"Another drink, sir?" the bartender asked Fallen.
Fallen's head rose from the bar, and he nodded, he was comfortably buzzed having been drinking since dusk had fallen on the Island of Dalaran, his mind was a bit fuzzy on how he had arrived here and why he had started drinking but he had no desire to stop now that he was well on his way to being drunk. The bartender quietly poured another ale from the tap and placed the tankard in front of Fallen in silence. He smiled and sipped from the tankard, his mind clouded blissfully, he knew he shouldn't be drinking when there were missions to be completed and he knew that any moment he might get notice of a battle in progress. He didn't care, he didn't care about much these days , since the fall of the Lich King. Killing the Lich King had been the single greatest moment of his life, killing the bastard who had caused the attack of his home and the death of his parents and even the death of his childhood. The only problem was that now that the Lich King was dead, there was no where to go, nothing to fight for, no reason for him to keep going. He was like a boat with no rudder, floating aimlessly on a churning ocean, and it killed him slowly to know that everyone else had somewhere else to go but him.
His face fell. Each one of them had had their glory and were now moving on to better things, Artamisa had the home in Nagrand and the possibility of promotion into the Dark Rangers, Tenso was running Acheron Hold in Mograine's stead, Vitado was rebuilding the troll home after they had regained control of the Echo Isles, Veanus was training in Icecrown at the tournament to be a better paladin, but Fallen? He had no home to return to unless he wanted to stay with Artamisa, he had no training to complete, no armor to get, no important missions. He had nothing. So here he stayed, Dalaran was the closest to a home he had had since he had been a young child, he practically lived at the Filthy Animal when he was in the area, and drank at the tavern when he had the chance. He sighed and looked around, it was a typical blood elf tavern, silk hung from the ceilings to the floors making it feel like a harem more than a tavern, pots of plants floated in mid air, held suspended by enchantments, and every barmaid wore a silk dress that dropped to the floor, large sections missing from the sides to expose soft satiny skin. The drinks were always cold, the people left him alone and the place never had a fight, it was perfect for him.
"Fallen Grayer. You have been ordered to return to Undercity and report to Lady Sylvanas Windrunner immediately."
Fallen looked to the man who spoke and raised an eyebrow, the man was an undead warrior, still in training from the look of him, but he possessed an air of dignity that most undead had dropped in favor of the cruel and unusual.
"Ordered, you say?" Fallen slurred.
"Yes, Sir." The man saluted him.
"Did the Dark Lady happen to explain why my presence was requested?"
"No, Sir."
"Ah. Alright then. You are dismissed." Fallen said returning to his drink.
"Sir. I am to escort you to the Undercity Portal under orders. Sir."
"Really now? Do I look like I need a babysitter? I'll get there when I get there."
"I was told I was allowed to call guards should you not comply."
"Fine." Fallen stood, his height and stature intimidating.
Fallen brushed his robes and walked to the entrance, standing next to the undead who only met his shoulders in height, he smiled grimly and waited for the man to proceed him out the door, he did so and Fallen fell into step behind him. Almost immediately he was confronted with gasps from the women and men who were walking around the circle of Dalaran.
"Is that Fallen Grayer? The warlock who slayed…."
"I heard his power was partially drained at birth because he's so powerful…."
"Delores, stop staring! He's going to think you're….."
He heard these whispers and felt their stares but never once looked back or responded, they knew him by name and on sight, young warlocks aspired to be him, the older ones were envious of him but he cared not. The fame would die down in the years to come, as he aged and no other reports were forthcoming of his successes, others would fill his spot. They came to the portal in Sunreaver Sanctuary and with no hesitation he stepped through, feeling the whoosh of magic as he passed through space to come out in the Magic Quarter of Undercity. He took a deep breath and walked leisurely to the Dark Lady's throne room, he heard greetings from many and he smiled and waved back. This was where he had lived after his parents tragic death, taken in by the apothecaries and brought here to be raised, it hadn't been an easy life and it certainly had had a lot of fighting and insults but it had been good life. He arrived at the long tunnel that would take him to her throne room and walked slowly, taking in the stench of death and potions, rotting flesh and age old bones lay scattered from place to place on the ground, fallen from many a man who had walked these same halls. He arrived at the end of the hallway and was greeted with stares from the Dark Rangers, Lady Sylvanas and surprisingly his sister.
"Arta." He said, smiling.
"Fallen!" she exclaimed.
They embraced briefly and looked to the Banshee Queen as they separated, she smiled at them both and began to speak.
"Fallen, I have a mission for you. You don't need to accept but Artamisa believes you to be one of the best for the position."
Fallen looked his sister and frowned. This didn't sound good. "Yes?"
"I want you and Artamisa along with a few others to go to Icecrown, the Argent Tournament to clarify and protect Rurin Shatterjaw, the heir to the Argent Crusade. You will need to do this secretly. You shall be rewarded when the danger has passed. We believe that a group of the old followers of the Lich King wish to make Rurin the new Lich King. It is obviously that we don't want this happen under any circumstances. I encourage you to take this mission and do the best that you can."
"What is the reward?"
"The reward is that I shall offer two positions in the Dark Rangers. As well as gold and a permanent place in history."
Both Artamisa and fallen dropped to one knee before the Banshee Queen. "I would be honored." Fallen said.
"You are both dismissed. I expect the two of you to leave immediately for Icecrown."
"Yes, ma'am!" they said in unison and walked out of the throne room.
Fallen eyed Artamisa out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was wearing the shiny new gear from Icecrown Citadel as well as the new bow she had claimed. She looked every bit the warrior of the horde she was, trained, muscled, all grit but he knew her to be soft spoken, caring, and merciful. She was far from being the heartless bitch that many made her out to be.
"Sister." He said with a smile. "Did you give up on your vacation for this?"
She grimaced. "I'm sorry for ditching you at Icecrown, I know I said I was going on vacation but the day after I arrived a messenger arrived and I couldn't say no to Sylvanas, and…." She attempted to say this all in one breath but found that it was not possible.
"It's ok, I found my way to Dalaran Island just fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, the better question to ask would be how are we getting to Icecrown?"
"I'm tired of flying and riding so we're going to hire a mage to get to Dalaran."
"You do realize that you're going to have to fly to Icecrown from Dalaran though right?"
She looked confused for a moment and then had an exaggerated expression of sadness. "Oh yeah… I forgot."
"Alright hold on, I'll find us a mage."
Fallen stepped away from Artamisa and went to the trade quarter where many people were standing around the auctioneers looking for a great deal.
"Looking for a mage! I need a portal to Dalaran! Tipping!"
This incited many responses such as. "Take the Zeppelin you lazy bum!"
"Does anyone had Thunderfury Blessed Blade of the Windseeker?"
"Did you someone say Thunderfury Blessed Blade of the Windseeker?"
"I'm a mage!"
"My cousin is a mage! I could find her for you!"
Soon an older undead walked up to Fallen with a smirk that only the undead can pull off. "I'm a mage." She said.
"Good, I need a portal to Dalaran for my sister and myself."
"That will be 40 gold. " she said, holding out her hand.
"Fourty gold? Last week I took a portal for 10!"
"Well.. times are tough and a girl has to make a profit."
"The mats for a portal are little to none."
"Alright, 35."
"There are plenty of other mages who will do it for cheaper and with less sass."
"C'mon guy, I need to make some extra gold here."
"Do you know who I am?" Fallen said menacingly, he was bartering but sometimes throwing your weight around helped.
"No, why would I care?" she retorted.
"Fallen Grayer, my sister is Artamisa Grayer, we were par t of the team that took down the Lich King."
Her eyes became comically wide. "Oh." She said.
Fallen smirked.
"Brother! Stop torturing her and give her 50. I'll pay back half if that will make this go quicker."
"Fine!" He growled and give her 50 gold, she started the portal with a smile on her face, he could see the purples of Dalaran appearing in the incorporeal mists of the portal.
"Thanks for your business. If you need anything else, let me know."
"So you can scam us again." Fallen said under his breathe before feeling the sharp edge of Artamisa's elbow in his ribs.
"Thank you so much!" she said as she stepped through, Fallen close behind.
Artamisa smiled as she stepped through the portal into Dalaran, even for nighttime it was humming with energy, the stars seemed to twinkle with enchantment, the buildings seemed brighter and clean, the lights illuminated with a low romantic glow. Dalaran was the city of magic, and they both loved it to their core.
"Shall we go pick up some things before we head to Icecrown?"
"Like what?"
"I'd like to pick up some artic furs so we are a wee bit warmer."
"Well you know what they say, When in Dalaran…."
She smiled and they began picking up the amenities for their trip and long stay in Northrend, about an hour later their bags were laden with snacks, drinks and things to make life a little easier in the chilliness. By the end of their shopping excursion they were smiling and enjoying the company of each other, it had been a long time since either of them had had the time to do the things they wanted, they had fought and trained into readiness for the Death of the Lich King and now they had all the time in the world to be family, to have each other. Together they walked to Krasus landing, bowing to the Kiron Tor Mages that chatted right outside the entrance to the landing, they each paid the fare for the windrider flight to the Argent Tournament and mounted.
Fallen had always enjoyed flying since acquiring his first windrider in Outlands, the feeling of the wind through his long black locks, the cold air that chilled his exposed skin and the exhilaration of looking down to the ground and seeing the drop that would probably kill him. It was a thrill to think that all that stood between him and the ground was this nameless mount. He knew that Artamisa hated flying, that she in fact hated heights but would power through if it meant she didn't have to be in a saddle for many hours.
"This is going to be interesting." He said as they flew.
Need reviews people!
Some interesting plots involving the Lich King to come.