Rising and Falling
Chapter Two: Valiance Keep
Patchwork grounds passed quickly beneath as Simonee and friends rode their gryphons toward the coastal Alliance outpost known simply as Valiance Keep. No one had any idea what to expect upon reaching this outpost, but Simonee was rather pessimistic about the trip. So far, not so much of a glimpse of undeath had been seen, and everything had been rather serene, if not a bit eery. That never boded well, less so in the back yard of the Lich King's territories.
The light of dawn gave way to the subtler glow of afternoon as the party traversed the cold expanses of Northrend on gryphonback. The sky had originally been clear as they set out from the landing of Dalaran, but clouds had encroached the area ahead with increasing haste as the minutes and hours passed. Those clouds had then decided to pour near-torrential rain on the group, frigid and hard enough to possibly cause illness if it kept up. Luckily, the clouds passed almost as quickly as they arrived, and the group found respite from further inclement weather as they finally passed into the Borean Tundra.
Below, the terrain was as varied as a quilt's fabrics, ranging from deep orange sands to hot springs, to vast plains of grass. The six noted a necropolis floating ominously above the slopes leading into a small range of mountains; the first sign of the Scourge they had encountered upon teleporting into Northrend. Below that was a small network of caves that large, lumbering creatures entered every so often. Continuing on, they came across a small settlement with an airstrip, which gave an indication of who may have built the place. In the distance, Simonee could barely make out the shore, and what seemed like a dock that extended out into the sea. There was only one problem with this observation: the dock led to nothing on the opposite side, except for half-buildings and various frameworks for other buildings-to-be. Noting this, the mage remarked his thoughts to his fellow travelers.
Within another few moments, the party was upon the port, deciding to circle around it a few times out of curiosity and uncertainty. Finding nothing to be technically out of place, the gryphons slowly began on a decline until finally landing. With a slight jolt from impact with the ground, Simonee hopped down from the saddle and led the gryphon by the reins to what appeared to be a gryphon station. Tying the leather reins securely to the post, Simonee turned to take a closer inspection of the area.
"Seems as if we've arrived a bit faster than expected," Erylian remarked dryly. "So now what?"
As if on cue, one of the workers who'd been working on the nearest building shouted loudly, "Horde! Horde in the keep, sound the alarms!"
"Looks like we'll find that out shortly," Garret said as he finished up tying his own gryphon to the roost.
As the six travelers reconvened on the ground, soldiers began pouring out of nearby large tents, and bells rang from towers previously unseen. Each soldier that had been immediately alerted were already brandishing longswords at the sight of Erylian. For his part, the undead mage simply put his hands up in resignation, which only served to make the soldiers tense up even more as they inspected the man's garb.
"Oh please, if I had wanted to escape or harm anyone, I would already be long gone, or finished with you. Either way, you're safe from my whims," he said, sighing.
"Enough! You shut your trap. Why are you spying on us, eh? Going to report back to your Horde commanders, no doubt," shouted the lead soldier, who in turn was the one looking the most tense.
"You tell me not to speak and then ask me a question. How do you expect me to respond? Besides, your allegations ring quite false. I'm traveling with this man here," Erylian replied, gesturing in Simonee's direction, who had simply been frowning with his arms crossed at this development. "Now, we've been ordered by the Kirin Tor to speak with the king. We were told that he could be found here?"
"Yeah, right! You're only here to assassinate the king. You expect me to believe your tripe excuses?"
"Listen, you dolt. I'm speaking in Common. Most Forsaken don't even remember half of the language, much less than enough to communicate properly with the Alliance. And those who are loyal to the Horde care little about trying to do that anyway. Are you even listening to yourself, man?" Erylian questioned, befuddled about the soldier's apparent lack of common sense and general hostility at first sight. 'Then again,' he thought, 'I suppose I'd be the same, if I was in his position.'
"What is all this commotion?"
As the bellowing call came forth, the crowd of soldiers parted briefly to make way for the king. He had looked drastically different since Simonee last saw him. His hair had grown long past its original stature and now hung loosely around his angular face. The old crown had since been discarded, and a suit of regal armor shined brightly in the afternoon sun, rather than the tattered robes that he'd been rescued in.
"Simonee. What is this undead... freak doing in my keep?" he asked coldly, eying Erylian through a tight, angry squint.
"King Wrynn," Simonee began, bowing in front of his liege, "this is Archmage Erylian. One of the fallen heroes from the battle at Mount Hyjal. He is an emmissary from the Kirin Tor, who sent us to seek you out."
Finally taking his eyes off of the elder mage to look at Simonee, the king briefly looked around at the rest of the group, locking eyes once more with Krionoso. "And HIM. What is the traitor doing in my midst?" he roared, seeming not to pay heed to what Simonee had just told him. Rage in his eyes, he sharply turned his head to scrutinize Simonee.
"Long story short, Krionoso didn't betray us. Slightly longer story, he was being brainwashed by a Legion demon posing as the keeper of the Dalaran ruins," Simonee replied calmly.
"And I'm supposed to believe that? In light of your service previously, I won't have you and your sordid party thrown into the dungeon. Instead, you'll be keeping the Scourge from overrunning our little operation here. They've been making daily sieges against our walls and if they break through, we'll have no foothold into these hostile lands. And if that happens, there's no way we will be able to put up any resistance against the Lich King. I'm sure you know what that means, so I won't spell it out for you," Wrynn stated.
"Thank you for being reasonable, King Wrynn," Erylian said, bowing.
"We'll see. Do as I ask and I may lend some sort of credence to your story. If I even catch the tiniest whisper that you've betrayed my trust, all that will be left of your stinking undead corpse will be naught but so much dust," Wrynn said, menace barely checked in his voice. "After you're done for the day, see me in my tent. One of the guards will direct you."
With those words, the king spun on his heel and started off away from the circle of soldiers, stopping only to speak with the man in front before leaving the area in a rush.
"Well, that was... pleasant," Krionoso remarked while he waited for the guards to clear out. "Remind me to do that again some time soon; I just love being held at sword-point. Makes me feel so loved and respected."
"Oh, but aren't you, Krio?" Garret asked, punching the mage's shoulder softly while wearing a friendly smile.
"Only sometimes."
The same soldier who had been speaking with Erylian stayed behind while the others fell away, doing whatever it was they had been doing prior to the alarm being sounded.
"The Scourge usually don't attack until twilight, but when they do, they hardly ever relent. I've only seen them stop briefly to bolster their numbers with those of our fallen. That said, I suggest you rest yourselves and prepare as best you can before they arrive. I figure it's only another hour before they come."
"Thank you for the information," Aeriah said, nodding.
"Another thing," the man added, "I will be accomanying you while you remain here. King's orders."
"The king doesn't trust us much, then. Understandable, I suppose, considering the circumstances of our arrival," Erylian mused. "So. What's our first plan of action?"
"I think doing this little job for the king would pay off for us in the end. Even if he doesn't believe our story, at least then we can explain ourselves a little more, with a little more privacy," Aubs said, nodding toward the mass of guards resuming their posts.
"It's settled. I say we take our friendly guide's suggestion and try to center ourselves prior to the Scourge's attack. It might do us some good," Simonee said.
"I'll show you where you can stay for the time being," the soldier said, motioning for the group to follow behind.
Staying just a few paces behind the man, Erylian asked, "Why the hostility earlier? It seems you're a very well-centered person. Or you're very good at concealing your feelings. On that note, what's your name? I'd like to know at least what I should call you while we're under your care."
"My name is Jeffrey. Beyond that, you don't need to know anything about me."
"Ah, so the second, then, if that."
"I'm just doing my job. If you want to try and analyze that, go ahead, but you won't find much from it," Jeffrey said, strained indifference coloring his speech.
"On the contrary, sir. It shows that you're either submissive or apathetic, and there is a very large difference between the two," Erylian remarked, as they continued to walk.
"Are you heckling me for a reason, or is this payback for what ocurred before us just a few moments ago?"
"I would just like to know why you would so blindly judge someone like me when you know nothing of me or my intentions. I even spelled it out rather clearly that I meant no harm, and yet you still decided to grief me. That is all," Erylian replied.
"If I tell you, will you drop the subject?"
"Upon pain of death... again. I swear."
"My entire family, save my brothers and I, was killed by a traveling band of Forsaken, out in the fields of Elwynn. Since I was a mere young boy, I've been struggling to raise what's left of my family while dreading my conscription into the Stormwind army. Now, I come to Northrend as a part of my tour of duty and find a Forsaken challenging my preconceptions of life. Imagine if you were in my position. What you thought was an enemy trying to make you believe he's a friend. Talk about system shock," Jeffrey said, shaking his head. "I'm still trying to figure everything all out."
"I'll be the first to admit that most Forsaken aren't above holding grudges against their former selves. It took me a long time to adjust to my life as what most people would call undead. I can't even imagine how I came into service for Arthas before the Dark Lady broke me from the haze. I am deeply sorry for those you've lost, but attempt at least not to see things as they were, but as they are. As much as it may seem to be so, not all Forsaken are responsible for the deaths you've suffered through, and as such shouldn't be held responsible for them. Some caution is necessary, yes. But not to the extreme you've displayed," Erylian replied.
Jeffrey seemed to nod slightly as he came to a stop and motioned to the tent to his side. "This tent, as far as I remember, is empty and available for use. The previous inhabitants were slain by Scourge the other day, so make free use of the space, if you please," he said, turning to the group.
Simonee stepped forward and nodded, thanking Jeffrey, afterward entering the tent.
As Erylian made for the entrance, he heard Jeffrey speaking again. "I'll need some time to think about everything, but thanks for what you said. It might just clear my mind up a bit."
Inside, Simonee noted how big the interior seemed to be compared to the small-ish exterior. There sat a very small square table in the middle of the tented area, bare as bare could possibly be, and perhaps a bit short-legged on one side. Beyond that, no furniture could be afforded within the space. As everyone filtered inside however, the space quickly became crowded, and the table had to be removed to compensate.
After everyone had finally settled in, things finally became quiet enough to rest their minds, and think about what would come next. No one besides Simonee truly knew what to expect, and even Simonee's memories were too hazy to recall to any great success. Too soon, however, twilight was upon them, and their thoughts shifted to the imminent battle as Jeffrey collected them and took up arms alongside his fellow soldiers in the field just beyond the keep, simply waiting for the Scourge to show up for their renewed assault.
Above the battlefield, the borealis swayed and lit the area with its beautiful colors, as the Scourge arrived in force. Nerubians led the charge, their plentiful, pointy legs clearing the landscape with a practiced ease. Behind them came the bulk of the Scourge's forces; those that had fallen in battle previously and were raised again to fight for the Lich King.
The Alliance forces held their lines as the abominable undead came crashing in toward them. Soon enough, the frontlines met, and battle was upon the forces. Gigantic spider-like limbs thrashed out, impaling soldiers as if they were made of nothing but so much soft lard. The legions of Stormwind soldiers swarmed toward the incoming nerubian onslaught, bringing down the mighty beasts with little more than sheer force of numbers and the flaling of their swords. Behind the nerubians, the scores of reanimated undead reinforced the Lich King's insectoid alllies; many flung balls of condensed ice, while others simply ran in with steel flashing about, slicing into as much flesh as they could manage to.
Simonee carefully studied the battlefield as he casted a myriad of spells into the opponent's lines, almost admiring the magic behind the undead forces' broken forms while he carefully tore them apart with blazing streaks of arcane fire. As he watched, he found Garret gleefully hammering away at the nearest nerubian's steely carapace, leaving behind deep cracks and oozing ichor with each strike of his elementally-infused weapons. Aeriah called upon the stars to rain down upon the battlefield, striking the reanimated dead with the moon's arcane fury.
Even with such devastating power backing the Alliance's defence, still the undead poured on their pressure, rampaging ever closer to the unfinished fortress. Even so, large walls of ice began to form, blocking off the advance and providing cover from the incoming spells bombarding the battlefield. Searching for the source of the walls, Simonee hadn't needed to look far, as he spotted Erylian gesturing wildly into the arcane, willing the barriers into existence. Close to him was the Alliance conscript Jeffrey, bravely holding off four skeletal warriors with deft movements and precise strikes. None of the skeletons even came close to harming him, his shield bashing aside every blow.
The battle, nearly as soon as it had begun, was winding down already. The undead had suffered innumerable casualties, their once imposing force whittled down to nearly nothing. The victory, while welcome, was still an uncertain thing in Simonee's eyes. The Lich King's army was more vast than a simple regiment of nerubians and rotting bodies. It was also a symbolic thing, a weapon of fear and unease that snaked its way into the hearts and minds of those that fought against him. Not only did he have numbers upon numbers on his side, but also the fear of death, and subsequently, rebirth. It would take more than a few simple victories in the physical realm to defeat such a thing. It would also require stalwart and adamant mental defense to ward away any thoughts of hopelessness.
Even with their subdued numbers, however, the undead fought. Battered and broken bodies continued to gnaw, slash and kick at whatever they could, the severed limbs acting as a separate, yet similar being. Such was the tenacity of the Alliance's latest enemy that they could survive and fight even beyond the threshold that would stop a normal being in its tracks. But that wasn't the most troubling sight to behold on the battlefield.
High above, in the skies quickly becoming mottled with layers upon layers of dark black cloud, a streak of brilliant blue alerted Simonee that something was definitely direly wrong. Soon enough, he realized, the battle would become much more complicated and desperate.
The streak eventually became a cloud of mist, in which he could clearly see bony outlining of a very large creature with something vaguely man-sized atop its back. Coming even closer, the cloud became a dragon, and the dragon was very, very angry.
Frozen in place with dread, Simonee could do little more than watch as the dragon closed in on the scattered pockets of fighting, eagerly eyeing its targets with blazing blue orbs. With a deafening roar, the dragon made its presence known. And yet, it wasn't the dragon that had Simonee's attention. Instead, that was solely held by the figure riding the dragon. Armored in black steel molded to look like a massive skeleton, and crowned by a helm of the same material, crafted to resemble that of royalty, the Lich King imposed himself upon the battlefield and all of its inhabitants. His eyes blue fire, and his lips set in an arrogant grin, the 'man' who had once been prince of Lordaeron leapt from his mount still in flight, and landed amidst the fighting.
Upon his appearance, those who were still struggling with the undead stopped and looked at him, while their opponents backed away, either in reverence, or in keeping with a silent order given by the Lich King's shattered mind. Simonee gripped his staff tightly in his hands, preparing himself in case the opportunity arose to attack the king of the Frozen Wastes. The Lich King strode closer to the unfinished Valiance Keep, silently demanding the attention of all who were near. The jagged blade that had brought death and destruction to countless beings, Frostmourne, rested in his grip, protruding like a dragon's fang.
Without provocation, he stopped, in plain sight of all.
"So this is all the might the Alliance could muster to bring about my fall. I had been expecting more, Varian," he said, the words easily echoing through Simonee's mind just as they rumbled out into the chilled twilight air. The voice was more than enough to supply a remarkable sense of absolute terror.
Seemingly from nowhere, Varian Wrynn strode from the boundaries of the fortress and glared at the Lich King. "And I expected more resistance from you. How easily we strode in upon your land. Expectations are often just a road to disappointment, it seems."
The Lich King simply chuckled. "You are here because your silly farce of an assault continues to amuse me. But how quickly fun and games become tiresome. You aren't winning, Wrynn. You are merely a thorn in my side, and now it's time to be rid of you."
At his last word, a deep rumbling shook the ground beneath Simonee's feet. Large cracks formed in the ground, rending the stone and depositing scores of undead upon the battlefield. Soldiers quickly rushed to King Wrynn's side and brought up arms, ready to defend him to their deaths. Before anyone had a chance to react, however, another earsplitting roar sounded above the dark clouds that had come about with the Lich King's arrival. Cutting through the misty black, five majestic red creatures streaked down, fire streaming from their gullet and engulfing the undead rising from the depths of Northrend's foundation. The Lich King fixed his eyes on one in particular, tightening his grip on Frostmourne.
"Alexstrasza..." his raspy voice breathed. "This isn't over, Wrynn. Enjoy your victory while it lasts."
As the red dragons continued to decimate the undead reinforcements, the Lich King again mounted on his own skeletal dragon and escaped, headed north to Icecrown. Dumbfounded over the events that had just taken place, Simonee simply watched the red dragons' almost beautiful destructive power as it tore through whatever undead still moved. After it was done, the one the Lich King had called Alexstrasza, the largest dragon, landed and began moving toward King Wrynn and his entourage of defenders.
Alexstrasza, Simonee noticed from this close, was a lighter shade of red than the others that had arrived with her. Her vicious-looking horns curled upward, almost following the contours of her head, but in contrast, her eyes spoke of benevolence beyond comparison. Ivory spikes ran down her spinal column at intervals and her tail was a veritable mace, covered in those same spikes. With a tangible rush of magic, Simonee watched as the dragon took her humanoid form, tall and nearly elven, though... different somehow. Her skin was a dark lavendar,and her eyes were globes of white light. Horns much in the same vein as her dragon form's protruded from her forehead, framed by hair of the same purple as her scales had been. Exotic armor barely contained her modesty, although that was hardly of concern to anyone at that point.
Simonee had barely noticed as the other dragons set down and waited for what had to be their leader, save one. The dragon in question set down next to Alexstrasza and began to transform into whatever mortal form pleased it. As a dragon, it was most definitely not as elegant, nor as exotic, as Alexstrasza had been. It looked much like the other red dragons Simonee had seen in his time, nondescript and cloaked in scales of a bloody red. As an elf, however, he was obviously much more than any of the others. Long and flowing silver hair framed an angular elven face, with the signature pointed ears protruding from the sides of his head. Robes of exquisite make dragged along the ground, black and red patterns tailored impeccably on the cloth. Had it not been for his extravagant display however, no one would have thought him to be much different than a normal high elf.
Together, he and Alexstrasza walked toward King Wrynn, who waved his defenders aside. Simonee moved closer to hear the conversation between them.
"King Wrynn. Your arrival here is most pleasant, though not altogether unexpected," Alexstrasza said, her voice as clear and beautiful as a wind chime. "We have heard word from the bronze dragonflight that Dalaran has been restored, and that it now hangs in the sky over Crystalsong Forest."
"I had heard much the same myself, though I admit that I hadn't believed it. How did you know we arrived?" Wrynn asked, with a reverant bow.
"When the Lich King's armies began mobilizing, we knew it was wise to find the reason behind it. Nearly nothing exists that is hidden from us here in Northrend, King," said the second dragon.
"We would like to speak with you in private, however. And we would ask that you bring those that arrived from Dalaran as well," Alexstrasza finished. "Our flight will protect your borders while we speak."
The king nodded and motioned to one of his messengers, who in turn nodded and ran off quickly into the battlefield, corraling Simonee and his friends. Simonee couldn't help but wonder what was about to happen.
A/N: Hey guys. Been awhile, and for that I apologize. Had quite a busy year that's been keeping me from updating this thing. But, hey, what can you do? Don't know when the next update's coming, but I'll try and make it soon.
Be Happy - Python.