Chapter Thirty-Seven: Dark Revelation
Northrend was cold.
Bitterly cold at that. Varian's breath came from his mouth in a flow of steam. He was wearing two cloaks and heavy clothes and yet he was still chilled. The wind was howling so loudly that made it difficult to speak.
What could possess a man to start a colony here?
"Well, I never thought I'd be coming back here to stay." said Marwynn. " Northrend. Clouds that cover the sun. Snow as far a the eye can see."
"And some very tasty fish." said Lieutenant Faldine. "Ice fishing is actually fun. Just so long as you don't get dragged in."
Varian looked up. Why were they talking about ice fishing? They had work to do if Varian was ever going to prove himself better than Arthas.
Wait, where had that thought come from? Now he saw what Arthas had meant. "Captain Marwynn, is everything unloaded?"
Marwynn looked up. "More or less. We managed to dodge the rocks this time. Last time we had to go out of our way to rescue some of men.
"A lot of people got sick afterward. Some died."
"Well, at least we didn't make the same mistake twice." said Varian. "We'd best reclaim the colony ground quickly."
"Hold on a moment, lad." said Muradin. "Remember that we're meant to work with the locals. The ice trolls might have moved into the fortifications. We'd better head into the land with our safety's on, if ye catch my drift."
Varian considered this. "Very well then." He turned to Marwynn. "Captain, establish a fortified encampment and wait for Tyrygosa and make contact. I will take a small force inland with Prince Muradin and locate out allies."
"Are you sure that's wise?" asked Marwynn. "This place is very dangerous."
"I can take care of myself." said Varian.
"Right," said Muradin, "I'll lead you to one of the villages I used to frequent. We should be able to get the news there, and smooth things over."
So they ventured into the bleak and frozen landscape. The trees here were all without leaves and seemed to tear at their cloaks like claws. Shadows moved out of the corners of their eyes, and Varian hated this place more with every moment.
At last, they came to a village. Ice trolls were cooking meat there, and as they approach an old ice troll came forward to greet them. "Muradin Bronzebeard. I not be expecting to be seeing ya again.
"What ya be doing back here?"
"Well, we started a job and had to put it off, Zul'amon." laughed Muradin. "We're hoping to complete it by finishing off the undead now."
"Then we be having plenty to talk about." said Zul'amon. "There be strange things a happening in Northrend dese days.
"We should-"
At that moment there was the pounding of drums. Into view came a huge force or red skinned orcs, wielding axes. Their eyes blazed with flame.
"For Mannoroth! For the Horde!" cried one.
"Orcs?!" said Varian. "Footmen, form up! Drive them off!"
The trolls rallied as well. Spears landed among the orcs and many of them fell as they charged. The rest clashed against Varian's formation. Varian hacked down two with his swords. Muradin slashed about him, killing half a dozen in moments. More and more spears landed among the orcs.
Finally, they broke and fled in terror.
Varian had never seen orcs flee so quickly. He'd observed several battles during the war in Quel'thalas. And every report he'd read indicated they never gave up. And these had been fueled with unholy magic, judging by their eyes.
"You pink skins be fighting as good as ever." said Zul'amon. "But where be Arthas?"
"Arthas has been... reassigned." said Varian. "There are other matters which require his attention. I am King Varian Wrynn and I've come in his stead?"
"Ye be his brother?" asked Zul'amon.
"I am his ally, and we are close." said Varian. "Now what were these orcs doing here?"
"Well, after Prince Arthas packed up and left he'd left the rotting dead in shambles." said Zul'amon. "Me boys and me were able to get rid of most of em, drive em back to Drak'theron Keep. Better still, Mal'ganis lost favor with whoever was commanding him.
"He had to flee in a hurry, and we made progress.
"Den came da demons. They started digging huge pits and forced a bunch of green skins into em. And out of dese pits came thousands and thousands of red skins, like dese. Now there be a new ruler in Drak'theron Keep.
"They be calling him Gul'dan."
Varian flinched. Perhaps some other warlock. "Gul'dan? How could he still live?"
"I don't be knowing." said Zul'amon. "If memory be serving he was a big bad enemy of yer people. Either way, he's been setting up new settlements in this region. But the blue dragons be trying to get us to work with our old enemies.
"They be saying that we should cooperate. But we not be wanting any part with dem damn Tuskarr. And they not be wanting any part with us."
"Well, you've got us for now." said Muradin. "What say we run off these new red orcs?"
Zul'amon nodded. "You be sending for yer troops, and I'll be sending fer mine. Then we'll move together and be cutting dem ta ribbons."
Assembling the army took nearly a day. Varian and Muradin led their forces through the snowy lands, assisted by the ice trolls. Some of the men murmured doubtfully about their allies.
"Why do we have to work with these beasts?" muttered one. "They'll likely stab us in the back as soon as we turn away."
"Calm down." said Varian. "Against the Legion, all that live have a common cause. We must stand together if we are to emerge victorious."
That seemed to get through to them. Varian just hoped they'd reach the enemy encampment soon.
Their journey led them past the abandoned remnants of a fortified down. The gates had been broken down, and the buildings were falling in. But from the looks of things, it could be reestablished with ease. This could be remade into a great fort, with a bit of effort.
Zul'amon led them still further north.
At last, they came to the orcish encampment. It was surrounded by a palisade of wooden stakes and patrolled by archers. Yet they had not seen them yet. An arm of one of the hills sheltered Varian's army.
"There they are." said Muradin.
Varian drew out a spyglass and peered down it. The watchers were standing very stiffly, like machines. And there was something odd about them. They all stood the same way. With the same posture. And their features were all very similar.
It was like they were all the same person. He didn't see any sign that they were talking either.
"Something is wrong here." said Varian.
"What is?" asked Muradin.
Varian paused. "It doesn't matter. Set the mortars up. We'll fire a full on barrage with a surprise attack. Once the wall falls we'll rush in and clear out the defenders."
"Got ya." said Muradin.
Varian observed as the mortars prepared. He hoped their aim was true. If they missed the enemy would have that much more time to prepare.
And then the mortar shocks sounded like thunder. Shells soared into the air and landed against the palisade. It exploded into a million pieces in several places. Even the areas of the wall which weren't hit began to fall apart.
Poor craftmanship.
Varian arose with his swords. "Men of the alliance! Attack!"
"For Khaz Modan!" cried Muradin.
There was a cheer and the battle was joined.
It was anticlimactic. The orcs rushed to battle against them in great numbers. But they didn't make proper use of their shields. And for all their apparent fury they didn't really put any heart into their attacks. Varian hacked through them with ease, and his men did the same.
Greater strength could not compensate for a complete lack of skill.
Before long most of the orcs had been killed. The rest were fleeing away from the palisade. But the trolls followed after these, hurling spears to injure and kill them. Some of the orcs scattered and were hunted down one by one. Others fled as one and were whittled down into nothingness.
None escaped.
They had hardly taken any casualties. No one had died, and only a few serious injuries. Varian walked across the field of corpses, feeling odd. He'd learned that battles were not like the old tales, where all the heroes live, and all the villains died. And he'd seen that much for himself.
Somehow, fighting a battle straight out of a children's story disturbed him. "That was... easy."
"Yeah. They're a lot stronger than most orcs, but they don't have any of the skill." said Muradin. "Or their courage. It's like they got handed an axe yesterday."
"That is closer to true than you may think." said a voice.
Varian looked up and on the cliffs above he saw a figure, writhed in scarlet robes. Their face was hidden. But he had an aura of power. "Gul'dan I presume."
"Well, I am pleased to see the world is still educated as to my place in history." said Gul'dan. "If not my superiors.
"I suppose I should thank you. This has been a valuable test of my newest weapon."
"Weapon? These are your people." said Varian.
Gul'dan laughed. "My people cut ties with me long before I returned the favor. And these are not them. Past the flesh and blood, this illusion of sentience, they are but machines.
"Unfortunately some of them malfunctioned."
Muradin drew out a pistol and fired. Several other dwarves followed suit and gunfire echoed. There was a flash of fel energy. And then Gul'dan was gone.
Muradin shifted. "...I don't like this, lad. Something isn't right in all this.
"These don't fight like any orcs I've seen. And what's all this talk of machines."
At that moment Zul'amon returned, holding the bloody skull of an orc. "They die easy. Hardly worth a trophy. But a victory is a victory."
"Yes, that's the problem." said Varian. "The Blackrock Clan weren't weak. And how could they have bolstered their numbers so quickly?"
"...You don't think they somehow bred a new race of orcs, do you?" asked Muradin.
"That would take years." said Varian. And then he froze in horror. "No, no it wouldn't. In my studies under Aiden, I learned that Gul'dan developed... techniques. He used them to increase the rate at which children grew up. The orcs used this to bolster their forces and create vast numbers.
"Two of their leaders, Maim and Rend Blackhand, were forced to adulthood."
"You don't think..." Muradin strove to spoke. "It hasn't even been nine months, Varian. It doesn't matter if they can speed up a child's growth, they would still have to wait for them to come out of the womb."
"I'm afraid Gul'dan was never one to let the natural order stand in the way of his ambitions." said a third voice.
A blue dragon descended and took once more the form of an elf. Varian moved up to her. "Tyrygosa. What is going on here? Where have you been?"
"I've been scouting the pits of Icecrown." said Tyrygosa. "I nearly lost my life. Gul'dan has interfered with the natural life cycle of the orcish species. He has forced new generations of orcs from their mother's womb early. He did so on the orders of the pit lord, Mannoroth."
"But... but how...?" asked Varian.
"Whenever a new generation of orcs is born they are immediately forced to mature into an adult form." said Tyrygosa. "They are then made to drink the blood of Mannoroth and infused with his power."
"But how could you expect such creatures to fight?" asked Varian. "They're... they're only babies!" Yes they were orcs, but still, it was... indescribable.
"The Legion has means of forcing their will onto fully grown humans." said Tyrygosa. "They can do the same to newborn children. Every child has the will of Mannoroth infused upon it. He forces their immature minds into the shape he desires.
"So he has created a new race of orc in his own image. What you saw here was merely a prototype. The next generation will be far more competent."
A dead silence fell over them. Zul'amon shifted. "...Well, who be up for allying with the Tuskarr?
"I think that might be wise." said Varian.
This war had taken a darker turn. Varian hadn't thought such a thing possible. But it had.
Author's Note:
You know, it's a good thing for the Legion that Varian is a complete poser. If Aiden had found out that Gul'dan was doing this to orcs he literally would not have cared. His response would be to wonder if he could somehow interfere with the spell used to increase the birth rate in order to kill off the species.
Sorry, it took so long to post this. I lost inspiration. And then when I got it again, I decided to fully edit the previous chapters before I posted another. That took a while.