you all the time, and you're kind of a stallion—"
"Not now, Tempest." Sunthraze's muffled voice came back and cut hers off.
"I still got you to blush, though, I can tell…" she sighed, "Anyway, yeah. Tank this, thank that. If I tanked that crazy Fel Reaver thing back in Tempy Keep, then of course I can tank anything. And I'll do it on a horse, doesn't matter."
"Good. The agility will help us, too. These things will be coming in fast." Sunthraze drew out his sword, then held the side of his head again, "Brother Tank. How long until Sylvanas arrives?"
The voice was from another Bloodknight, familiar to them both, "Another hour, maybe. We slowed down her Wolf Riders, but the skeletal warhorses are a little swifter. Brother Sly, are you sure you have enough time to do all this properly?"
"I'd better make sure I do," Sunthraze turned his horse in red armor to face Tempest. She smiled at him, but he was looking beyond the woman coming out of her Bloodknight's armor at fun angles. The black shrine had formed armored doors and now a Blood Elf man dressed as a warlock, but wearing armor as well, was getting down off of his horse.
Sunthraze's talk light gleamed, "Brother Immortal! I did not give that order—"
"Mavia and I need to be loose for the work we do…"
Tempest complained, "Ugh. Always the dirty jokes with that one…"
Sunthraze looked up at her next, "And always the dirty looks from you. Everyone, today we need to focus. And Sister Weaver?"
Brother Tank said, "…She's with me. We're ready to tank and heal inside the shrine."
Sunthraze took an anxious breath, "And Mother Whiteblade?"
It took a while for Saturna to answer. Then, a man's confident voice raised over magical interference, "The queen is here with me, Sunthraze. We all summoned safely. And Sorn and Liadrin. Your father is here, also."
Sunthraze grumbled, "Aw crap…"
"I know. Blaize is giving me a headache too, already. Anyway, my runestone is up. Thanks for getting Sylvanas' scramblers down. All are in position."
Sunthraze turned to Tempest. Tempest carefully walked her horse around to face the threat. So, the big boss had been listening in the whole time? Sort of awkward…
"Uh, on your order, Kael'thas…"
"I want it fast, clean and safe. We're a part of the Horde, we don't want to rip ourselves out of it after we deal with what's rightfully ours…" Then a shout that made all the many lynx helmets around the yellow storm look up as tiny points of purple magic glowed at the ears. Kael'thas shouted, "For Quel'thalas!"
Sunthraze pointed his ranseur at the roaring volcanic column of Light, "Tempest, charge!"
"Alright, but I'm going to remind you on our anniversary night that you sent me off to my doom and didn't even say 'Good bye, honey' first."
Some laughter carried through Sunthraze's helmet after that. Sister Weaver, Brother Tank and Brother Immortal, Sister Maneater, even Mother Whiteblade. And a snerk or two from Kael'thas himself.
"Alright, Grand Marshal Tempest… love you… uh, love you, too." Now Sunthraze did look down for a beat, embarassed.
Tempest hauled on her steed's reins and the horse reared up, whinnied. She punched up with her shield arm, releasing the gold Light twin of her shield into the conflagration. So much Light magic raced around itself, forming a cyclone. It began to leaned in toward her alone.
"That's it! She's aggroed… Archers and mages, open fire! Everyone else, get ready for the real wraiths…"
After the arrows and magical projectiles landed in many small, white-hot blasts along the cyclone, a thick amber cloud roiled up from the crater's edge and spread out among the many ranks of Blood Elves. But the cloud was a mass of strange magical creatures, all were manifestations of the Light-filled lei line so pure, that they each had a will of their own, were sentient. The Sunfury turned on each one and felled it.
Where were the Light Wraiths going? Toward the menacing looking blackened shrine. The counter to all of that white power from which they had come. Bright green fel energy smoked in pulses from the eaves of the shrine, high above its runed columns. Then, what could have been black lightning appeared in the air, threading around people. It choked a black ring around the whole crater before fading from view, just as fast.
Mavia the Maneater, a bright orange succubus, ran in when the second wave of Light Wraiths floated up from the crater, moving faster than their Hawkstriders or Bloodknight horses could manage. She made a hell-bending screech that frightened the soldiers nearest her. Really, that had been her intention. In the next moment, she threw a whip into the breach, a black leather whip that dazzled white as she lashed her arm back the other way and cracked it in the air. A whole flank of Light wraiths were battered to smoke and cinders.
She landed on tiny black and red hooves, raced along the invisible line she had defended, opened wings and flew soared over the heads of more Sunfury soldiers to land and protect the blackened shrine against the next wave.
"Gods, she's good." Fennore the Immortal grinned, and raised his own fist in the air. Shadowbolts rained from above and a concecrated mist of Light burned the ground and spread out below. Warlock spells and Bloodknight spells created chaos together. The Immortal Demonologist and the Maneater held and then pushed the enemy line back further.
Mavia screamed for Sunfury to get the 'fel out of my way' and then swept her white-hot whip around again.
Within the black shrine, Kael'thas went down on one knee. The ten other Bloodknights with him stood in a circle with their weapons out. They faced him, not the shuttered out world of Light beyond. Flashes of white light ran up the tiny seams between the dark magical stones as Fennore and Mavia obliterated each threat to their king on the outside.
Kael'thas wore mage armor similar to that of Fennore. The red cape, the three swirling fel green diadems were his own royal regalia, of course. But the rest was heavy plate made for a mage who was on the warpath. Yet, he knelt and he waited.
Five of the Bloodknights looked very young. Two, a blonde woman and healer, and a man with dark hair, shield and red sword, stood with their cat masks pushed up so that it was easy to see their faces. Lady Liadrin wore silver armor and stood closeby an older gentleman with a white beard and black armor and cape. He very much had the look of a mage as well. And then there was the recently retired Sunfury General, a man with a white streak flowing down his red mane, named Blaize.
"Steady, Kael'thas…"
Pyorin blinked and got angry in an instant, "You are, precisely, the worst and last person to calm Kael'thas down in a situation like this, Blaize."
"Look. I know how he works—"
"He's right, Blaize." Went Daphne.
"Shut up, Blaize." Confirmed Lady Liadrin.
"I was just trying to—"
"Shut the hell up, Blaize!" Kael'thas looked over his shoulder, face contorted with annoyance and on the verge of rage.
Blaize made a noise under his breath, rested a hand on his old general's Sunfury sword.
Queen Saturna was also a Bloodknight. A large silver blade that smoked white enchantment rested across her back. She strolled past Blaize next, looking as professional and focused as the rest should have been. Her black plate boots clicked over the magical tiles on the ground.
When all was again quiet, she said, "Blaize, your son is the Sunfury General now. If you had a problem with that, then you should have stayed home."
Blaize tightened the grip on his sword and licked the top row of his teeth.
Saturna's boots clicked as she walked back the other way. She was an unusual-looking person these days. Mostly blue, pale white hair. A little… transparent. They said, once, she had made the ultimate sacrifice for her husband Kael'thas…
But it'll take four more stories to explain all that, so I won't.
"Stop pacing, please."
Saturna paused and observed her husband, instead.
Blaize looked around at everyone with offended shock, opened a questioning hand. Kael'thas had been a whole lot nicer to Saturna.
Saturna smiled fondly at both men.
"Next pulse, incoming." Kael'thas put a flat hand on the ground. All over the floor, green runes came to life, segments of fel light racing, and then racing faster as Kael'thas focused. He was making hundreds of these calculations at once. "…Pulse."
Black lightning threaded in the air, escaped through the walls. Another dark spell to race along to the crater and choke it closed.
Kael'thas had used a gentle voice because his real focus was elsewhere, but the fallout was a heckuva lot worse. Snarling Light wraiths were suddenly everywhere in the shrine. The Bloodknights all ran forward. Pyorin was the loudest, drew the monsters' attention, and then they battered the creatures to smoke and ashes while Daphne went up on her toes and healed. Daphne healed everyone in the place, whether they were in danger or not.
Blaize scowled even while happy doses of Light sang above his head. Liadrin healed Sorn, who stepped forward and used one hand to write a blue spell in the air. He added to it each time Kael'thas conjured. Sorn was somehow recording it all, keeping track of the calculations.
Sorn confirmed, "Pulse complete."
The wraiths were finished off. All in the shrine relaxed.
"Blaize?" asked Kael'thas.
"Yes, my King."
"Well…?"
"One or two more should do it. We sealed off worse Light lei lines at the Black Temple, I remember. The reverberations, they felt kind of like Kemeretti, which was wide… or deep like Damash'pulan, maybe?"
Kael'thas sighed, "Are you sure you can't be more accurate?"
"Not if you're going to snap at me, no."
"Two and three-quarters, Kael'thas. But there's a repeating decimal there, of course, because we're dealing with non-linear magics." Sorn took down his monocle, dabbed a handkerchief at his brow. "Blaize just reminded me of the Kemeretti lei line from back then, that was, indeed, wider than it was deep, and it behaved a lot like this one. That should save us a few pulses and time conjuring. Thank you, Blaize. Your lived experience is, as always, invaluable."
Blaize stood a little taller, lifted his chin.
"If he could still swing a sword past his waist, he'd be a lot more useful in here." Pyorin paced a circle.
"Complain all you want, but my good bloodlines are also out there, taking the brunt of it. And doing well, too."
Speaking of Sunthraze, his voice filled the chamber. Several points of purple light glistened on their red helmets, "Sylvanas is finally here. She's eating through our ranks in the back."
Kael'thas said, "Dammit. Well, at least we didn't bring actual Farstriders, she would have completely flattened us by now. She knows those maneuvers inside and out. How much time?"
Fennore's voice came in, "Less than ten minutes. Mavia and I are dealing with a damned Undead cavalry. Everyone knows you're inside this shrine, Kael'thas. Exactly where you are is their target at the moment."
"Sunthraze!" magical interference welled up, "Sunthraze, can you hear me?" Kael'thas asked again, "Sunthraze, I want you to draw Sylvanas toward the lei line. Isn't that more valuable to her? Make her recognize that. I need more time to finish the pulses."
Sorn rushed to draw another blue calculation in the air. Then, he shook his head and conjured a portal. A wavering view of the Silvermoon Sunspire lay beyond.
"Emergency escape summoned, your majesty." Liadrin announced.
Kael'thas stood. He looked at all the flashing green runes around him. "Sylvanas knows I have my own runestone, though. And she knows exactly how to overload it."
"Also very like her." Daphne looked up, worried.
Saturna looked to Kael'thas. Love, concern. Then, her eyebrows raised. Her eyes, now wide with offense at something only she could feel, see.
"Saturna. What do you think?"
"We need to stay here, in Kalimdor. Kael'thas, you have to shut it down and soon."
Sorn put in, even tone, "If we go now, my queen, Sylvanas cannot bring charges against Quel'thalas itself. And General Sunthraze has already sworn that he will claim he went rogue."
Blaize crossed his arms, "And bring shame on the good Sunthraze name? I don't think so."
"This was already agreed, weeks ago, and it's not even your family name." Daphne turned on Blaize, "And not long before that, when you all were doing the so-called Silvermoon season, weren't you and Celestia busy claiming to be Sunstriders?"
"Daphne—" Saturna raised a hand, cut her off, "Sylvanas is pushing Sunthraze into the lei line itself. That is the disturbance I sense. She's willing to put a knife to Brother Sly's throat, in order to end this."
Liadrin looked alarmed, "Oh, Sylvanas has changed. Too much change…"
Blaize shook his head, "It a shame, but it's also a perfect strategy. Sylvanas nothing to lose-"
Saturna looked angry, "Well, except your son."
"Of course. I was about to say that."
Kael'thas had to think quickly. Then, he blinked into several points of arcane magic, disappeared. Saturna, Daphne and Pyorin were gone, too.
Blaize uncrossed his arms, "What the—"
"Everyone! Outside." Liadrin ordered them. "Where your king goes, you go too—whether he sends you a pretty little invitation to or not. Get those runed doors open, now!"
Kael'thas blinked several times until he, his wife, his tank and his healer were standing just behind Sunthraze.
"You can move your arm from around my waist now, Kael'thas." Saturna placed hands on his chest and looked up at him.
He was holding her tight against him as if he was frightened he'd actually drop her. Which was impossible with a blink spell.
"I kind of like you up against my body during a battle."
Despite the chaos about them, Saturna flashed him a little smile, just for him, but then took the step away that she needed to draw her sword and begin thinking of his protection.
Saturna looked at Lady Sylvanas up on her blue glowing skeletal warhorse. She summoned up a thick black-red Bloodknight seal and began to walk over to her.
"Oh Light itself, here we go…" Pyorin said, as he positioned himself in front of Kael'thas, "Banshee warchief against… whatever Saturna is these days."
They watched together as several Orcs noticed the Blood Elf queen and ran in with their axes. When they each took a swing, Saturna faded and the metal passed through her.
"After years of me helping her with that curse? Well, she's mostly my creation now. Which, I have to say, has all kinds of advantages." He smiled, "Daphne, I still want you to cover her, though."
"On it…"
Daphne's healin gspells reached very far, for a Bloodknight.
Sylvanas wasn't really looking out for Saturna. There wasn't even a real reason for Saturna to be there. She rarely left Silvermoon, or was rumored not to be able to, after the tragedy. Then, in the next moment, the threatening Undead warchief suddenly looked comical being yanked down off her horse by another Blood Elf who was smaller, similarly Undead, and a lot more blue.
Pyorin lowered his shield a second, "Your creation… Oh Kael'thas. I am surprised at you."
"Come on," Kael'thas waved for them to back up, "Now that I have the whole army in front of me and we have more protection, there's more time to conjure and we can easily support Sunthraze."
Daphne balked, "By drawing all the fire that was on Sunthraze, onto our king instead?!"
"You obviously have a thing for Lady Sylvanas, Kael'thas."
"Hunh? What did you say, Pyorin?"
"…Admit it. Saturna could have resembled anyone, with all your magic."
"Brother Tank! Is this really the time?" went Daphne.
"What? W-well… Saturna doesn't mind."
Daphne looked dejected, now that she was finally following the guys' conversation, "I don't think Saturna even knows."
"He's a Sylvanas fanboy, Saturna's a Kael'thas fangirl… I didn't know. When will the madness end?"
"Can you two just… shut up and kill things?!"
Daphne arched a blonde eyebrow, "Am I killing your fangirl queen or am I healing her?"
"Heal! Heal, I said!"
Daphne smiled, "Just making sure… Oh, ouch! Right hook and right in the face! Nevermind, I'm pretty sure Saturna knows she looks like Sylvanas."
Pyorin huffed a laugh, "Yeah, Saturna totally just went into 'there can be only one' mode…"
"Third pulse done! Last pulse!"
Kael'thas was standing on the brink of the crater, conjuring and shouting by himself. Pyorin threw up a shield of light and caught several orcish javelins flying their way.
Black, soulless magic welled up from deep in the crater. It climbed almost as high as the flaming Light.
Sylvanas swore and threw Saturna off of her, recognized the spell.
"He's… sealing it? But I asked the Silver Hand to seal it."
Saturna shrieked a warcry, got back up. Sylvanas slapped her. Saturna slapped Sylvanas back.
"You fanatical Bloodknight, freakshow nitwit! I'm trying to get you to pay attention to me." Sylvanas grabbed Saturna by the ghastly shoulders, "What the hell is your husband doing?"
"He's trying to save the Horde! We all are! But you'd never trust our Bloodknights with it. Instead, you want to involve the Humans and put the very Silver Hand in control, and right near Orgrimmar itself, Sylvanas!"
"No, that's a conjuring spell… Kael'thas is not sealing up the lei line, he's stealing the Light magic—he has to be stealing it from us. That's exactly what that shady-ass Kael'thas would come all the way to my Kalimdor and do. All fire on King Kael'thas!"
Saturna grabbed Sylvanas back, really looked her in the eyes, as if she were sorry and about to explain more. Then, Saturna let loose another wild warcry and headbutted her. Sylvanas let go, stunned, and dropped to the ground.
"At a girl!" went Kael'thas, somewhere…
And then, when it should not have been able to get any worse (even writing-wise), it did.
The lei line quaked. It raged beyond Kael'thas' black shadow spell. The ground split between Tempest on her horse, trying to keep the lei line focused on herself, and Kael'thas with Daphne and Pyorin on the other side. Two Bloodknight tanks focusing on each flank, protecting from both the lei line and Sylvanas' Undead and Orc warriors. The tank and the so-called off-tank were facing two completely different directions. It was perhaps inevitable. It was perhaps so foolish of them not to notice, to realize it.
And, perhaps, Kael'thas did see it coming and hoped it would help his spell, by splitting the focus of the lei line. Or, for once, Kael'thas made a deadly mistake in his calculations. Because a Bloodmage simply did not think like a Bloodknight. He couldn't.
Saturna came running back when she realized what was going on. Sunthraze stood between the two warparties, surprised to find Kael'thas suddenly beside him, where his king was not supposed to be. All of this was against his strategy, and Sunthraze kept looking from Kael'thas to Tempest on his side, trying to reassess the situation. But he just wasn't sure.
Tempest looked down at her husband suddenly aware of the danger. She turned to him, the face of a grimacing lynx covering her gaze. She tried to move her horse into the crossfire, but it was getting to be too much, even for a Bloodknight charger. The half-magic-half-animal was afraid.
Saturna raced to get there also, "Get Sunthraze away from there!" Purple starlight ignited on all of the red lynx helmets around.
And then, the lei line blasted free, right beneath the young general's feet. The shade of who he was, swallowed up in extremes of black and so much terrifying white.
ealHeal
The first Bloodknights in existence, who later became the best Bloodknights in existence, who also, simultaneously, suffered for being the most incompetent Bloodknights in existence, each of them will tell you… Going off to follow Kael'thas to Outland was a horrible idea. Helping him out with his evil, zany schemes while there was worse. And, certainly, getting involved with him in the first place was a disastrous accident.
But terrible mistakes also test you. They anger you, and propel you into righteous action to correct that wrongdoing. Getting things ass-backwards in life can sometimes force a person to start getting things exactly right. And is that wrong? To live and writhe and fight as a mortal creature? To care about how things are? To dare to survive and take others into the Light with you? Drag them into the blinding white oblivion of giving a shit and trying to do anything to save lives, stop madness, stop lies and foolishness and make this a good world? Dammit-it hurts your eyes, doing stuff like that. Doing anything but sitting alone at home, huddled in a corner while things fall apart outside is insanity itself, if you think about it. Why try? Everything is going to hurt anyway.
But a terrible mistake also really happens when you are brave enough, against the awful odds, to just try anyway. Try and then survive.
Otherwise, you know, you'd be dead.
Well. When Tempest held her husband's hand, and the curious kinds of songbirds that only live in Pandaria sang at them through the window, she smiled, she whispered to him.
"You're alive."
Though he did not act as if he was. He only lay there, scarred, breathing. Very, very far away, though she kept holding onto him.
Kael'thas was in the room with them also. He stood by the open door. His brow knit with guilt, or concern. He wouldn't admit to which. He hadn't left Sunthraze's side, either. Fennore was in a chair, trying to catch some sleep after having been up with Sunthraze through the entire retreat though The Barrens, to Pandaria.
Liadrin came into the room, trailed by the Pandaren Brewmaster whose shrine it was. Kael'thas had offered to bribe the entire region in order to keep himself and his best Bloodknights safe from Sylvanas. Most of the army was there as well, or in Orgrimmar, under arrest. The entire effort to close the lei line had ended in a giant mess.
It was because everyone broke ranks when they saw what happened to the legendary Sunthraze.
The presence of Brewmaster Tulin, finally willing to even be in the same room as Kael'thas, was a sign that the Pandarens had decided to uphold their position of neutrality, even now. Whatever history Kael'thas had, or Warchief Sylvanas, they would grant him the protection that he had paid for.
The Brewmaster, who looked very much like an upright panda, fit his black and white fuzzy hands up into blue embroidered sleeves.
"I must, personally, thank you for your—"
Tulin cut Kael'thas off, "It is not a disease of the body, or the spirit. But of the mind."
Daphne entered the room then. She looked from Liadrin to Tempest.
"How can you possibly know that?" Kael'thas put hands up into his own red sleeves. But then again, he noticed that the Pandaren had already done so, and in a far more sage fashion. Kael'thas sighed and dropped his hands at his sides.
The Pandaren man lifted his black furry chin, "He is not that badly wounded. And he was already a good warrior, he knows sacrifice and fighting like this. He simply does not want to wake… back… up."
Tempest looked at the Pandaren. Her eyes were red. Then, it came out of nowhere, she screamed at him, "My husband loves me! He wants to be here, and he wants to be with me."
Tulin said, "There was a time when Sylvanas wanted his hide before. And he stood in a powerful spell before. Wasn't there? And he, and the ones that he cared about, they were all affected, weren't they?" Tulin stepped forward, shook his head, "That is what I have seen. And there is a lot… missing inside. More and more is missing each day. Like the lei line, the Golden Wraith, eating away and eating away… That feeling of loss, and his confusion. That is what is preventing his recovery. It is keeping him trapped, in that… other time."
"Some Brewmaster."
"Kael'thas, let's not be rude." Liadrin said.
Kael'thas looked from Liadrin, to Tempest, then Daphne. Daphne had a way of appearing as if she knew everything already. It could be annoying in some instances. But in this case… Kael'thas took a step closer, asked her if she knew what was going on?
Then, Fennore started to snore.
Tempest got irritated and shoved him awake.
"What…?"
Kael'thas asked, "Fennore, you are our most talented healer and you were once a priest. Did you sense any kind of… I believe what is being implied here is that there are lost memories… anything like that in Sunthraze?"
Fennore swept a hand down his face. Then, he glanced anxiously over at Sunthraze. He was still alive. Healthy. Just not awake. Fennore leaned over and held his head in his hands. "I'm not sure… he's sad, I know that. And there's this emptiness. I can't see past it. I kept trying to."
Liadrin raised hands for everyone to stop. "It's because you wouldn't be able to. I… fixed it that way, long ago. Tempest and Daphne were both there when I did."
The Pandaren almost smiled. "I shall prepare more tea…" he left. Determined to stay out of other people's problems and stay neutral, as ever.
"What are you talking about, Liadrin? Some kind of… memory deterioration spell? Back while we were fighting the Plague? I would certainly remember that."
"Unless you were affected by it. We kept that, and the secrets of… what amounted to the first mission, ever, of the Blood Nexus a secret. Because we wanted to halt the progress of the spell. If it was ever re-activated, we were afraid it would work like a virus, eating away at all of your memories, your Bloodknight abilities, everything that we ever, ever worked for. It did not begin when the Naaru was sent back from Outland, Kael'thas. It did not begin then, when I was asked to find a way to… use that power and create… Blood Elf paladins. That was only what I said at the time. We truly began making Bloodknights, long before then. Today's Bloodknights are the brainchild of a resistance movement that began… much earlier. Though I'm glad you were able to feel that pride, that you helped to invent us, invent the Blood Elves."
Kael'thas smiled uncomfortably. Then, he resisted complaining anymore.
Liadrin said, "Why else did you think I sent the four most perfect Bloodknights, including the perfect… woman to you while you were at the Black Temple, stuck with Illidan? I knew that Saturna, Sunthraze, Pyorin and Fennore could do it, Kael'thas. And I knew that Tempest and Daphne could help you later, at Tempest Keep. Because they had already done it before. All of it."
Liadrin walked around the room, while accusatory and fearful eyes looked her over. She could feel all of their hurt, all of it stemming from trepidation.
"Daphne and I have been speaking with Sorn about this today already. It took some convincing to have the Brewmaster even come into the room and confirm it for your ears to hear and for us to even start the work… but, working together with our resident Brewmaster, we do think there can be a cure. But it is risky, and I afraid it's going to be painful for all of us, as we start to remember."
Fennore leaned forward. He already looked deeply offended, "I thought you said that was the point, that we shouldn't remember, Liadrin."
"The thing is, it was dormant, for… a decade. But now that Sunthraze is triggered, and as I said, it is like a virus… this wartime spell created at the Violet Hold itself, it will start to evolve. It will adapt. You are all," Liadrin swallowed, "bound to remember, bit by bit, and soon. What we need is an honest account, from everyone, as soon as the memories return. Before things get confused. Having different life experiences, as you know, changes who you are. If the memories do not come back in the sequence that they should, or if they are erratic, and they very well may be, when that was the spell's original purpose, to confuse—we could lose you all. You will no longer be who you are. And worse, we could lose the Blood Nexus."
"Well that sounded more than insensitive, Liadrin."
Liadrin shook her head at Fennore, "Imagine if you forgot about Mavia? Or your time with Kael'thas? Remembering the wrong things in the wrong way will change you just as completely. And if you will… have a little faith in me, instead of condemning me already, Fennore, you will see… I am right about the Blood Nexus. If the Knights of the Blood Nexus never saved Kael'thas from the Black Temple, or got him free of Tempest Keep… if Kael'thas never married Saturna… if Kael'thas…" she finally let herself say it, "had died in Dalaran while Jaina was with him, without our help…."
Kael'thas looked up and took a step back then, as if it did mean something to him now.
"Fennore. I want you to rest while we're here in Dalaran. I've asked the others to try and do the same. Daphne will take over working through the memory spell to read as much of the memories as we can from Sunthraze while he's in that state. But Sunthraze will not have everything. I will work my way around, I will be as sensitive as possible, I promise you that. I will not judge. But you all must be honest about what could be the most… wretched, trying and embarrassing parts of your training, before becoming Bloodknights."
Tempest shut her eyes, bit her lip.
Liadrin went on, "…My goal will be to understand what came before, to record it as well as we can with Sorn's arcane spells. I believe, after that, we can convert, or rather, brew, the correct memotires into a serum. Then, once everyone is on the same… page again, we can start over. I hope. Even then, it may change everything. I think you all will agree with me that becoming a Bloodknight totally transforms a person. Like freeing a diamond from… coal and then cutting it to shine."
Liadrin waited for more objections, more hurt accusations.
"I am sorry for what I did to you all. What I made you into, as a result. And for what I, myself, don't know about you, your worst fears, your worst moments, your secret loves, your betrayals… because that is what it is going to take in order for me to do this and save us. I am going to need to take every single person's confession, for better for for worse. Friendships, romances may be broken." Liadrin set her teeth, "But the Nexus is more important. And moreover, we need to get our house in order before Sylvanas gets to us, because the Light only knows… what she'll do to us. Because, as you will begin to see, again… Sylvanas, and Arthas, they were both there at the beginning as well. He's gone, but she still survives. Who knows how she may exploit the Blood Nexus if the patience of the Pandarens wears thin, or if she finds out through her spies… it's inevitable that Sylvanas will challenge us once she realizes the memory deterioration spell has re-activated. We did bloody the Horde's nose back there, and she'll call it justice. She'll want to arrest the remaining Sunfury so close to her territory. Sylvnaas has already convinced the Pandarens to use their scrambling runes so that we can't portal away…."
"I know that." Kael'thas griped, "Almost the entire ruling force of Quel'thalas is trapped her for the time being. Well, if you don't count Lame'thremar and Hopeless Brightwing."
"So every last one of us needs to be ready."
Kael'thas was getting angry. Possibly the mention of Arthas' name set him off, "A lot of people were also in the past, Liadrin, and what does that really matter now? Sometimes, at their core, people are just… well, there are a lot of theories that people don't even have free will. We're a lot like animals in many ways, we just… do what we're meant to do, we sniff at the same spots… along the same road every day, eat the same food, and no matter what happens to us in life, we still decide to like the same things and kinds of people all that. And then, teenage assholes like Arthas… still tend to grow up and be murderous assholes. No matter what we think, or what we do… we still… Well at the end of the day, I'm trying to say that we are who we are, and we still love who we love!"
Fennore's shoulders sank, unhappily. "I dunno about that Kael'thas. What if Liadrin is right? What if you remember your past in the wrong way and it changes you completely? For one, you could go back to being an arcane crystal junky trapped in a nasty codependent friendship with Illidan Stormrage to compensate for the loss of your father, kingdom, the love of Jaina Proudmoore, and with no real friends nor romantic life to speak of. Well, except for your succubus."
Kael'thas narrowed eyes at Fennore.
Liadrin winced, but otherwise tried to ignore it, "We… don't have time to argue ethics, Kael'thas. You don't know the true past, the true history of Quel'thalas like I do. It might break you, when you do start to remember. So let's not go into this ordeal while denying things. And I want you, especially, to be very careful when I've seen you broken before. Or, I thought that I had. More or less." She clasped hands together, "Now, I'm going to start taking the first confessions. I've already explained to Saturna and the others. Your queen will soon be looking for you, Kael'thas. Like you, she has been having trouble accepting this. Please, see to yourself first, before you go to her, it will be so very distressing for Saturna, after all that she's been through and sacrificed for you."
Fennore tapped his chin, thoughtful, "Yes, very true there as well. I can see why Saturna is so worried about the two of you. I mean, it pretty much took, what was it? Some crazy dreams, a bedroom catching on fire, a battle where you almost died, a floating island over Nagrand, naked dueling in mid-air, a ball, a fistfight, and someone peed onthemselves too, somewhere in there…"
"That was Blaize, not me." Kael'thas spoke through clenched teeth.
"… and then a spiked bottle of Demon rum that Lady Vashj sneaked to Saturna," here, Fennore had to take a breath, "in order to give Kael'thas a snowball's chance in Hellfire Peninsula with Saturna. And it was good luck too, that Saturna never learned about Kael'thas' succubus all through their relationship together, back at the Black Temple. That would've certainly ruined it. Imagine Saturna remembering or finding out that one part about the succubus, but none of the other parts. How tragic."
"Okay, so… number one." Kael'thas seethed, and tried to get all his angry thoughts in order, "Lady Liadrin is talking about memories we all had together BEFORE the Black Temple, Fennore, and number two—what is this, pick on Kael'thas Sunstrider day?"
Fennore looked too sad to worry about how he was being yelled at, though.
Liadrin tried to remain focused on what mattered. She went for the door and motioned for Tempest join her, "Take heart, Nexites…"
Fennore rested elbows on his knees, "Well, you won't lose your succubus, Kael'thas. That's the main thing. I might lose it all."
"Will you—SHUT UP, FENNORE!"
Liadrin took Tempest's hand and began to lead her down the candlelit corridor, to another part of the shrine.
"Why me, Liadrin? Why do I have to go first when I… I just want to be there, with Sunthraze. What if he wakes up and I'm not there to… he can't forget." Tempest asked sadly. The noise of the two men arguing died down and their own footsteps became more apparent.
"Or, are you afraid that he will remember? Remember everything that you said, all the things that you did? Is that the worse fear? I warned you most of all, Sister Tempestraven, that one day, you would have to face it."
"Please, please don't make me…" when Tempest pulled back, Liadrin made a fist, squeezed her wrist. "Ow…"
"My dear, you know as well as I do… We will have to start at the beginning, on the knife's edge."