Title: The last Stand: Part Two - Rebirth

Author: Donaruie

Summery: Faced with a fate worse then death one Blood Elf is determined to face his end with dignity, but what twists does fate have in store for him?

Important Notes: There are some things in this that relate to guild developed lore which has been developed over the years. These things aren't meant to change official lore, simply to fill in the gaps. Most prominent being shown here would be the Blood Elven lifespan. High Elves live only until they're 300, sometimes 350 if they're lucky. Blood Elves however haven't had a chance to tell what their max lifespan is but it's likely the use of Fel energy can lengthen their lifespan considerably. Elves who were young when they became blood elves won't really notice the difference but elders found that it had a youthening effect.

The events detailed in this fic are based around in game RP between my main Jaideng Dawnspark and other players during the WOTLK prelaunch and Death Knight introduction.


Where was he? This wasn't right. This wasn't how it had been before. He was dead, he knew that, but this...this blackness...

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Where had the light gone...the warmth.

He tried to focus, to remember where he'd been before but it was fading away. Like a dream. Until all that remained was the vague remembrance of warmth and light...and a woman screaming.

Now he was faced with nothing but darkness, almost impenetrable save for a faint shimmering in front of him. It was like the surface of a lake, faintly rippling.

"Did you have to bring him back in so many pieces?", a disembodied male voice broke the silence.

"Uh...yes...he tried to take my head off.", this voice was familiar.

"Aw, isn't that a shame. Mortals are funny that way. Just think how much easier it would be if they all just sat there and let you kill them."

"Easier...you mean more boring."

"Enough of this foolishness. The body is repaired and the spirit has been called. We will grant you this...but if you cannot retrieve a target intact then never do so again.", this voice was different then the others and held a great deal of authority.

The spirit felt a great amount of apprehension fill his being as he tried to pull away from the blackness that was pulling at him. The surface of the water began to crackle and freeze over in a circular pattern centering directly in front of him. For a second all was still and then suddenly it exploded outwards in a barrage of glowing blue chains. They quickly encircled him then tugged him forward and through the icy barrier, the unexpected sensation of pain from being submerged in freezing water causing him to cry out.

"Hmmm..."

His knees hurt...or did they. He had knees?

The spirit blinked in confusion seeing at first nothing but the cracked black stone of the floor. He shifted his gaze but his vision dragged as if it couldn't quite catch up with its self. He saw a hand pressed against the floor and he clenched it, feeling the sting of his skin dragging against the stone like small echoes. He tried to push himself up but he felt strangely heavy, as if he'd been housed in a set of armor that was far too large.

"...he's...acting kind of weird...what's wrong with him?", the familiar voice again. It made his ear twitch and he cocked his head to try and look up at the source.

"You took out his heart. With any common Scourge this wouldn't be a problem...however...we are NOT common Scourge. His spirit is having problems orienting itself. He'll adjust...in time." The more authoritative voice again.

Scourge? The name set off alarms in his head and his eyes widened. His body stiffened.

"Sounds like he's not going to last very long. I have a hard time believing this weakling nearly bested you the way you say." There was a long pause, "Well this has gotten old real fast. On your feet!"

A hand tangled in his hair and pain shot through his head as he was pulled to his feet by it. He grimaced and stumbled as he tried to remain standing on feet he wasn't sure he even had.

All that I am.

He blinked as the voice echoed within his mind.

Anger, cruelty, vengeance - I bestow upon you, my chosen knight.

He blinked again and the world became solid for him. He reached up to grip the hand and glared at the large, white skinned Draenei who was the cause of his pain.

Claim your destiny. Kill or be killed.

"Get off...me..." he managed to gasp out before roughly pushing the startled Draenei away from him. The Draenei grew even more shocked when the newly risen knight grabbed the hilt of his sheathed sword and drew it, swinging it enough to slice a small line across the front of his chest plate.

"Ha! See! I told you!" he turned his head to see two others standing nearby watching with obvious amusement. The shorter of the two, a bright red haired male elf, clapped his hands and smiled widely.

The larger was a much sterner looking human who raised an eyebrow and nodded, "He has promise."

The Draenei growled and motioned with one hand, "Give that back!" the stolen blade instantly vanished and rematerialized in the Draenei's hand. The red haired elf continued to chuckle and the Draenei grew enraged, swinging the runeblade towards the offending newcomer. It would have been the end of him, again, if a second runeblade hadn't intercepted it, the red haired elf knocking the attacking weapon aside.

"Take your hurt pride out on someone else...this one's mine!" he snarled.

The Draenei huffed, "Perhaps he'll do us all a favor and finish what he started on the battlefield." he roughly sheathed his weapon, "Keep your squire then, at least now I'll be free of you." he sneered before turning and stalking off down a hallway.

The human sighed and rolled his eyes, "I have others to attend to. Suffer well, brothers." he said and walked off in the opposite direction.

"Suffer well!" the elf returned with a tone that was more cheerful than it should have been considering the words spoken.

The newly risen knight was still somewhat in shock as he stared around him in confusion at his unfamiliar surroundings. With the threat of the other Knight gone he found his focus had waned a bit. The red haired elf sighed and grabbed him by the upper arm, pulling him down a hallway.

"Come on, lets get you something more appropriate to wear." he said giving him a once over, "Not that that isn't wonderful but...someones likely to mistake you for a common ghoul. Can't have that."

He blinked and looked down at himself, the black silk shirt he was wearing was drenched in dried blood particularly around his neck and chest where a gaping hole had been torn through the cloth. The sleeves were also missing. He frowned as he stared at his arms. Above each elbow was a straight black line that went all the way around the limb. There were faint stitch marks around the edges. He ran his fingers over the marks and found them only slightly raised, like scars.

"Here, stay here for a second." the elf said motioning for him to stay as he walked off to talk to someone hammering on an anvil nearby. The figure looked up from his work and the newly risen gasped at the now very obvious armored skeleton that paused in it's hammering to listen to whatever the elf had to say.

Memories began to assault him as he turned, taking in the area he was standing in. It was a large central chamber of some kind, circular with a hole in the middle. The entire area looked as if it had been formed from the bones of some giant beast, huge skulls with glowing eyes looking out from almost every wall.

Fearfully he approached the central hole and leaned over the railing to look down, a freezing wind blowing his hair about his head as he looked down at what had to be the Plaguelands partially obscured by clouds.

He was in a Necropolis...

He turned away from the hole sharply as he put a hand to his head.

"Hey...I thought I told you to stay...what are you doing?" The red haired elf was back, a bundle of armor in his arms.

Jaideng glared at him as he lowered his hand. He knew where he recognized this elf now. Flashes of their battle filled his mind, of him leaning over him as he died.

"You...what have you done to me?" he asked breathlessly.

The Death Knight froze and looked shocked, "You...remember?"

"You killed me! You..." he snarled hands balling into fists and he took a threatening step forward.

The Death Knight dropped the armor he held, letting it fall with a thud to the floor and stepped forward to grip the others arms in a restraining manner, "Stop! We are not enemies anymore! Can't you feel it?"

Jai opened his mouth to protest, lifted his hands to push the other away but completed neither action, distracted by an odd feeling in his head. Voices whispering in his mind.

"I freed you."

He grunted, putting his head in his hands, "Free? You call this free?" he whimpered.

"Freed you from illness, from frailty, from loneliness and fear. I freed you from the chaos of life. Here we are the same. One force, undivided. We are brothers." he said firmly, passionately, "Can't you hear Him?"

I have granted you immortality. Where you tread, doom will follow...

His eyes went unfocused as the voice boomed in his mind, drowning out the whispers.

You are MINE!

Jaideng sucked in a pained breath as the voice clawed at his mind with icy talons, spread through his veins and pulsed behind his eyes. The pain was almost unbearable and he doubled over. He grit his teeth as a foreign energy rolled through him. It continued to build until it felt like something gave within him. Something snapped and the pressure vanished. The feeling of ice in his veins became liquid, flowing.

He released his breath and watched it mist in the air before him.

He could feel it. Feel them around him. Sense the same energy within the other undead, linking them together. It was them that he heard whispering. Too quiet to really understand but always there. Even as he continued to stare at the floor he could tell that the others were focusing on him, sensing him the same way he was sensing them. Feeling him out. Trying to tell if this new link in their chain was a weak one.

Slowly he straightened, blinking at the other elf in front of him in a slight daze. The red haired elf grinned slowly and Jaideng could feel his approval.

He should have been frightened. He should have wanted to fight this.

But he wasn't, and he didn't.

To be continued...


Authors Notes: This chapter was especially difficult to write and I'm a little disappointed by the lack of significant feedback on the first chapter as such it's significantly shorter then the last one.

It's hard to find motivation for something I'm not sure anyone likes...and I just like to know what parts people like and people don't...I'm not a writer really so it certainly helps.

As far as the story...this chapter was a pain, there's a lot of imagery involved with trying to describe someone being dead and being reanimated. Also trying to include the Lich King without making the Scourge seem like they're mindless which, if you've played a Death Knight, you know they're anything but.

Please Review! If you liked it please let me know why, if you didn't you can do the same but try and be constructive, please.

Feedback is a writers creative food!