Welcome to my first fanfiction, I'm hoping that this will turn into an interesting story that many people will enjoy.
The inspiration for this story comes from playing a Map called Dark ages of Warcraft by Luka_Blight using the Warcraft 3 editor.
The Prophecy
Arthas Menethil, Crown Prince of Lordaeron, and apprentice of the Lightbringer had a sense of urgency surrounding him as he travelled along the path that led to Stratholme. He was stopped by a man with a strange aura surrounding him.
"My Prince" – The man said
"What is it?" came the irritated reply of Arthas
"This land is doomed, you have only one chance to save your peo…" The mysterious man argued
Arthas aggressively turned around and barked-"I have no time for your games old man, get out of my way, I have a nation to save"
"Please hear me out good prince, you will find only death here in this desolate land, Gather your people, Gather those that will follow you, and lead them West to the forgotten lands of Kalimdor, you will find salvation there, and the chance to fight the coming darkness…" – With those final words the mysterious man shapeshifted into a raven and flew away
"The idea of leaving anyone behind to fight these undead beasts is ridiculous" Arthas murmured to himself
The sound of footsteps brought Arthas from his thoughts
Arthas laid eyes on the eavesdropper in this presence, a beautiful woman with long dirty blonde hair that graced her shoulders and crisp icy blue eyes that defined her face was making her way towards him. Everything about this woman seemed to be perfect, the white shirt and pants she wore showed off the modest beau…
"Arthas I can sense a powerful aura emanating from that man, We should consider his advice" came the advice of Jania Proudmoore.
Jania was the daughter of Daelin Proudmoore, Lord Admiral of Kul'Tiras. Jaina is a very talented sorcerous that caught the eye of Lord Antonidas, High Arch Mage of Dalaran, whom took her as his apprentice.
Pacing back and forth Arthas argues "What if we can save Lordaeron? What if we can save the people of this land?"
"Arthas you've seen your own soldiers rise from the grave to fight their own kin, Lordaeron can't fight the dead Arthas… we must heed the prophets advice" came the confident reply of the sorcerous
"I've seen this Prophet before Arthas, he came requesting Antonidas to lead refugees across the great sea to Kalimdor." She continued
Arthas continued to walk towards Stratholme but someone called his name. As he turned around the image of one of his Captains, Luc Valonforth, met his eyes. The captain wore the Captain grade armor of Lordaeron with a secondary color of white. Valonforth's dark blue eyes locked with his superiors green eyes.
"Prince Arthas, the lady may be right about that prophet." Captain Valonforth stated
"I fought alongside you at Hearthglen, and through that fight, I had to battle our fallen brethren as they succumbed to the plague of undeath."
Both Arthas and his captain remembered organizing the defense of Hearthglen, the town almost fell to the immense onslaught of the Scourge, having to witness brave defenders of Lordaeron being twisted and raised into undeath is a sight none should have to bear. Only the timely arrival of Lord Uther and his knights brought victory. The cold grip of death almost took Arthas and the rest of the village from this world only to be reanimated into undead that would plague Lordaeron further.
"In any case we must travel to Stratholme to regroup with the rest of our forces, Captain Falric must be wondering where we are." Came the heated reply of Arthas
"I guess you're right Arthas, we have to regroup with the rest of our forces no matter what is decided." Jaina said giving into the logic of what Arthas said
"As you wish my lord, Lady Proudmoore you may use my horse if you wish." Captain Valonforth said formally
"Thank you captain, concentrating to keep myself invisible takes a lot of energy." Came Jaina's sincere thanks
The voyage to Stratholme was relatively quiet with few interruptions except for a few unlucky undead that met their end from the holy mace, Light's Vengence, the personal weapon of the Prince of Lordaeron.
Upon entering the main base camp the trio was greeted by Captain Falric and Lieutenant Marwyn, and cheers of many soldiers happy with the prince's return. Captain Falric was the highest ranking captain and he wore captains armor with a blue secondary color and blue cape to signify his rank among the men. Lieutenant Marwyn wore standard footmen armor and had black secondary attachments to make his armor unique.
"Prince Arthas we have been waiting an unusually long time for your return, did something happen my lord?" Captain Falric asked
Arthas took an uneasy breath and explained the encounter with the prophet to his other captain, and the advice from both Lady Jaina and fellow captain Luc Valonforth.
"That is disturbed to hear my lord, but what Lady Jaina and Captain Valonforth say is true, each of our soldiers that fall in battle only make the enemy stronger, this may be a fight that we can't win." Captain Falric said
"My lord, we can't just abandon the people to their fates! What would Lord Uther think, what would King Terenas think if we give up and flee to another land?" replied lieutenant Marwyn
Arthas thought about what his captain said, he made sense, as a prince I can't just flee my country, especially during a time of war, its sheer cowardice.
"I agree with lieutenant Marwyn, what are we to do about the people who will not follow me to this ancient land of Kalimdor?" Arthas argued
"Arthas, we can't save everybody, but we can try to save as many people as we possibly can, staying here and talking about it will not solve anything though… my lord." came Jaina's sad reply
Arthas knew her words were true, not everyone can be saved.
"We must ride into the city and speak with guard stationed there and find out if the infected grain from Andorhal has been dispersed amongst the populace yet" Arthas decided
Arthas, Falric, Luc Valonforth, and Marwyn mounted their horses along with a regiment of soldiers to enter the city, Jaina was left behind to oversee the encampment.
Upon entering Stratholme curious stares were given to the fully armed soldiers following Arthas, some citizens cheered and were delighted with the prince's presence.
A large squadron of guards alongside their senior guard saluted Arthas and gave a low bow to empathize their loyalty to the crown.
"Are you the captain of the guard here soldier?" Arthas asked
"Sir, I am, How can I help you your majesty?" replied the captain of Stratholme
Arthas saw the open crates of grain that had the symbol of Andorhal on them, and feared the worst, an infected city that would slowly fall to the damned.
"Has the grain… been distributed yet?" came the solemn question
"Only the citizens have been given the grain, the guard have opted to wait for the next shipment because of the grain shortage." Came the formal reply of the captain
"Oh no…" Arthas muttered to himself
The entire city must be purged, these people will slowly succumb to the plague of undeath, when the city falls and the entire populace falls to the damned the enemy will become stronger than ever. If only the people knew what was going to happen to them, they would want me to save them, they would want me to save them from this horrible fate. They would want me to end their torment before it begins, before they can serve the enemy in death. – Arthas furiously tried to convince himself that this was the right course of action.
"I must return to my camp, captain please make sure the people are inside their homes before nightfall." Arthas ordered
"Yes my lord" came the captains reply
Arthas and his soldiers rode quickly back to the camp, a speech was needed to convince his soldiers of the purging.
"Arthas, why are you back so soon? What happened in the city?" Jaina quickly asked
Arthas grabbed her by the hand and brought her inside his tent.
"Jania the plagued grain reached the city… the entire populace… is infected, Stratholme is doomed, it must be purged, we can't let those people fall into undeath and serve the enemy." Arthas said miserably
"Arthas, there has to be another way, we can't just purge an entire city, that's inhumane… how could you even consider that Arthas, you're a paladin!" Jaina shrieked
Captain Falric, Captain Valonforth, and Lieutenant Marwyn entered the royal tent
"My lord." Each man said in unison
"Officers, what do you believe is the best course of action?" Arthas asked
"Prince Arthas, we should request immediate aid from Quel'Thalas to help treat the infected citizens of Stratholme, and keep the city quarantined." Captain Falric said
"My lord, we need to purge this city as quickly as possible before our own people fall to the plague and enter this world again as undead minions, it would be dishonorable to let our own people fall into enemy hands in such a way." Lieutenant Marwyn recited
"Only one clear option is present right now my prince, we need to summon the Stratholme guard and lead all of our forces to Southshore. You then need to send our messengers to every city and town in Lordaeron calling for them to take their belongings and follow you to this ancient land of Kalimdor." Captain Valonforth pleaded
"I need to address the men…" Arthas replied
Authors Note: So this is the first chapter, I hope the story is good so far and is at least tolerable, this is my first time writing please comment on my writing style and look for areas for improvement.
I am considering changing the course of the story on what people want me to do, the last three replies from each captain details the choices that people can 'vote' for by saying what they want in a review. I'll continue writing the story based off this first choice that will change the story immensely.
Thank you for reading the first chapter of "The Prophecy"