A/N: This is just a little short story to see if I could flesh out the characters and narrarate the Argent Tournament well enough. I also returned a few dead characters to life and paved the way for one of my big writing projects. (Hope I explained things enough without giving too much away!) I only own Adoraszun 'The Darkender' Stormfeather and her panther Soldris :)
I have yet to do the Argent Tournament in game, so that part's going to be all wrong. I don't want to hear about it in the reviews, okay? Enjoy!
"King Varian. Lord Menethil. Prince Anduin. Your seats in the Coliseum await," Tirion Fordring motioned for the King and his guard to follow.
"It's been forever since I've seen the tournaments, Varian," Arthas said, clinging to Varian's arm. Anduin seemed uneasy and said nothing.
"They've changed so much since even I was here last," Varian replied, long umber hair swinging behind him. The wind was still today, still enough that the cold seemed to have vanished with it. Anduin wore an autumn priest's robe, and Varian and Arthas wore clothes that would normally be reserved for relaxing around the Keep back in Stormwind on a mid-fall day. Snow still sat on the ground but was slowly melting away. Varian had asked why this was, for they were far north and at a high altitude. The redeemed former Lich King had laughed and explained:
"These mountains are near the ocean. The current comes from the far south and carries warm water. There are also hidden hot springs in the peaks to the east and south, so that also accounts for the moderate warmth,"
"Father, do you think Adoraszun will be injured in the fights today?" Anduin asked. He was nibbling nervously on a thumbnail. Varian chuckled.
"Nervous for your paladin friend?"
"A small bit..." the priest admitted. Arthas smiled and patted the prince's shoulder.
"She'll be fine. The Argent Crusaders won't allow for a fellow paladin to be harmed, even if she's an elf," In truth, they would let a fellow paladin be harmed, if that paladin happened to be Arthas himself. Even though Arthas had redeemed himself to both Tirion Fordring and Varian Wrynn, no other member of either the Horde or the Alliance trusted him. He had been made to remove the reforged Runeblade, which now was named Flamestorm, and leave it in the Argent Crusade leader's tent. He had been returned to life, although his hair would never quite return to the former sunny gold and his eyes still remained a bit sunken and dark around the edges.
Varian had trusted him enough, though, so it was a sign to the Argent Crusaders that Arthas was changed. He would simply have to redeem himself to everyone else.
The three royals found themselves seated next the the Greymane family in the spacious King's Box. Anduin promptly sat next to Liam and began conversing with him. Genn nodded to Varian and Mia eyed Arthas uncertainly, but without the blatant distrust and hatred that many others had fixed in their glares towards him. Arthas waved at her and smiled before sitting back in the bench.
"I hope you haven't been teaching our elf friend any of those dirty tricks you like using when you spar with the other paladins, Arthas," Varian said teasingly. Arthas' face reddened.
"She's bright enough to know not to use them," He said quietly. Varian was only worried for the poor orphaned night elf. She had tried so desperately to prove herself to the Argent Dawn's paladins after she had been kidnapped and rescued by them. They didn't believe that elves, no matter how well they had been trained by the best paladins of the light, could fight the Scourge. They were too reedy, too fragile. But Adoraszun bore the countenance of the paladin as naturally as Arthas did.
The horns sounded and Varian's attention was drawn to the center of the ring. A squire came forward and drew a deep breath.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The Argent Tournament is about to begin! Our warriors have been training for this moment for months on end! Let's introduce our Valiants!" One by one, the Valiants stepped out into the middle. There were Draenei, Gnomes, Dwarves, Worgen and Humans. But only one elf, and she was introduced as...
"Adoraszun, 'The Darkender,' Stormfeather!" She slunk coliseum on her sleek black panther, Soldris and looked up at the King's box. Arthas gave her a thumbs up and smiled, and she nodded in his direction.
"How do they do these battles, Varian?" Arthas asked, his voice uncharacteristically shaky.
"It's sort of a 'last man standing' thing, Arthas," What little color Arthas had regained in his cheeks since his resurrection faded and he gulped.
"She's going to win," He said decisively. He nodded as if to convince himself it was true. The horns sounded again and the Valiants drew their lances, ready to begin the tournament. They were only allowed to use their actual hand-crafted weapons when it came down to three competitors.
They were off like goblin rockets, lances low, hands gripping their mounts for purchase (reins weren't allowed either). The first to be knocked off was a burly Draenei, jostled from his Elekk by a Worgen hunter's eagle. He was promptly caught beneath a horse's hooves and the medics rushed to his side to peel him from the dirt.
"Darkender!" Anduin cheered, clapping loudly. Varian focused on the paladin, who was nimbly perched on her panther's back on her feet, running straight at a dwarven shaman.
"What in the name of Uther is she doing?" Arthas shouted, gripping the railing eagerly.
"She's going to get herself killed!" Varian found himself crying out with Arthas. Liam and Anduin shared a stealthy sideways glance before looking back at the paladin, who deftly feinted to the right while taking both the shaman and a human rogue down with the tip of her lance. The shaman's ram kept running wildly, crushing the dwarf's arm and pelvis with it's hoof. The rogue, however leapt upon the panther's tail and was dragged through the dust by Soldris, who was going to stop at nothing to win.
Soldris was sideswiped by another ram, and a loud crunch was heard all the way up to the King's box. Varian, Arthas, and Anduin gasped in unison. It was like a slow motion bear attack. Soldris yowled and flailed, rolling in the dust. The cloud of dirt obscured most of the arena, and Arthas gripped Varian's hand tightly. Varian himself was frozen with fear.
The dirt cleared and the spectators found the young paladin fending off a few dismounted-and many still mounted-Valiants with nothing but the broken lance in one hand while another tried to stifle the bleeding in her side. One medic rushed on the scene to lead her away but she brushed him off, something like: "I'm fine, you bloody softie!" tainting her lips. She knocked two humans from their horses, chipped a Draenei's horn, and batted away the worgen, then Exorcised the gnome warlock, twice.
"By the Light, she's winning!" Arthas gasped.
"That's my girl!" Varian cried, "GO DARKENDER!" Using Judgment, she managed to rid from the arena the hunter, leaving her, a Dwarf warrior, and the Human rogue to battle it out. She summoned the Light and healed her wound, then drew her hammer and shield from her belt and back.
There were three separate names being chanted. "Anvil," "Night's Breath," and "Darkender." The Warrior charged at her while the rogue crept into the shadows and circled around to her back.
"They're ganging up on her..." Arthas' fists shook. His cheeks colored with rage and his mouth was set in a thin white line. They watched as a stunned Adoraszun shook her head to clear it while the rogue took aim at her back.
"NO!" Anduin cried. Adoraszun spun around, catching the warrior with her shield and the human with her hammer. The human sprawled out on the ground and the dwarf stumbled back. The rogue clutched at his side, tears beading down his face. He had to be led away by the medics so they could fix the destroyed ribcage. The paladin turned to face the warrior, who was as stunned by the hit as she had been by his. She wasted no time and swiped at his legs with the hammer, breaking them both at the femur.
The stands went nuts. Cheers from absolutely everyone deafened the champion and the royals in the King's box.
"That was amazing!" Arthas shouted. She immediately dropped her hammer and shield and ran to her injured panther. She knelt beside the beast, hands skimming his sleek furry body, "What's wrong with-...?" The paladin hung her head dejectedly, shoulders racking with pained sobs. The crowd fell deathly silent as the paladin cried.
"Oh my gods," Varian said quietly. Arthas stood and promptly left the amphitheater. It was so silent that the creaking of the steps beneath his feet could be heard. Anduin leapt down to the ground via Levitate and ran to her, letting her tears stain his new autumn robes.
"Adoraszun?" The night elf's tear-stained face turned toward the Prince of Stormwind. The twin moons lit up the trails of tears that followed her tattoos perfectly. She smiled though.
"Anduin..." She said. He sat next to her at the bonfire with the other Valiants. Some of them were dancing, others drinking and soaking in the merriment of a tournament season well fought. Some were already leaving, promises of coming back the next year on their lips as they mounted their gryphons, their drakes, some of them hippogryphs, "Rowan already came by to apologize for what happened to Soldris. I told him it wasn't his fault. He may have meant to sideswipe me like that but he didn't mean to kill my kitty," She took a swig of the burnwine in the goblet and winced as it seared all the way down. It was a good burn, Anduin knew. A good burn, but a painful one.
"So I guess you won't be coming back next year, will you...?" Anduin asked hopefully.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I am! Melanior already promised me he's make me an even better jouster," Melanior Falconstrider was a blood elf paladin who had a thing for night elves. Anduin tried to hide his displeasure in hearing that she would be training with the Holy Whore.
"But you are coming back with us... Right?"
"Until next season, I am," She promised. Anduin reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand, playing with a loose strand of violet hair.
"Glad to hear it," He whispered. He couldn't help but place a kiss on her light amethyst lips, just this once.