Chapter I,
or Scourge of the Depths
"Fate brings unconventional things. Unconventional things never bring good things. It's like a pattern, and patterns are always bad, unless monetized."
Book of bills, Prince Gallywix
Fate dictates various and strange outcomes as each action provokes a reaction, such as tossing one's phylactery into the sea provokes it being hidden from the pesky eyes of those above. At the time, it seemed like the perfect idea to save what's left of one's precious existence. The water has eyes of its own however, and what was meant to be hidden, can easily be exposed that way by the scoundrels of the seas – the naga, who endlessly patrolled vastness of their kingdom. Their queen, like a giant, slithering magpie gathers it all, surrounding itself with riches and beauty beyond imagining. Eventually, everything that bares any worth lands within the towers of Nazjatar one way or another, and a cage which contains the finest general of the former scourge was no exception. Tossed between other objects of such power and wealth that even Brann Bronzebeard would gasp in awe that would interrupt his drunken haze, it awaited for its owner to wake up. Time passed by, but it was of no importance for a being that cared little about the time itself. His waking needed to be precise for his goals to matter. He felt his master's death. He felt the sundering of the world. He felt the manifestation of Sha. And still, he waited. When the hour finally struck, when everyone's eyes were fixated upon a different place, a different world, the undead champion knew it was the time to rise again.
First, there was thought that entered from the darkness itself. A share thought that sparked the birth of creation, a sensation which the oldest arakkoa called a farrow of void.
"Exiled and abandoned. Empty slave, forgotten and forced to wander alone in the frozen wastes… but in that act, I was not alone."
Regardless, as the will returned, the cage began to shimmer, sprouting its energy all around, as the numerous treasures reflected its wondrous glow, magnificent glow, chilling glow. And from the void, not only light sprouted, and from the void, not only light emerged.
"The voice, the only companion that did not abandon me, guided me through my path. My blood felt unlike my blood, a chilling essence, locked down within a frame of pain. And power, never ending power just for me to take."
Then the body began to shape, as bones came to existence from the void itself. Beating organs sprouted from within nothing, as they became alive on their own. Then, the nerves came, as well as the muscles, each delicate string moving within perfection.
"Blinded by such sensations, too late I noticed that such power never comes without a certain price."
But that was just a glimpse, a blink. Quickly, the newly formed body, before even reaching a peak of perfection, began to rot rapidly. Pieces of skin and flesh began to drop in each and every direction, leaving the white frame that lied within.
"Still, while my fate is sealed, the fate of the world should be everyone's concern, for I have returned."
When the skeleton was fully formed, wrapped in clothes and chains once more, its eyes began to emanate with power once again. Power contained for a long time, which simply could not been eradicated with too much ease. And such, Kel'Thuzad came back, contained in the same body in which he was destroyed.
When his empty eye sockets began to glitter once more, he looked around. The place he found himself within was unlike any other he ventured into during both his life and the time he was already dead. The room he was in, seemed like the only dry place nearby. Beyond the walls made out of glass, rocks and what seemed to be fish bones, he gazed upon the waters flourishing with life - fish, huge abominations, terrible monstrosities and nagas, countless nagas. They seemed to swarm each and every possible place, floating within the blue depth, minding their own ways and deals. And the city, the city he heard legends about - Nazjatar - was beyond what was written. It's towers, perfectly shaped palaces, sculptures catching certain glimpses of history, it was all perfect. A mesmerizing sight, yet in Kel'Thuzad's head, a different notion appeared almost instantly – how well they would serve, should they be dead, should he could command their corpses, strong corpses, capable corpses. They already had a master however.
"Kel'Thuzad, Kel'Thuzad, once held power, now is mad…"
A voice echoed throughout the chamber as the silent murmurs of water floating all around seemed to give rhythm to this childish song. The old lich felt the presence of something within this room abandoned by water - a creature far more powerful than him, perhaps even more powerful than his former master.
"Kel'Thuzad, Kel'Thuzad, servitude is beyond sad…"
The walls seemed to move in their own sensation, as the water cast a dark, menacing shadow. At least that what it seemed to be at the first glance, since when the lich focused his sightings, he could clearly see that those weren't waters that grew darker, but constantly pulsing tentacles covering everything around. Kel'Thuzad knew no such things as disgust or fear; he realized however that tossing his phylactery within Maelstrom wasn't the wisest thing he could have accomplished.
"On frozen throne, frozen throne… will you wish to sit alone?"
The voice went lower and lower, still trembling both inside this weird room, as well as inside the lich skull. A nuisance, since he could not simply neglect it in a way he wished to do so. A nuisance since he knew that the being itself could eradicate his very presence. Regardless, it seemed more like a distraction than anything, as the tentacles went closer and closer with every word, like an inevitable demise.
"Cull the weak, cull the weak, that's the chilling that you seek?"
"End this nonsense already and show yourself."
Now it was his voice that trembled around with a chilling echo that followed him. Whatever lurked before him however hardly felt impressed, as only laughter answered his call. A woman's laughter which made him held his phylactery tighter to his ribcage.
"You are in no command in here, scourge." She said once again, in a more playful tune this time around. "Besides, it's not nice to call a girl out when she's not ready for her performance."
"You are no girl, demon."
"I prefer queen to demon, scourge, besides, since when the latter bothered you?"
"That's a fair point."
He obviously knew who was before him, what monstrosity lied within the shadows. It was not a being he predicted to see by himself, nor a being that he expected to bargain with. Fate however brings the unexpected.
"So brave, to toss your soul into the sea, so much dedication to hold your being in my hands."
"It was a plan I figured out of necessity, I prefer my life to be in my hands alone, demon."
"Yes, you are a very definition of life, lich." She chuckled. "And yet, I can crush it any given time. Not that I will. Your phylactery was left in my treasury. While you are hardly a treasure, you still belong to me." He could clearly saw two, shimmering dots further into the room, fixated upon him. "Besides, your master is no more. The world you knew about is no more as well."
There, her words ended. She obviously waited for him to say something, to ask about something. It was Azshara out of all beings after all. And much like her kind, she liked to toy with beings lesser than herself. And since that was the case with most of the creatures that lingered on this world, she developed her own sense of humor, unlike most of her former kind which too much resembled the very trees they worshiped so much.
"So what do you want from me demon, since it's obvious that you do."
"I do have a name, scourge. And you do act like if you were something greater, while you are more tainted than…" Her voice sounded disappointed. "Nevermind…"
The tentacles once again began to tangle around, to twitch around, to do all sort of flexing maneuvers of various sorts and unknown purposes, for Kel'Thuzad hardly cared for her toying. Mostly, he wished to come out of it all in one piece. Not alive, but in one peace, or at least – preserving most of his pieces.
"I don't want much; our goal is rather the same. I simply hardly enjoy mending within the world above. World's sundering, wars, it's such… devoid of beauty." She sighted out loud. Kel'Thuzad remained in one place, but should he bare any facial expressions, he would simply frown, as Azshara in her current form was as far from beauty as it was humanly possible. "But you wish for your masters to return and cull the world, right?"
"That stands correct, sea witch."
"Yes. I on the other hand, wish the same, as that would mark the return of Sargeras. And I have my reasons to wait for him."
The emphasis on the words return, reasons and him sounded quite menacing. It wasn't Kel'Thuzad's business to know much about it, and even if it was, he was uncertain if he wished to mangle with it. After all, who was he to stand between an insane sea monster which lost its senses due to the whispers of the Old Gods and the omnipresent leader of the Burning Legion?
"I won't give you much, as you are resourceful I take it." There was not much one can take from an undead being aside from pride. That, and some dust. "But your little trinket can stay here. So that you will fail, you will have a point of return."
"I don't plan on failing."
"I hardly observed anyone whom died as many times as you do, scourge." Her voice once again sounded like a delightful melody played by a skillful musician. The main tune seemed to be misery. "We can count if you wish."
"No need for that."
Despite the mockery, her proposal sounded somewhat promising - a safe haven to which his immortal soul could always come back. A safe spot in which he could always linger, should all fail. He was full of pride, true, yet despite that, he never would turn down his personal safety, as time already shown that his plans not always excel all that well.
"And the catch?"
"I need only one thing from you, scourge, the thing which I require from all, other than obedience." The tentacles once again flicked around. "Something I never received from your kind."
"And that would be?" He asked curiously, as the appendences began to close by, circling around his body once again. "What do you require?"
"Undeniable, everlasting love. My subjects need to love me. Love me without questions." Her voice paused, and not even the water itself, which flew on the outside, dared to interrupt it in any way possible. "So, do you love me?"
"I am a being incapable of feeling such trivial things"
"Matters not, dead or not, it's a requirement that each of my subjects holds, scourge."
"Even when I served under the Lich King, there was no love in me for my master."
"Love me, like all which were before you."
Insanity brought her onto numerous paths. While he was the lesser one here, he could clearly understand why she would strive for such fake affection. She adored herself before. She adores herself now. And while she knew about the lies posed by many at this time and age, she would agree, just to gain admiration.
"Do you care about honesty then, sea witch?
"No."
"That can be arranged."
"Then it is settled, scourge. Go, and cull the world in my name. For your master is dead. Your scourge is shackled, the world has changed…"
"But I never did. And I shall obtain my eternal reward."
A deal acceptable for the both of them, as it was a deal based on a lie, where both of the sides remained unfaithful to each other in order to obtain their goals - a perfect match both for the leader of the cult, as well as for the omnipresence on the bottom of the sea. As the gates within the wall opened for him to get out, as the water began to pour inside to flood the room once again, her cheerful tune rang once again.
"The scourge will ring its tune again; the world will twitch and burn in pain. Where pain succumbs and spreads within, the perfect betrothed of perfect kin. All thanks to simply just one guest, will he be better than the rest? Will the dead once again be glad, since the return of…"