Of Orcs and Elves.
Prelude: Hunted
A cold bitter wind blew across the city. Ice crystals crept along the edges of the inn's windows. The temperature slowly dropped, an ominous sign. Ky'lana, a young acolyte sat in her pristine white robes at a nearby table as an older woman stood in more elegant robes, speaking to a finely dressed knight. There was laughter from a group of youngsters playing at another table, but the young elf shivered at the touch of cold. She slowly watched the ice creeping along the window. Something was wrong it was colder than ever before.
"Lady Alur…." the young elf spoke, only to get a look that cut her off.
"Do not interrupt, my dear Ky'lana" the older woman spoke gently then turned back to speak softly to the knight.
Ky'lana sighed and turned back to the window, her staff leaning against the the table. She hadn't been allowed to go outside the gates and get herbs since the undead had started this siege. But they had been told the humans were on their way to offer aid. So the High Elves didn't need to worry long. The insidious cold continue to creep its way further into the inn and into her thoughts. The children stopped their game as it too began to affect them. The laughter turning into whispers hushed by the growing sense of dread. A loud boom, much like an explosion shook the walls of the inn. Screams from the children echoed around the elegant room. Ky'lana grabbed her staff as the older woman recovered from her look of shock. The knight was quicker, running out the door, as more screams from outside could be heard. Alarms sounding through the city.
"Ky'lana, get.." the older woman was interrupted by another loud explosion like sound. The inn shook again. The kids were screaming as the knight returned. He looked about and shouted orders.
"Barricade the doors, they are trying to breach the walls.…" the knight's deep voice rang out, silencing everyone for but a moment.
"Ky'lana, stay here and protect the children." The older woman grabbed her staff and began to rush towards the door as the other elves in the inn began to grab the heavy furniture and move it towards the door.
"W-where are y-you going?" Ky'lana asked as she trembled like the children that had begun to huddle in the corner.
"The knights will need me, young one. You are needed here. Keep them and yourself safe. Remember your training." she responded and then disappeared out the door. The knight closed the door as he followed behind her. Ky'lana gulped as she gripped the staff and looked towards the children. Slowly she moved towards them and knelt down, trying to smile and offer them some comfort.
"Do n-not worry, Never has Silvermoon fallen. W-w will be safe r-right?" Ky'lana didn't know if she was trying to convince them or herself. Then she heard another crash as the building shook again.
xxxxxxxx
The wall was cracked, the outer knights and elven guards dispatched already. This was easier than the orc thought it would be. The ancient wall of the great elven city, Silvermoon, crumbled before the might of the scourge in a loud rumble that shook the ground and the walls. The siege broke, as screams of fright and angry shouts could be heard through the settling dust and chaos ensued as the High Elves scrambled to defend themselves. The Alliance had left them to their fate. They were on their own, their hope crumbling with the southern wall in the wake of the scourge. Arthas had given them a chance to lower their gates.
A large figure climbed to the top of the rubble left in the wake of the wall's collapse. He was huge and imposing. His black armor adorned with spikes and his helm made from the skull of dragon. Red eyes glowed from under the helm as the long dead Orc surveyed the chaos beneath him. The skeletons and ghouls scrambled and shambled up the pile behind him as he smiled a sick and evil grin. Death would be waged and dealt this day. The High elves would become but a memory in the history of Azeroth. Their magic would fall to the might of the Lich King.
The Orc had all but forgotten his life before death. Having been created to bring death and destruction to all his King's foes. His very name naught but a whisper as his will was broken, replaced instead with the cold and cruel will of his master.
He raised his hand to still the undead behind him. Slowly he drew his sword and gave a mighty shout. The fear and screams he saw as the elves scattered below him, gave him such amusement. He couldn't wait to savor their terror as he cut them down. His laugh was like the sound of broken glass, brittle and startling. He chuckled and pointed his sword at the gathering guards, his deep voice bellowing its orders, "Destroy 'em". The guards trembled in fear as they watched the shambling scourge.
xxxxxxxxx
Ky'lana prayed to the light as she watched the locked and bolted door, fear held tight in her vivid blue eyes. Furniture had been moved to block it, but she prayed it would be enough. The children gathered around her were terrified. Her white knuckled grip on her staff and trembling legs echoed the fear in her eyes.
"Sssh, children. It will be alright. T-the light will protect us" She said softly to the children as the adults readied themselves with weapons. She tried to be strong. Ky'lana had been ordered to protect the children, but w hat was she to the mass of undead that would surely be pouring into the city streets. The rumble of the wall collapsing had started more wails and tears from them. But she had to be brave. Softly she cast a small spell of light and warmth to calm the children. "D-do you want to hear a s-story?" she asked as she knelt in front of them.
It was quiet for a few minutes as the children calmed and listened to the young priestess' story. But all that shattered when with a great crack as something hit the door. Another crack followed as the young priest spurred herself and the children into action, standing up and urging them to stand quickly. the door wasn't going to hold long not with those heavy blows.
"Run!" she told them as she pointed up to the balcony. "Up there, hurry!" Ky'lana urged the youngsters up the stairs and to the balcony. Maybe if she got them on the roof, they could escape out of the city. "On the roof, we can cross the buildings to the other gate" as she spoke her voice trembled.
Something strengthened her resolve to protect the children. She was terrified, but she was older than them. She had to lead them. When they got to the balcony that overlooked the outside, there was a sudden look of horrified nausea on her face as the stench of the undead wafted up to their position. It was enough to turn her a shade of unflattering green. Rotting flesh and unholy magics permeated the freezing air. She looked over the balcony and gasped, her hands covering her mouth. Huge monsterous abominations that looked like someone stuck a ton of used body parts together, were plodding through the streets, their massive bulk jiggling with each forceful step. Skeletons and ghouls were attacking anything living that moved. Screams of the dying broke her heart as she watched the battle. Turning, she pointed up onto the roof and started to help the children up to the edge of the shingles.
Hearing a scream she turned and gagged at what she saw. A pack of ghouls descended upon a knight and pulled her apart only to devour her afterwards. Her stomach surged as she wretched, dry heaving at the sight. Never had see seen such things in her short life. A cry from the children as they huddled on the balcony shocked her out of her horror. She looked up for a moment to study the roof, her blue eyes moved to the oldest.
"I will need your help. I will boost you up there first, then you can help pull the little ones up."
The boy nodded and she grabbed his hips and held him up to the ledge of the roof. Her face looked strained as he scrambled for a grip on the ledge. When he had a hold of it, she pushed him up as she rose to the tips of her toes. When he was safely up, she grabbed the smallest one and with the boy's help, she got the littlest one up to the rooftop.
Ky'lana heard a dark and sinister chuckle below her as she boosted another child up. Dark as the dwarven stout beers that her father kept on hand at the tavern. She risked a peek and froze when her blue eyes caught the sight of the large figure upon an skeletal glowing steed. Ice filled her veins, creeping towards her heart like it had crept through the city. It was an undead knight in all of its unholy glory, dressed in black armor with a dragon helm blocking the view of its face, a mockery of the holy knights that tried to protect the city. A rare sight indeed and horrifyingly terrible to behold. Red eyes glowed through the helm with menacing light. The undead knight turned to survey above him and she locked eyes with the nightmarish monster, It pointed up at her and she shrieked in absolute terror. A nightmare brought to life making her nearly lose control of her bowels.
She wasn't that much older than the children she was protecting. How was she to defend them against something like that monster? Ky'lana needed to get the kids to safety and run. Spurred into action by the terror making her heart race, she jumped backwards and turned quickly towards the last of the children, urging them to hurry.
"Come on, we have got to hurry."
The children were crying and wailing in fear, but she grabbed them and continued to helped them to the rooftop.
When the last child was on the roof, shaking and trembling she clutched her staff harder and moved to step onto the balcony railing. She tossed her staff to the roof and watched it land with a clunk and start to roll towards the edge. One of the children reached towards it and caught it, just as a loud crash rumbled beneath them. For a moment she looked back down and watched the knight dismount his charger, moving towards the door.
"The door, they broke the door", she said over the screams and shouts of the adults below. With a jump and some help from the oldest of the youngsters, she scrambled up to the rooftop with the children, and they began to make their way to the gate via the many rooftops. "Let's go. hurry!"
xxxxxx
Something told him to look up as he walked his charger down the cobbled street of the main city. His sword drawn and dripping blood, elven blood. His red eyes locked with the terrified blue eyes that stared back at him from a young elf woman in the balcony above. He smiled in sheer amusement. He could almost taste the terror that radiated from the white robed she-elf. He could sense the the faint aura of light surrounding her. A priest of the light! This should prove fun, he thought, as he watched her scramble up to the roof, all the while laughing darkly below her.
"Run Run little elfling." he chuckled to himself as he dismounted the undead charger. He didn't know why but he wanted to see the terror in those eyes as he spilled her blood. She was running, and it spoke to the predator in him to pursue. Those blue eyes would lose that holy light slowly as the life left her body. He would enjoy watching as her body grew cold and her blood pooled on the cobblestone. Looking for a door nearby, he saw the broken door of the Inn and strode purposefully towards it. The massive black figure would have such fun with the young priest; watching the light and hope being snuffed from her. And he would enjoy every agonizing moment of her delicious terror.
xxxxxxx
Ky'lana scrambled behind the children, pushing them towards the northern gate across the rooftops. Her heart pounding in her chest, and adrenaline singing through her blood. Something urged her to keep going and not look back. Something primal in the back of her brain told her to move faster, run away there was danger behind her. "Run children, we're almost there We can do it" she panted as then scampered along the tiled line of rooftops.
They reached the end of the roof and there was the gate in sight. Reaching into her belt pouch, she /pulled out a feather. Just one. She winced. Picking up the smallest, she handed her off to the oldest. "Hold onto my cloak, everyone." she said as she wrapped the large cloth around them. And whispered the words of the levitation. Then gently pushed the group off the roof. The feather burning up in a puff of smoke. Then she heard it. The rhythmic crunching behind her. The children floated down upon a small white cloud and she watched as they ran toward the gate. She prayed to the Light they would be safe as she slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder and met her own fate.
xxxxxxx
The death knight made it up to the rooftop easily. His toned muscles under the heavy plate he wore were built for physical acts of prowess unlike his soft prey. He watched the priestess and the elflings scurry along in front him as he slowly stalked across the tiles. His eyes like fire, as he chuckled to himself. In a harsh, raspy voice he softly called, "Run run, little elf. Your fear is delicious." then he chuckled again, his sword in one hand as his boots thumped along, keeping them in eyesight. He could have easily gripped the priest and dragged her back to him. But this was more fun. He watched as she cast a simple levitation spell and the little elflings disappeared, likely floating to the ground. The undead below would take care of them. His prey was cornered and he had given her just a little bit of hope so he could crush it. As he stalked behind her he watched the blood red hair shift and her soft featured face turn to stare at him. He gave her a dark grin and lifted the sword.
"Nowhere left to run, little elf." he could see the pulse in her neck beating rapidly. He could smell her fear. Maybe he would keep her alive for a little bit and feed off that terror. Savor every last bit of it. His other hand reached out, clad in its black thick glove, palm out. Then he closed it and whispered a dark curse as he felt unholy magic rush towards her and grip her.
But something stopped it. Then he saw the gleam of light around her. It couldn't be coming from her. His head moved back and forth until he saw on the streets below him, an older woman with her hands stretched into the air. The light surrounded her. The death knight bellowed in frustration as his mind was filled with icy rage. His eyes looking to the younger on the roof with him. With two large strides, he covered the distance between them. Then grabbed at her, catching her around the middle, he hefted her over his shoulder, the spike there piercing her soft flesh. He could smell her blood. She struggled and wailed in pain and terror. His red eyes locked with the older she-elf. The old bitch would pay for stepping in between a hunter and his prey. The elf on his shoulder stopped struggling when she realized the spike in her was only doing more harm the more she moved. He could hear her crying and whimpering. Pathetic soft elves, so easy to kill. Gripping her legs tight, he jumped from the roof to the cobbled street below with a roar of anger and hatred.
With a loud curse as he fell towards the stone, the ground lit up in a ring of red sigils. He landed in the middle of it, like a falling meteor, the ground gave way with a loud crack and shake. The force of his magic having created a crater and a small quake around it.. The elder priestess was flung backwards and knocked into daze, laying on the broken stones that snaked out from his impact zone. The undead orc tossed the younger one to the side, blood staining her white robe
"Stay, lil' elf." he snarled as took a few steps forward then reached out with his hand and pulled the older priestess down to him, gripping her with his dark curse. His sword was still drawn, and as the black magic pulled the old elf to him. His sword ran her through, slowly impaling the woman. He whispered into the gutted elf's long ear, slowly twisting the sword around as the elf screamed in agony.
"Ya just prolonged 'er suffering bitch." He tusky grin was smug as he watched the life drain from the older woman's eyes. He let the dead elf fall off his sword and crumple to the ground.
Reaching out, the death knight pulled the air as if it were the strings of life and with a flash of black energy, the corpse rose and slowly turned into a thing so vile and dirty that Ky'lana screamed in horror. He had raised her teacher and friend as a ghoul. Then those red eyes turned back to her and she began to weakly scramble to the side of the small crater. Half crawling, half scrambling, tears streaming down her face. She cried out "No!" But he just chuckled and with but a word he stunned her and slammed the sword into the ground in front of her to block her. Her blue eyes stared at the bloody sword, still dripping with the insides of her teacher.
She couldn't move or stop the death knight behind her. All she could do was pray. Time slowed and it seemed for her as she heard the crunching of his heavy footfalls. She felt pressure as one of his boots slow pushed on her ankle. Slowly, agonizingly crushing the delicate bone. Ky'lana couldnt even scream at this point. The pain was there. Every bit of it. The puncture in her side, and now his weight pressing down. She felt the bone give and heard the sickening crack that came with it. Hot white fire shot through the damaged ankle. Her mouth opened as she tried to scratch at his boot and curl in on herself. No sound came out. He took his boot off of her shattered ankle with a sick grin dank green face.
"That hurt didn't it, elf. There is more o' that to come." He promised darkly.
xxxxx
She finally screamed as those words registered in her pain filled brain. He was going to torture her to death, not just kill her. She rolled over and desperately looked for her staff. She glared up at him through the tears as he knelt down beside her.
"You bastard" She sniffed, anger slowly filling some of the fear. She trembled but like a cornered animal, she wouldn't just give up.
That is what he waiting for from her. That look. She was going to fight. The crushing of bone had been music to his ears as he leaned down and spoke softly to her.
"Ya know lil elf, I think I'll be keeping ya fer a bit." with that he reached for her and got a face full of nails and fingers as she struggled with her last bit of strength. A simple slap put her out. Grabbing the little priest with a grin. He motioned for the ghoul to follow. He summoned his mount and with a heave, leapt onto its back. Throwing his prize across the saddle in front of him. Then he pulled the reins and headed out of the city to the rally point. He would enjoy the prolonged torture and fear of this elf. Then in the end, she would beg for him death and he would grant it. And in death she would serve like everyone else.
Ky'lana awoke to a bone chilling cold on a hard stone floor. She groaned and rolled to her side, heaving out the contents of her stomach. Her ankle throbbed, her head was splitting, and her side hurt. She wondered what happened, then the memories came back like a swirl of leaves on an autumn day. Broken and full of regret. She let out a sob and curled up on the icy stones. No longer brave or full of anger. Just sadness and horror. Ky'lana was trapped in a nightmare. Her body shivering as she tried to scoot away from the puddle of bile. She laid curled up in misery and pain for so long she lost track of time.
Heavy boots, plated, the young elf knew that sound. It had started all of this on the roof. Then in her teary, blurry vision she saw someone kneel down and reach for her. She squeaked with a hoarse voice and moved back like a caterpillar, scrunching up. In the process she slid along the stone and a fresh new pain hit her. Try as she might, the movement got her nowhere but pain and a set of large hands and arms hoisted her up. It took the elf this long to realize her hands and feet were bound. Up and over a shoulder she went like a sack of flour. She hiccuped and sobbed harder.
"P-please let me go." she begged
"Nar. I like the idea of having an elf fer a pet" His hoarse voice rumbled through her bones.
"W-why me?"
"I want to see the hope die in ya. When ya beg fer death, I'll grant it. Then you can serve the Lich King in yer death." He chuckled softly and bounced her on his shoulder, causing her to hiss in pain.
"No! I wont serve him" he chuckled again as he turned and walked out.
"That's right pet, fight. I'm going to enjoy this."
"Do not call me that"
"Oh, I'll call you pet, and so will others. Forget yer name, pet. It no longer matters. Ya want to escape, don't be surprised. But remember, death awaits ya, and with that, servitude in undead follows. Yer continued existence and freedom in life, is all in my hands, Pet." He swatted her rear end and chuckled darkly as she wiggled and cried again in pain.
Ky'lana realized that she had been given an impossible situation. Anyway she would lose. The only hope she had was to stay alive long enough to escape or be rescued.