Okay! So I just read the recent webcomic that Warcraft put out about Anduin and I really couldn't stop myself from writing this in like half an hour... Which is a freakin' record by the way. So enjoy!
Son of the Wolf
In the cold, dead night, in the normally magnificent city of Stormwind, not a soul stirred. The citizens of the kingdom, normally garbed in fantastic colors that illuminated the souls of those who wore them were now covered in black, as if a malicious tide had swept upon the city, drenching all it touched in darkness.
In that quiet, still city, in the war room of the castle of Stormwind, two young adults sat side by side, silently rereading the words on a scroll, which the man had clutched in his gloved hand, which shook even now as he read the words for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
"Anduin?..." Ruby asked, reaching over to take the letter out of Anduin's grip. She had long ceased reading the letter and had instead been watching her love as he visibly struggled to keep his emotions in check.
As if sensing what she was about to do however, Anduin quickly shifted his hand away, causing Ruby to grab little more than air.
"I'm... Fine Ruby... I'll be fine... Eventually..." He muttered as he brought the scroll back down to eye level, resuming his seemingly infinite cycle of reading and rereading the words, as if silently begging fate to revoke its decision. To bring his father back.
Instead of the insistence that he was being stubborn that he had been expecting to hear from the reaper, he was instead greeted with the gentle touch of Ruby's hand sailing across his back.
It seemed like those few seconds were hours. His tired eyes had become so used to the words that adorned the parchment, it felt as if he was reading it entire sentences at a time.
This was it. These were the last words his father ever intended Anduin to hear from the one who he had idolized for so long. Part of him wanted to engrave the words into his mind, along with the lessons that were weaved between the lines.
And yet... Another part wanted nothing more than to forget.
Anduin was finally brought out of his self induced trance at the sound of the massive wooden door, only a few meters away, creaking open as a bearded guard slowly strolled in, only giving Ruby the simplest of nods to even acknowledge her presence. "My King, there is urgent news from the Broken Isles..."
"Good news I hope?" Anduin asked, not bothering to even glance up at the guard as he stalked over towards he and Ruby.
"Absolutely King Wrynn..." The guard replied cheerfully. "It seems that the war is Over..."
"Oh?"
"...For You!"
It happened in a flash.
The dagger, laden with Fel energies being pulled out from under the guard's tabard, directed for the King's forehead. Anduin's hand as it shot out to seize the guard's wrist.
And unmistakable sound of Crescent Rose tearing it's way through both armor and flesh.
The guard looked down at his torso with eyes filled with shock as he watched as Ruby slowly pulled the blade of her scythe out of his torso, soon replaced by a surge of power, courtesy of Anduin, who rammed his fist into the guard, tearing away at his form, the Light shattering the armor around the man.
In the next few moments nearly a dozen guards filled into the room with their weapons drawn. "My King?! Are you injured?-..."
They had been expecting blood. They had expected to find the second ruler of their kingdom in only a month dead upon the ground. They had expected to find a sight which would bring none of them anything but sorrow.
Instead though, they were greeted with the sight of Anduin and Ruby standing with their weapons drawn, pointed at the throat of a Dreadlord, who was hanging from the ceiling in a web of energy that glowed a bright blue, illuminating the room in place of the candles that had been knocked over and snuffed out during the struggle.
"We are fine. Thank you." Anduin spoke up as he turned to face the guards, who all stared at the captive demon in a mix of horror and fascination. "Please, sweep the castle. Make sure he was working alone."
"But-..." The head guard started, only to silence himself when Anduin's face shifted into a glare.
"That's an order Captain Rivers... Leave us with this one."
"...Yes, King Wrynn..."
The guards filed out a moment later, almost every one taking a fleeting glance back into the room, terror written clearly in their expressions.
"Tell me, what did the Legion hope to achieve here?..." Anduin began as he directed Shalamayne at the Dreadlord's throat, with Crescent Rose not far behind. "The Alliance will not fall because one leader dies... Or even two."
"You're right. It will not..." The Dreadlord chuckled as he glanced past the two weapons, focusing instead on his intended assassination target. "It already has... The wolf is dead. Your 'Alliance' will soon join him."
"The wolf? My father?" Anduin was silent for a moment before he glanced back up, pushing the tip of Shalamayne ever closer to the demon's throat. "You clearly know nothing about our resolve..."
"We know Everything. About the Alliance. About 'The Wolf' Varian Wrynn. And about you, young King Anduin... And you are Nothing like the Wolf. You never were..." The Dreadlord countered, a sick grin appearing on his face as his green eyes lit up in delight. "The Legion sees all..."
Anduin felt anger boil in his blood as the Dreadlord continued to speak, quite obviously unfazed by the weapons directed towards him.
"We saw how you failed him again and again. The Wolf expected to raise a mighty warrior, but instead he raised a Runt. A fool who dreamed of peace in a world that would Never see it... And worse, you made Him weak as well..." The Dreadlord explained, watching as doubt seemed to cloud Anduin's eyes for a brief moment. "You befriended his foes. You stood in his way... You Leashed the Wolf..."
The Dreadlord felt the edge of the red hooded girl's scythe run along with back of his neck, tearing open his flesh slowly as she positioned herself to lop off his head at a moments notice.
He did not care however. His only focus was on the King. The King who stood, watching the demon with eyes that still held the slightest hints of doubt. Doubt it he planned to capitalize on.
"But now you've seen the truth. You traded words with warriors and nearly died for it. It's too late to learn your father's old ways. Even he fell before us, what hope do You have? War will only lead your Alliance to ruin Boy..." The Dreadlord exclaimed, bearing his fangs. "But there is another way. The way you have always sought... Peace..."
At that moment the Dreadlord noticed something shift within Anduin, though he could not place what it was. Thinking he was finally beginning to break through to the young King, the Dreadlord presented his ultimatum.
"You cannot fight and win. Let go of your pride, it will only destroy your people." The Dreadlord leaned forwards, nearly impaling himself on the tip of Anduin's sword. "Join with us... Your subjects will serve us well-..."
"You're right."
"What?" The Dreadlord faltered at the words of the King, who removed the tip of his blade from the Dreadlord's throat. Had it honestly been that easy?
"You're right... I am a man of peace." Anduin muttered as he turned and placed the sword of his father on the table, taking only a moment to glance over at Ruby, who's position had not faltered. And neither had her spirit. "And the Wolf is gone forever... We are the Light that remains..."
"And we..." Anduin began as he felt the light building up in his palm, the raw power sparking violently as it began to form a hammer of Light, which Anduin grasped before spinning around to face the demon. "Will Finish This!"
The last sensation that the Dreadlord would ever feel on the mortal plane was of agony as Anduin's hammer tore through his demonic armor, setting his flesh alight, and sending him back reeling into the Twisting Nether.
It was silent for what felt like an eternity. Only the remnants of the Dreadlord's body cracking and burning in the darkness of the war room could be heard.
Anduin only watched for a moment as the Dreadlord faded from existence, turning to retrieve his father's letter once he was sure that the Dreadlord was no more.
He glanced down to resume his cycle of reading, but was stopped as two pale hands were laid atop his own, causing him to glance up to meet the silver eyes of his love.
"He's wrong you know Anduin... We can get through this..." Ruby whispered as she stared into the eyes of the King. "We will win..."
"...I know..."
The two left hand in hand a moment later, leaving the Dreadlord's caracas to burn into nothing more than ash, silently carried away by the winds, accompanying the dim light of dawn as the sun began to appear over the horizon...