A/N: Hey, y'all. It's been a while. I have no excuse, aside from work being so busy, and me being legit so tired I have had very little will to do anything lately. But, I updated! Finally. I still love this story a lot, and hopefully this is a good update since it's been like a thousand years since my last one. I hope y'all enjoy it! The Archimonde fight might be a little out of context for the actual dialogue used, mostly because I am too lazy to look it up, and I don't want to pull everything from in-game. I will fix any errors as I find them. That's all. Enjoy!


Disclaimer: I own nothing except Katryn Silverbane. All rights for World of Warcraft belong to Blizzard Entertainment, including places, events, and characters.


Of Blood and Arcana

Chapter Twenty-Nine

War


It was one of the first mornings that the sun actually didn't wake Katryn up. As her eyes slowly fluttered open, she became very aware that it filtered through the blue and purple trees of Shadowmoon like a gentle liquid. It arced down to meet the forest floor, causing dew to form on the turquoise grass, and the smell of the morning to fill the air. Katryn lay for a moment, appreciating both the sight and the scent, before reality dawned upon her, and she sat bolt upright as though shocked by some unseen force.

"Garrosh, wake up!"

Beside her, the orc grunted in response, not moving. "What." It wasn't even a question, it was more of a flat statement. He sounded exhausted, and grumpy.

Katryn was standing, her bones popping and cracking like fireworks at the Darkmoon Faire. She stretched her tired limbs, craning her neck to gaze into the morning sky. "The dawn passed us. We have to go." She began to gather her things, tossing everything haphazardly into her bag, and scurrying over to Nimera to saddle her. The hippogryph crowed in greeting, bunting her great head against Katryn's shoulder as she prepared her for flight. The force nearly knocked her over, and as she steadied herself, Garrosh spoke again. He had raised his head now, barely lifting himself from the ground, as he blinked blearily at her.

"What?" Now it sounded like a question. He had been lying face down on the grass, with Katryn curled up against his back for most of the night. They hadn't "cuddled" per say, but he hadn't let too far out of his rage of motion, mostly for warmth, but Katryn suspected partially for comfort, as well. Some time in the night, she had actually grasped one of his fingers in her hand, as his digits were far larger than her own. He had grunted, but not pulled away, and there they had lay, until the even breathing of his chest rising and falling had lulled her to sleep.

Now, he stared up at her, almost zombie-like, looking mildly irritated. Katryn, who had no time to deal with a grumpy orc that day, strode back over to him, squatted down, hands on her knees, face barely a few inches from his own, causing the orc to actually flinch back in surprise.

"We. Are. Late!" She hissed out, enunciating each word to indicate importance. "We were supposed to leave at dawn! Come on!" Without giving him time to respond, she yanked on his arm, hauling him to his feet, much to the orc's displeasure, and with a hell of a lot more effort than she had wanted to commit to, that early in the day.

Garrosh grumbled around behind her as she threw together their remaining belongings, stomped out their fire, and swung herself up onto Nimera's back. As he climbed on behind her, she turned to glance at him over her shoulder. "How far are we from Tanaan?"

Garrosh shrugged, "Closer than we would be if we weren't flying."

Katryn felt her eye twitch once, before grounding out, "Helpful." She scowled when Garrosh chuckled low in his throat, and she turned her attention back to Nimera, gently shaking the reins of her saddle. "Come on, girl. Fly hard, fly fast!" With breakneck speed, Nimera took off, sending her two passengers careening backwards, almost slipping from the saddle, as she shot straight up, and then banked left. They soared through the dawn, heading north, towards Tanaan. It wasn't long before Katryn could see, far in the distance, the spire of…something in the distance. As they flew closer, she found her blood running cold.

"Is that…?" Her voice was carried away with the wind, but Garrosh heard her.

"Hellfire Citadel." His was voice muffled by the air around them, and Katryn barely heard his response as she squinted to get a better look at the great structure.

The sky had turned a sickly green as they had entered into Tanaan. Katryn had had to shield her mouth from the stench of Fel Magic as they had, and even now her eyes watered against its putrid miasma. Behind her, Garrosh coughed lightly. The sun held little warmth as they descended on the fortress. It had not one, but several great towers, stretching high above the ground, with walls that could keep a giant at bay. It emanated a green glow which made Katryn sick to her stomach, wanting more than anything to not head straight in, but instead turn around and leave. But, they had a mission, and they couldn't abandon the others.

"It's… huge." She spoke in more of a whisper as they drew ever closer. She squinted suddenly. Was that…?

"The Citadel you're used to is on Outland – a mere shadow of what it once was. Behold the monstrosity in all its glory." Garrosh sounded bitter as Katryn whipped her neck to face him.

"I see the troupes! Look! They're already inside…" She whirled back around, jabbing a finger towards the upper part of the spire, where they could see small speckles of humanoid figures gathering around what looked like…

"What is that?" Garrosh sounded worried, actually worried. Katryn shivered slightly, as her eyes rested on the sight before them.

"Light preserve me… It's a portal." It was unlike any she had seen before. It was gigantic, and it looked… evil. She shuddered, "It doesn't look active yet, though. Is that where Archimonde will come from?" She looked back at Garrosh, wind tickling her face as she did, making her wrinkle her nose.

He nodded slowly, "Knowing Gul'dan, and his innate fondness for dark magic, then yes." He tried to look passed her, "What else can you see?"

Katryn turned back, straining to see again. "I see Khadgar, and Yrel." She looked closer, as Nimera struggled to remain motionless in the air, but still keep them aloft. "I also see Thrall, and –" She paused, her voice catching, as she slowly turned to look back at Garrosh.

"Katryn?" The orc reached for her, but she spoke before he could touch her.

"I see your Father, Garrosh. Grommash is here." A silence hung in the wind whipped air between them. Garrosh's yellow eyes focused and unfocused on her face a few times, as he processed her words carefully.

"My… father." It was more of a statement than a question. He looked for an instant like a confused child, unsure of his next move. Katryn sympathized, but now was not the time.

She looked back down at the troupes, and saw they were beginning to gather at the mouth of the portal, which… was it glowing? She paled. "They're rallying. We need to land." She veered Nimera off course, aiming for the ground below. Right in the middle of the rallying troupes. As she did, she felt Garrosh's hand on her shoulder, and she looked back at him. His yellow eyes were focused on her now, and they had once again cleared, and softened.

"Katryn, are you sure about this? You could get branded a traitor, they could imprison you." He paused, looking pained. "They might kill you." The thought evidently caused him some discomfort.

She pulled Nimera back a little, the beast bucking angrily. She soothed her, before turning to look at Garrosh. She smiled as gently as she could, given the circumstances. "I'm sure." She reached for his hand; one of the first tender moments they had shared in days. "Look, you know why I brought you back." Garrosh's expression flickered at the comment, and she smiled slightly, "If we are going to die today, I'm glad you're here with me." She slowly surveyed the ravaged landscape before them, taking it all in. She looked back up at him. "That being said, I am still a human, and those are still my friends down there, even with everything that's happened. I can't stand aside and let them be massacred, if that is what is going to happen, without trying to help. And," she added, her eyes steely, "I know you want to help your father. And your people, from this abomination of an orc." Garrosh didn't say much in response, he merely nodded, his own smirk in place. It was time. Katryn, feeling better than she had in days, turned back to the scene below.

"Let's go kick some ass. Nimera, land."

Without needing a second command, the hippogryph nose dived, sending them hurtling towards the earth, the small army growing closer and closer with each passing second.

"When that portal opens, we have to be ready." Grommash was saying, addressing his people, and the others.

Yrel, who was clad in full Draenei armour, nodded slowly, despite a distrustful tone in her voice. "We will fight with everything we have, or die trying." Grommash gave her a nod, and the two moved to stand with their people.

"I like living, personally, so let's not let it come to that, shall we?" Khadgar tried to sound good natured as he spoke, but there was an edge to his tone. He began to reach for his staff, when a yell split the sky.

"Wait!"

The troupes looked around, confused, before turning their eyes to the sky, as a great shadow of a winged beast descended upon them. As the hippogryph touched down, two figured came into view. As they did, Khadgar turned a shade of white that could only be matched by the snows of Northrend.

"Katryn?" Delwyn, who stepped out from behind Yrel, spoke first. The undead Night Elf's blue eyes surveyed the young woman, perplexed, if a little impressed.

"Katryn?" Khadgar choked out, fumbling for words. The young woman fixed him with a calm gaze, her face blank, her palms open.

"Hello, Khadgar." Her tone was both apologetic and yet held a sense of strength. Behind her stood… Khadgar turned even whiter. His eyes bugged out of his head as Garrosh's huge form came into clear view. He stood behind the young woman, towering over her, casting a large shadow onto the ground beneath their feet. Khadgar looked back at Katryn in what could only be described as sheer horror.

"Katryn: what have you done?" Khadgar's voice cut through the scene like a paladin's sword, and the rest of the group slowly turned their attention to Garrosh. All at once, swords were drawn, and some even looked ready to attack.

Katryn quickly stepped between the entire army and Garrosh, her arms spread wide. "It's alright! It's alright. He won't hurt us. He won't hurt me." Everyone looked between her to Garrosh, and back again in amazement, some disgust, others in confusion.

"He was… dead." Khadgar sputtered, aghast. "We saw him die. We saw Thrall…" He trailed off. His expression was somewhere between bewilderment and sheer revulsion. Katryn tried to open her mouth to speak, but was cut off as Grommash approached, towering even higher than his own son. Katryn stared up at the huge brown orc, and slowly stepped backwards, fearfully. Garrosh slowly placed himself between the two.

"Garrosh?" Grommash sounded relieved, but also his voice carried a deep pain. The orc slowly reached for Garrosh, and the two clapped each other on the shoulders in greeting, Garrosh glad, and Grommash perhaps to see if Garrosh was real.

"Grommash, I…" Garrosh began slowly, his own voice filled with emotion. Well, emotion for him, anyway.

Grommash searched the younger orc's features, the both of them ignoring everyone else around them. "Gul'dan told me something, when I was his prisoner. He said, you were…" He trailed off, and Katryn realized what was happening. She felt a rush of emotions towards the both of them. But she was certain it paled in comparison to what they were feeling.

Grommash spoke again, having found his voice. "Are you?" He was barely breathing, as though fearful of the answer.

Garrosh took a slowly breath, before uttering. "Yes." The word hung in the air like a physical object between them. Grommash stared, his own features radiating confusion.

"But, how?" He spoke so softly, so gently for an orc, Katryn barely heard him. She felt now things should be cut short. They were running out of him.

She stepped forward, "It's a long story, but we don't have time for that now." The two orcs nodded, and she turned to face Khadgar. "Khadgar, what's the plan?"

Before Khadgar had a chance to respond, there was a deafening crack behind them, and the small army wheeled around. Above them, up the steps and towards the crude portal, stood Gul'dan. He was staring down at them, a cruel smile fixed upon his etched face. He looked positively manic. It was the first time Katryn had seen the orc in person, and he looked every bit as horrible as had been described to her. The awful bone cloak he wore made it all the worse. He emanated evil, and Katryn was glad he was far away from them. She figured he probably smelled as bad as he looked. The thought made her chuckle, but it died in her throat when he opened his fanged mouth, and spoke.

"You were foolish to come here, whelps!" He roared, and, without hesitation, his red eyes began to glow a dull green, as his finger began to twitch. Katryn watched, in no doubt the same horror that her fellow companions shared, as the green magic of the Fel began to envelope Gul'dan's body. "Behold!" He shrieked, his voice carrying to the farthest reached of the world, "The true power of the Fel!" Katryn felt her blood turn to ice, as beside her, Garrosh stepped forward, Gorehowl in hand, looking murderous.

"Gul'dan!" His war cry split the air, and Katryn felt a momentary surge of pride.

Gul'dan paused, his gaze fixating down upon them, specifically upon Garrosh. His lip curled, and a cold laugh escaped him. "Ah, Garrosh." Beside her, Katryn felt Garrosh ripple in contempt. She could practically feel the heat of his rage radiating off of him. Above, Gul'dan continued to speak, unfazed by the orc's evident hatred. "It seems I underestimated your ability to die." He lowered his voice to an octave that sent a chill up Katryn's spine. "Let us rectify that."

Without warning, Gul'dan conjured a ball of emerald Fel fire, hurling it like a stone down towards them, aiming straight for Garrosh. Katryn paled, and whirled around, her cry piercing.

"Garrosh, look out!"

Just in time, the orc dodged the attack, but it was then that they realized it had been meant as a distraction. As Garrosh recovered, and the army turned back to face Gul'dan, they watched in horror as the warlock slowly began to raise his arms, aiming them towards the portal. All at once, spiked began to jut forth from the ground, arcing up into the sky, spitting Fel everywhere, and twisting in on themselves. As the cursed magic flowed from the green orc's fingertips, it began to swirl and condense in the centre of the structure, slowly forming an almost ectoplasmic wall of death. As it glowed, Katryn began to see a shape taking form from behind it. Something huge.

Archimonde stepped forth from the portal, a great cloven hoof making a loud crack as it made contact with the ground. He actually had to hunch to get out of the portal, he was that big. Katryn instinctively took a step backwards, and felt Garrosh close in next to her. They watched, hardly daring to breathe, as the Eredar Lord slowly immerged from the portal. He was dozens of feet tall, blue skinned, with glowing green eyes. He had a massive frill upon where his forehead should have been, and a long sweeping tail, adorned in gold bangles, weathered and rusted. He was easily the most intimidating thing Katryn had ever seen.

And he was probably going to kill them.

Archimonde wasted no time; no sooner had he fully exited the portal, did he suddenly lunge at the army, Fel and dark magic seeping from every orifice. The group scattered, running in all directions, racing to avoid getting disintegrated by the blast. As she ran, Katryn ripped the spear she had from her back, knowing it would be her only means between life and death at this point.

"Your foolish crusade ends here, mortals!" Gul'dan was calling from his safe spot atop the steps. He sounded so gleeful, it made Katryn want to punch him right in his stupid, green face. "The Legion comes, and with it, this world breathes its dying breath!" His words were nearly lost to the chaos slowly unfolding below, but Katryn heard his last statement, before rolling to avoid getting hit square in the chest by a green fireball. "This meaningless little world has already succumbed to my corruption! The land itself seethes with the mark of the Legion!"

"Crazy motherfucker…" Katryn hissed, staring around her in panic.

Archimonde was so gigantic, everyone had to fight him from all side, but the Eredar was proving that they were mere ants to him. Katryn watched in horror as his great hoof came down upon an Alliance foot soldier, and his body made a sickening, squelchy popping noise as it exploded beneath the pressure. Blood sprayed everywhere, showering a few closer people, and Katryn leapt back, screaming. All around them tendrils of foul magic were seeping up from the ground, ensnaring a few unlucky soldiers. Their bodies were slowly pulled apart, as gaping holes formed where the tendrils touched them. Katryn fought the urge to vomit, spinning on the spot, feeling nauseated. Her eyes came to focus on Delwyn, who was beginning to charge Archimonde, her Rune blade in hand, letting loose a ferocious battle cry, her pointed teeth glinting in the dying light. As she did, however, Katryn saw a tendril reaching for the night elf's ankle. Katryn quickly extended her hand before her, in a fashion she so normally did when she wanted to fling a fireball at something.

Nothing happened.

Katryn stood, arm out in front of her, and nothing happened. For a moment she was confused, before realization dawned on her and, cursing, threw herself at Delwyn, knocking her and the elf out of the way of the tendril, and the oncoming path of Archimonde's sharpened tail, narrowly avoiding being bisected. As Delwyn hit the ground with a loud grunt, Katryn rolled again, missing being crushed herself by a cloven hoof, through the dust and dirt, coughing spastically. She leapt to her feet, staring around her in momentary fear. She had no powers, and only a mere spear to protect herself. How was she going to survive this? How could she even hope to help anyone?

As her inner monologue raged, and fear began to set in, a shockwave shook the earth beneath her feet, and she was thrown backwards as Archimonde unleash a tidal wave of dark energy. The wind was knocked from her body as she hit the ground flat on her back, among others who had been caught in the blast. Groaning and seeing stars, Katryn struggled to rise. As she did, she heard her name being yelled through the chaos.

"Katryn!"

She blinked a few times, before her eyes focused in on Garrosh, who was kneeling beside her, hand extended towards her. Still dazed, she gratefully took it, and he hauled her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked, and she nodded once. They turned, back to back, to face another onslaught of Fel fire balls, and shaking earth, as hell itself split forth from the Eredar Lord before them.

Khadgar soared above them, in his bird form, and Katryn watched as he dive bombed the monster, pecking at his eyes. The sight would have been amusing, were they not in such terrible danger. Katryn turned to Garrosh, spear still in hand.

"Any ideas?" She asked, her voice desperate. "I can't do much, and honestly I have no idea what to do."

Garrosh looked passed her. Archimonde had his back to them, and the orc's face slowly changed in to a smirk. He looked back down at Katryn, readying Gorehowl.

"Follow me; do as I do." He then sprinted away, heading straight for Archimonde. Katryn, bewildered, chased after him, her spear feeling awkward and heavy in her hands. What she wouldn't give for her staff right now… Ahead of her, Garrosh was at Archimonde's heel, and to her amazement, took Gorehowl, raised it above his head, and brought it slicing down through the air, carving a great gash in the back of Archimonde's ankle, possible severing, or closely severing, the tendon beneath. The demon roared in agony, and his tail whipped around, almost taking off Garrosh's head, if the orc hadn't ducked at the last second.

With Archimonde distracted, and currently semi blinded with pain, Katryn took her opportunity to strike. She raced forwards, passing Garrosh, who gave her a look of grim pride, and took a stance as close, yet far enough to avoid being trampled by the rampaging Eredar, and took aim. She wanted the spear to his hit calf, and, hopefully, stay there, doing as much damage as possible to the nerves as he stomped around. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, silently praying it would work, before, taking aim with the spear, picturing all the awful things she had gone through to end up here, cranked her arm back, took a jump forward and, with a battle cry, let the spear fly.

It didn't quite end up where she had hoped, but it did end up embedded within the skin of the Eredar, pinning itself nicely under the first few layers of flesh, and no doubt causing an annoying discomfort. Archimonde roared again, and Katryn felt Garrosh grab her around the middle, yanking her backwards, and away from the towering figure as he turned on the spot, growling like a feral animal. Above them, Katryn heard the sound of beating wings. She raised her gaze, and saw, to her astonishment, Nimera arcing through the sky towards them.

"Nimera!" She cried out, as the hippogryph dive bombed Archimonde, screeching like a banshee, pecking and clawing every bit of the demon she could reach. Katryn watched, swelling with pride, as blood oozed from the wounds her faithful companion left upon Archimonde's skin. She couldn't help but smile as he staggered around, as the attackers on the ground continued to stab at his exposed flesh. Archimonde roared, thrashing his arms around manically, trying to grab the flying creature harassing him incessantly.

Suddenly, one of Archimonde's large hands managed to make contact with Nimera, and it seized her by the wing. There was a sickening crunching noise as all the bones within the wing were shattered, and Archimonde swing Nimera around like a toy, before throwing her form him, sending the beast crashing into the earth, coming to a stop near Katryn, and lay still.

Katryn went white, as her blood turned to ice, and she felt a scream rip from her lips like a broken bell.

"NIMERA!" She abandoned the fight, not caring about anything but her now feebly twitching hippogryph, and sprinted towards her. She fell to her knees as she reached her, feeling the skin tear and scratch against the earth as she collapsed beside Nimera. The hippogryph turned her eyes to Katryn, a weak caw escaping her beak.

"Nimera…" Katryn felt hot tears spill from her eyes, "Nimera, please. Don't die. Please, hold on." She looked around her frantically, trying to find something, anything, that could be used to help her friend. Behind her, she could heard Archimonde's yells start to weaken, but she didn't care. In that moment, nothing else mattered, nothing except Nimera. She cradled her large head in her lap, murmuring soothing words of comfort to her, as the hippogryph chirped weakly at her, eyes darting around, her injured wing struggling and failing to move.

Then, there was a sound like no other, and Katryn snapped her neck back to look. To her amazement, Khadgar had conjured a huge stone from thin air, and it was not protruding through Archimonde's chest, blood splattering all around them. The demon staggered, stumbled forwards a few feet, before falling to his knees, shaking the earth beneath them. He fell forwards with a low grunt, and face planted onto the earth. Above them, upon the stairs, Gul'dan watched in horror, the smile he'd had plastered to his demented face slipping ever slowly off. He began to inch backwards, looking momentarily fearful. As Katryn watched, a few orcs began to start forwards, probably meaning to detain the warlock.

However, no sooner had they begun to move, did Archimonde utter a few shuttering words.

"Gul'dan!" He rasped, and Katryn saw him struggling to lift his head, raising a hand towards the warlock. As he did, green Fel magic began to swirl around his fingers, extending like tendrils towards Gul'dan, who looked horrified. They enveloped themselves around the orc, grasping him tightly, as he struggled to move. Archimonde gasped once, before hissing his final words. "You made a pact!" He then used his magic to raise Gul'dan into the air, as the orc howled in pain and rage, trying hard to break free, but failing miserably…

And flung him into the portal behind him.

No sooner had Archimonde done so, did the portal fizzle out like a candle, leaving a small plume of smoke in its wake. Archimonde's hand slowly fell to the ground, and he let out a death rattle, his glowing green eyes slowly fading, and he moved no more.

It was over.


A/N: I ended this chapter sooner than I thought I would, to be honest. I had another little bit written, but decided to end it here, since I think the next bit will work better with what I have planned. Is Nimera alive? Are any of the orcs, or Draenei? Is Delwyn? Who knows. You'll have to stay tuned and find out! Peace out for now, WoW Fam!