Warcraft belongs to Blizzard
Fate Stay Night belongs to Typemoon
Warning! This is more of a spin off instead of a direct cross with modern day Fate/ Stay Night.
Also, this fic take place during the first Orc -Human war.
Special thanks to the following in Alpha Order, Cheeser, who taught me tautology, Wayfarer with his physics and Xbox432 who stayed up an ungodly hour to finished this story. Mad respect!
Lioness of Stormwind
Chapter 9
The Beginning of the End
***** Deep within the Black Morass, Dark Portal *****
Blackhand surveyed the Horde, HIS Horde, assembled before the Dark Portal looking up at him expectantly. As far as his eyes could see, Orcs of all sizes and shapes, even Ogres, were all looking at their Warchief expectantly. Behind him was the massive structure that had brought them to this world, still open, and set to bring even more of their warriors to Azeroth. In the past two years, Durotan had played 'peacemaker' at Stonard while the Horde had been harvesting the lumber, rocks, gold, and land for their war machines. The swamp was filled with wildlife and as such, his warriors had kept themselves well fed since their initial disastrous attack.
After two years of 'peace' the Horde was once again ready to march against the Humans. Looking up at the sky, he saw the sun had started to set over his army, bathing them in a blood red light. How fitting.
"Warchief, our warriors await your words," Gul'dan, Chief Warlock of the Horde and Leader of the Shadow Council, said as he skulked away, leaving Blackhand alone on the top steps of the Dark Portal.
"HORDE!" Blackhand the Destroyer shouted and heard hundreds of thousands of roars respond. "Two years ago, the mighty Orcish Horde was stopped by the weak and pathetic pinkskins of this land!"
There was much grumbling at that statement from the Orcish forces.
"The commanders of that force have been dealt with," Blackhand informed, he knew that Gul'dan had increased his voice's volume so it could reach all the way to the back of the army. "HOWEVER, that force was WEAK, they did not have our powerful WOLF RIDERS!"
There was a loud roar from within the ranks of the Horde and sounds of dire wolves howling in the air.
"They did not have our seasoned WARRIORS from our war with the Draenei!" Blackhand boasted, hearing the roar of agreement from Orcish veterans. "They were a small rabble, not a horde. WE. ARE. THE. HORDE!"
Once again, the Orcs replied loudly at their Warchief's declaration.
"Now the Humans are much like the Draenei, but we all know what happened to the Draenei, don't we?" Blackhand asked with an evil grin. He heard the satisfied chuckle from the army. "Now they will face the full MIGHT of the Horde, they will face you and they shall FALL! LOK TAR OGAR! FOR THE HORDE!"
There was a thunderous battle cry as the Orcs and Orges replied with chanting and the stomping of their feet, causing the very ground to shake from the sheer force.
Blackhand smiled in satisfaction, there were as many Orcs as there were blades of grass, the Humans would never know what hit them.
***** Two weeks later, New Marshal's Keep ****
The rebuilt Marshal's Keep was not like its previous iteration. The old keep was a walled town with small barracks to protect it from any threats. It was accompanied by less than a thousand Stormwind soldiers that were responsible for the surrounding villages. That had failed against the Orcs.
Despite words of assurance from Durotan, the last surviving Orc Chieftain, King Adamant still had some doubts.
It was the newly titled Lady Arturia Pendragon that had voiced her misgivings about the whole peace accord. For reasons unknown to many, King Adamant valued the consul of the minor noble. Even if she was the Lioness of Stormwind, as the King had titled her, she dared to argue against the three greatest heroes of Stormwind. Yet while King Adamant acquiesced to the peace treaty and placed his faith in Llane's judgment, he decided to shore up their holdings in the Black Morass. As such, a massive project was commissioned by King Adamant to be headed by the Governor General of Redridge, Lady Mara Fordragon. Who appointed Commander Arturia Pendragon to oversee the construction of a major defensive keep, similar to Stonewind, in the Black Morass.
Now, after two years the project was finished.
Of course it was also heavily fortified, a contingent of fifty thousand soldiers comprising of knights, footman, and crossbowmen was stationed at the new keep. There were also clerics present at all times as well as a tower for conjurers to stay in. In addition to the already impressive compliment of troops, there were also defensive towers on its battlements, every two block along its walls. As such, it was the most heavily defended garrison in the Black Morass, and it was there that Commander Arturia Pendragon kept watch.
Two combatants could currently be seen on the training field near the keep. One was a Brotherhood Knight in black armor with a Knight Commander insignia on his tabard. The other a small blonde girl who was little over five foot. Her armor was different than the Brotherhood Knight's it was, in fact, different from the regular soldiers, though its color scheme was still steel colored plate with royal Stormwind blue. The sight was almost comical, with the tall, strong Brotherhood Knight warily circling the smaller blonde girl, but no one was laughing.
The Brotherhood Knight had opted to wield a shield and a long-sword to combat the smaller girl. His eyes never left her as she too circled him with her golden sword at her hip, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Suddenly the golden haired girl saw something in his stance and rushed him, the sound of her metal boots let him know she was getting closer to him.
"HAH!" the knight shouted as he charged the blonde girl. He thrust his shield forward horizontally, intending to bash the smaller girl with it when she suddenly jumped high, landing on his shield. Before his arm even had the chance to drop due to the sudden weight, the famous golden sword descended upon his head.
Saber sighed as she rode the momentum of the toppling knight to the ground. Scattered around her were other Brotherhood members lying on the field. Naturally, she had struck the knight with the flat of Caliburn, but the force had been strong enough to temporarily render him unconscious.
"Amazing Lady Pend- Arturia!" her adjutant, Cole from her old Militia, clapped. He had enlisted to serve under the Lioness once again. In fact more than half of Arturia's militia had opted to enlist under her. Everyone knew by now to avoid calling her 'Lady Pendragon.' For some odd reason, the girl did not like to be referred as such. Must have been a hold over on how she was raised in Marshal. He would feel weird too, if someone started to call him something different. In fact the only person that had seemed to be able to get away with it was King Adamant and Queen Varia. Prince Llane had called Lady Arturia by her noble name once and she had challenged him to a duel. It was one of the most skillful displays of swordsmanship that he had ever witnessed but in the end Lady Arturia had won. As the winner of the duel, she had demanded that the Prince never call her Lady Pendragon and being the loser of the duel, he agreed.
"Thank you, Cole," Saber acknowledged with a nod. She then turned her attention to the awakening Brotherhood. They were good, very good. Not as good as Lancelot though. Her knight was currently on an errand to Stormwind by request of Crown Prince Llane. Sir Lothar had been missing for the past couple of weeks, and while the Brotherhood Knights were searching for the head of their order, they had all agreed that Lancelot should take up the position and was temporarily filling in for Lothar while they searched for the Lion of Stormwind.
"Damn lass, you're brutal," Gerald the former footman at Marshal's Keep commented. He was now a footman once more at Marshal. Even after two years he was still amazed by the hardened soldiers' obedience to the little blonde girl. To him, she would always be the small, stern girl who had approached him without fear and asked for information on the history of Stormwind. Arturia had the men's hearts, and he knew they would gladly lay down their lives for her. She actively participated in various duties including patrolling with the troops, even managing to find several Troll encampments nearby. The greenskinned forest dwellers had been known to eat their prisoners, and Arturia showed little mercy when dealing with them. The blonde had razed their holdings to the ground and driven them deeper into the Black Morass forest.
"They would not respect my position otherwise," Saber stated before giving Gerald a smile. She was glad to see a familiar face. Of course there was Tiffany and Alice, two of the most sought after women in Marshal's keep, with both having blossomed into full womanhood while she remained the same. Of course she knew why she was still the same, but she did envy their figures.
Gerald smiled indulgently before walking back with the girl. "Still a sore spot with ye eh lass?" he teased and saw her blush.
Saber was joined a bit later by Tiffany, who had taken it upon herself to ensure her friend's health and well-being almost every day, despite her busy duty as a cleric. "Tiffany," she greeted as she walked back to the keep.
"Arturia," Tiffany greeted and looked at the Brotherhood Knights starting to get to their feet. "Breaking men pride I see."
"Well, someone had to show the new meat how things are done around here, right?" Gerald asked with a smirk and saw the other young woman that had joined them rolled her eyes at his comment.
"What was that they said about a lioness?" Tiffany pondered as she cupped her chin. "They are the true owner of the lion's den?"
"Aye, the pig headed Sir Knight will not be trying to tell 'Her Majesty' what to do anymore," Gerald joked. He saw the little blonde girl stiffen up before relaxing her shoulders.
Saber recalled the reason why the duel started in the first place. When Lancelot left, she had ordered his contingent of Brotherhood Knights to follow him. In returned they sent her a replacement force for Lancelot's. Of course the replacement was fresh to the Brotherhood and their commander was an older veteran who was in his forties. He had mistakenly assumed that Lancelot was the one that was in charge of the Keep and she was just the figurehead. She did not even bother arguing. Only one thing mattered to such a man. Might. This world, just like her old world, functioned on one fundamental rule: might makes right. So she challenged them, all of them. She estimated that she would need to beat the Knight Commander down one more time before he would accept her.
Unfortunately any such thoughts were grounded to a halt as a loud clamor rung from the front gate.
GONG!
Gerald froze mid-step and turned to look at the main gates, only to see Arturia already rushing up the battlement walls.
Tiffany saw a soldier nearby where Arturia was and, using the holy light, pulled herself closer to the man, as she followed her friend.
Saber looked up and saw the troops were already getting into battle position as the trebuchet was already rolled up into defensive formations on the ground. She proudly watched as her arbalest was manned and the towers filled with guards while rolls upon rolls of footman covered the gaps in the wall.
"Commander Pendragon!" Roland, her Captain of the Guard, shouted as he gave her a quick salute.
Returning the salute, Saber looked out from the battlement and widened her eyes, genuinely surprised. In all the battles she had fought, and she had fought many, Saber had never seen such a large force gathered in one place. She recalled that Rome had similar numbers, but even they broke them up into legions. A quick scan showed that the sea of green marching in her direction heavily outnumbered hers. She had been right, there was more out there, much more.
But how could they have so many? The Black Morass was not bigger than Stormwind Kingdom.
"Remember your training and do not be intimidated. I am here with you!" Saber shouted as she saw her men on the walls, though prepared, were rattled by the sheer numbers of Orcs marching on towards their fort. A moment later she saw Tiffany and Cole next to her. "Cole! Go to the mage tower, carry a message to Stormwind. The Orcs have broken the peace treaty, their number are in the... hundreds of thousands, and they have siege weap -!"
It was then the Orc forces did something unexpected, they split their forces off. At least one third headed deeper into the forest to her east not even bothering to approach the impressive fort. Another one third made to the edge of her walls then broke off as well, appearing to be heading for Deadwind pass. Didn't they know that Deadwind pass was heavily guarded and was a choke point? It was then she saw the final one third split into two.
Saber immediately knew what they intended to do! "Let Stormwind know that the Orcs intend on hitting us on multiple fronts." she finished as she saw the Orcs began to roll out their catapults. They intended to pin her down, with such an attacking force she could not blindly rush out to meet them. They were fighting smarter now.
"Gerald!" Saber shouted as she saw the man just arriving up the steps. "Take two thousand men and get the villagers within our walls, NOW! They intent to circumvent our defenses."
Gerald snapped a salute before running down the battlement walls while barking orders.
Saber looked at Captain of the Guard Roland. "Do we have any patrol left outside?"
"No, Commander, the rest of our patrol had returned, the next batch were about to come out now before we spotted them on the horizon." Roland answered.
Saber thought about the other Orcs and wondered why they were going deeper into the forest. Are they planning on bypassing her forces completely? Did they not know she only required a certain amount of people to man the walls? So long as the walls held she could send out strike forces to harass them from behind their lines. Was there a passage there that she didn't know about?
The Orc forces started to move quickly, as hundreds of Catapults were wheeled out in a disorderly fashion. Rocks were being loaded from the surrounding area by the Ogres.
"Here they come! Ready yourselves!" Saber shouted as she too raised her hand up to signal her own trebuchets. It was then an Orc approached closer to the front of the keep walls, and she realized that she recognized the Orc in front of her.
"Saber!" the Orc roared in challenge as it took out a familiar hammer.
"Doomhammer," Saber growled as she narrowed her eyes at the Orc. The said Orc gave the signal to attack and the keep walls were pelted with rocks the size of a man. Saber returned the favor in kind as her own trebuchet fired at the invading Orcs.
+++++ Deadwind Pass ++++++
The Brotherhood of the Horse had taken it as their personal responsibility to guard this particular pass against the Orcs in the Black Morass. They had been going about their duty when a raven flew into their headquarters and transformed into the Archmage Medivh.
"Commander Justine, where are you?" Medivh shouted in a panic.
"Archmage Medivh!" Commander Justine shouted in alarm but saluted at the panicked mage. "What is the matter?"
"An army of Orcs has somehow gotten behind the lines and are attacking the villages along the roads!" Medivh began in half hysterics looking at the Brotherhood Knight with wild eyes.
"What?!" Justine demanded in shock and outrage. "How did they get behind our lines? They would have to traverse the mountains and it is not easy, our scouts should have seen it!"
"Your scouts are dead!" Medivh replied into the Commander's face. "Quickly, they are a small force. No more than five thousand, I estimate."
"That's small?!" Commander Justine broke in. Immediately he sounded the bugler, the forces guarding the gate here was a little over five thousand. He would leave a token force of fifteen hundred here and go take care of the Orcs. Quickly doling out the orders he left in a rush with the rest.
Medivh smiled as the last of the Brotherhood Knights disappeared from his sight. Getting Gul'dan's warlocks in to summon their troops from within Deadwind itself was a stroke of genius. The endeavor to bring in five thousand Orc warriors was taxing to the entire Shadow Council but it would serve to weaken the force here for what is to come.
+++++ Red Ridge ++++
Private Keeshan, stationed at Stonewind Keep, was with his patrol down by the local villages when he heard a loud piercing scream. Alarmed, he drew his sword out and saw a stream of Orcs flooding the countryside. "ORCS!" he shouted in alarm. "EVERYONE TO THE KEEP NOW!"
Already he could see the other patrol units were starting to form up.
"Keeshan! With B group now!" a Sergeant shouted to the young recruit as he passed by. "We need to ensure the civilian's safety.
Grabbing his shield the young Private began to rally with the hundreds of Stonewind defenders even as the first Orc engaged him in combat. Taking out his long-sword he smashed the shield into the Orc's face, staggering it before stabbing his sword into its side. Yet impossibly, it didn't die, instead it bashed it head against his helmet stunning him. Next thing Keeshan knew the creature was standing over him with its axe raised. Quickly rolling to his right, he dodged the blow and picked up a nearby rock and smashed it against the Orc's face. Unfortunately that only seem to anger it some more as it roared at him.
"Come get me then, GREENIE!" Keeshan challenged as he picked his sword up again to fight the Orc. Just as he was about to engage it, several black arrow tips could be seen puncturing its body. Looking at the sources he saw groups of arbalists everywhere peppering the Orcs forces as they continued to rampage through the town.
*****A week later, Stormwind *****
Prince Llane was furious as he received the words from Commander Arturia of what had transpired. Betrayed, he turned to look at the Orc ambassador, Garona, who looked genuinely surprised by the news.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Prince Llane demanded of his friend. A friend that had betrayed him.
Garona bowed her head. "I do not know... we were supposed to live in peace... they... they've thrown me away. They expect you to kill me..." she finished in a lost voice.
Lancelot looked at on at the scene impassively. "Did you know?" he asked firmly. Her next answer would determine whether or not he'd cut her down on the spot.
"No," Garona replied closing her eyes as she then looked up to her friend. "If you want to kill me to appease your anger, then please do so, my people have betrayed me. I have nothing left."
Prince Llane studied the young Orc he considered his friend and saw the honest expression of betrayal on her face. She was even baring her throat for them to pass his judgment. Glancing at his son, Llane closed his eyes and reigned in his anger. He placed one of his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You are not responsible for your people's actions."
"Thank you," Garona whispered gratefully.
"And you were wrong about having nothing left," Llane continued on at his Orc friend. "You still have friends, like me for example," he finished with a smile.
Lancelot turned to look at Prince Llane. "May I have your permission to go assist Commander Arturia, my liege?" he half pleaded. His King was once more in combat without him by her side!
"We shall go to Commander Pendragon's aid," Prince Llane confirmed with a grin. Arturia was not here to take issue with him. Pendragon was a good strong name, even his father thought so, why was she so against it? Just as he was as about to make a declaration for mobilization, another mage burst into the throne room.
"Prince Llane! Redridge is under heavy attack from Orc forces! Lady Mara Fordragon has requested reinforcements from Stormwind and Marshal's Keep!" the man announced, looking at the Prince.
The news surprised both men. The Orcs were attacking on two fronts? "Send a message to Westfall and Sunnyglade, we are going to need their forces if we are to push the damned Orcs back, we'll make them regret their decision," Prince Llane ordered.
It was then a familiar raven entered the room and transformed back into the Archmage Medivh. "Your Highness! I bring ill tidings!" he immediately said without preamble.
"What is it?" Llane asked, looking at his friend alarmed.
"The Orcs have invaded Sunnyglade," Medivh informed somberly.
"THREE FRONTS?!" Llane shouted as he went over the territory in his head. "How did they get past the Brotherhood?"
"They had a powerful mage with them, he cast a spell that destroyed the fortifications to Deadwind pass," Medivh answered. "They have pushed the Brotherhood back to Karazhan but not before the civilians made it inside. I have warned Sunshire and Grand Hamlet on my way here. But I fear I could not do much more for them now."
Prince Llane saw that the nobles of the court looked unsettled by the tidings. It seemed Stormwind was now at war.
"Should we tell your father, Prince Llane?" Lord Westmoore of Westfall asked. He had already sent messengers to ride hard for Westfall to get his forces ready.
"No," Llane decided after a few minutes of reflection. He looked to each of the nobles in the room. "We must take care of this issue ourselves and not bother my father about it. He's been bedridden these past few weeks and my mother has not left his side. We WILL not bother him about this."
All of the nobles nodded in agreement, they would not disturb the ill King with such news. "It is as you say, Prince Llane, perhaps we are to convene the war council. Even if they invade our lands, if we blunt their attacks we can beat them back," Westmoore suggested as the other nobles nodded.
"Sir Lancelot, I will need you here, Commander Arturia will have to fend for herself," Prince Llane said suddenly. "Until we find Lothar, you will be our liaison for the Brotherhood."
Lancelot gripped his fist tightly but nodded. He would have preferred to be at his King's side but he knew that Arturia would be extremely displeased if he were to abandon his duty to Stormwind and rushed to her aid. Still, it didn't make it easier.
"It would be as you command, Your Highness," Lancelot acknowledged.
Medivh smiled as the nobles geared up for war with his friend. With Lothar out of the picture, no one could stop his plans. Though destroying the barricade at Deadwind Pass was taxing on his body, the Orc forces had overrun that position easily with such a wide gap in the Brotherhood's defenses.
+++++ Redridge +++++
Varok and Broxigar smiled at the Humans abandoning their settlements and fled to their giant stone structure in the distance. The back route they traveled to Redridge had been discovered by Gul'dan's magic. At least that's what the crafty old Warlock said. Who knew how the High Warlock obtained his information? They had gone deeper into the forest, away from the golden demoness' massive stone fort and traveled the narrow beaten pathway only to emerge in a totally defenseless pinkskin settlement.
Varok would give them there due though, their defenders did give them a decent fight, those defenders were all dead now. Broxigar wanted to push on, but Doomhammer's orders were to build a base here right in front of them. The pink skins fought well behind stone walls. But let's see how well they do after he built a base of operations of his own.
Chuckling, Varok grinned as his peons already set to work on deforesting the local area. "For the Horde..."
++++ Sunnyglade +++++
Blackhand smiled as his forces raided the unsuspecting towns and butchered their populace, their screams were not unlike the Draenei when they were killed. Though he took credit for this method of attack, it was Doomhammer who decided that this would not be a swift war but a war for conquest. They needed to break each and every single hub of power the pinkskins held if they were to be successful.
So they would need to build bases, have the peons harvest the farm lands, feed the army and settle before striking out again. Once they had established bases of operations, they would strike from anywhere and secure the land. The Humans had proved resilient in the past, and though he was loath to admit it, the fact that they used a little over twenty thousand to destroy his force of fifty thousand had irked him. Now he would wipe them out town by town and herd them toward their major cities. Then he would destroy those cities and butcher them down to the last male, female, and youngling.
Yes, all will fall before Blackhand the Destroyer.
For the Horde.
++++++++ Black Morass +++++
Doomhammer had volunteered to keep the golden haired demoness in check with his forces. Hers was a mighty fortification and one that would not be easily taken. No, he would have to take it slowly to defeat her. Unlike most of his brethren, he was always smarter in the use of strategy and tactics. He needed to bring this fort down or else the golden demon could take this army and break his forces. Thus far, all they had been doing were exchanging rocks with one another. There was no need to send in warriors yet, not until he had sufficiently weakened the structure's stone wall with constant bombardment.
Blackhand had not believed that the little demon was dangerous and the Warchief had intended to leave only a token force here to distract her. Surprisingly, his support came from the most unexpected of places, Gul'dan. The Chief warlock had taken his side and volunteered a sizable force of his warlocks to help keep the little golden haired demon in check. The one who identified herself as... Saber.
They had underestimated the pinkskins the first time around. The Draenei were as big as his fellow orcs, they deserved respect with their great physical strength. A long campaign was needed to wipe out the Draenei. These pinkskin were smaller so they should have fallen like the weak Arakkoa but they had fought back hard. They were worthy of the same respect as the Draenei in terms of combat at least. But like the Draenei, it was inevitable that they would fall and when they did, he would take the little golden demon's head and mount it on a spear as a trophy. After all, she was a worthy trophy and he would take her head, for the Horde.
+++++ Stormwind, Royal Quarter ++++
King Adamant woke up and knew something had changed. He had ruled this kingdom for over forty years and he could sense its mood as surely as one could sense something wrong with one's body. He wanted to go out and demand what was going on, for someone to answer him. But he could not even muster the strength to do so. Though his spirit was strong, his body was not and it was here that the mighty heart of King Adamant III beat its last.
Years later, this would become known by the Humans of Azeroth as the First Great War.
End of Book 1
AN: First off major thanks to all three of my editors who ganged tackled this fic as if it was the superbowl. Seriously, for those who read my earliest iteration of this fic, it was HORRIBLE. Cheeser, Wayfarer and Xbox432 made this as good as it could be, for that they have my eternal gratitude! ^_^
Now then.
This is the end. This entire thing was one gigantic prologue to simply establish Arturia before the real story began. What happens next will be jarring, so jarring that people might go "WTF!" And abandon ship. But it has always been my intention to write it that way. I realize that I might disappoint a lot of people who were expecting one thing and getting a different animal but it is what it is.
So, the Second Arc will be posted as a new story. The title is undecided as I am still going over it with my editor, I guess people would just have to look out for it ^_^ .
Pertinent info
Arakkoa – Bird people in Draenor, the Orc Homeworld.
Doomhammer - Always shown to be a tactician and a warrior.
Blackhand - Shown to be cunning, also a great warrior.
Lothar Kidnapping- Canon, in the WC1 Campaign, he was kept imprisoned by Medivh for two years.
Varok and Broxigar- Actual Orc character, skilled warriors.
Westmoore, Knights and others, - Original Character.
Once again, thanks to all of those that have reviewed thus far, remember what I said though, Saber take center stage in this story. I am glad many enjoyed it while other's were vocal about their passionate plead. I am glad the story was interesting enough to make you guys sit up and take noticed.
As always, C+C welcomed, reviews appreciated.