A/N: It's been bugging me a lot lately... I just couldn't wait to get this story going. So, here is the beginning of yet another tale.

NO idea what World of Warcraft is? No problem! There won't be that many referrences on the game and if they are, they will be explained, at least at some point. It might be confusing at first, but I hope that on the second and third chapter things will be clearer... oh well, this story WILL BE REMOVED if I don't have enough positive feedback ^^ Can't write something people don't like, now can I?

The Ashbringer: Shinobi of the Light

Chapter1: Faith

In the artic lands of Northrend, two figures battle for the fate of the world…

When shadow comes to claim our souls, some must rise, the light of old. Names in stone, spirits in legend, deeds unknown, yet never forgotten.

These are the Duranin, of honor within, and of fear without

Remember them

When in hope you doubt…

XxxxX

"Arthaaaaaaas!" a mighty voice yelled in the howling winds, his armor glowing with the roll of thunder, sword blazing in his hands as he gazed with hatred at his opponent…

Arthas Menethil(1)…

The Lich King(2)

"Your time has come!" and with that, the warrior of the Light leapt forward, blade prepared to strike as his enemy clad in a dark armor that was seemingly the opposite of his raised his own to parry…

The two swords clashed and the sound of metal against metal seemed to linger in the air for endless seconds as grey eyes glared into teal ones, the color practically leaking out of the crown of the lord of the dead.

"You, are a fool Tyrion! None can stop me!" his voice sounded like a combination of two, a small chorus that echoed in the wind. Power surged in his runeblade as he pushed the warrior back, he faltering for no more than a second before he prepared himself again, his own sword blazing with the fire of Light…

"Your reign of terror is over Arthas! I will make sure of that!" he yelled once more as he shot forward, this time the parry less powerful as Light and Darkness alike fought to overpower each other, the golden power forced out of Tyrion's blade a contradiction to Arthas's own dark waves of pulsing force.

"Ugh…" the self-proclaimed king seemed to falter as he clenched his teeth, memories flooding in his mind… memories of all those he had betrayed, memories of the ones he once loved… but that was a long time ago. He had no soul nor heart now to care…

His eyes blazed with the chill of death as he forced the Paladin away once more.

"I, am the Lich King! I, AM ETERNAL!" his mighty shout could terrify any poor soul that was in proximity to listen. But not him… Tyrion stood adamant, inhaling the cold heavily as he battled to breath…

Atop Icecrown Citadel(3) they stood, the thundering sky above them, marks of combat and destruction all around the massive balcony of Arthas's stronghold.

The man that held the hope of an entire world in his hands prepared himself for a final strike. He had to end this, less the Lich king called upon help…

He set his blade before him, the Light burning once more, setting the mighty steel ablaze.

The Ashbringer(4) would shine… at least for one last time.

Frostmourne(5)… the runeblade of the master of death… blazed in its own darkness, the chill of death seeping out of it as the carved eyeholes in the hilt of said sword shone with deathly teal light…

He was no fool… he wouldn't let Tyrion defeat him. He wouldn't let his eternal reign of undeath end so soon…

Preparing to counter anything the Paladin would throw at him, the lord of undeath brought his blade up, tip facing towards his opponent. The runes started glowing as power surged through the sword…

"It is time to finish this… let the Light drive my hand…" Tyrion whispered to himself as he called upon the Light, called upon all his might and power… two wings took form behind him, two wings that flapped with angelic grace and shone with the brilliance of the sun…

"Divine Wrath…" and with these simple words, the wielder of hope charged forward one last time…

The Lich King was prepared, pikes of ice shooting off from the tip of his blade, the charging Paladin unwavering as he pushed forward through each and every one of them. Seeing his ranged assault fail, he drove Frostmourne to the ground…

And as he did so, countless bodies rose from nowhere, crystals of darkness fell from the sky only to form into the undead…

The summoned legion of undeath charged mindlessly at the already moving warrior of the Light, he only swinging the Ashbringer with endless fury, slicing through any of the monstrosities that dared approach.

In the last possible second, Arthas parried a strike that could cut him in half with ease as he found it hard to even hold out against the strength that was put behind it. Tyrion was really giving it his all, the Light his companion in this epic battle.

He pushed… but to no avail. The wings at the back of his counterpart blew once, shining brightly as they swept away any monster that dared approach…

The undead shrieked in fear as the power intensified…

"Fool! You're giving your own soul for these mortals?!" the king of the dead shouted in a vain attempt to hinder the warrior's motivation. But he was unwavering yet again…

"I am giving my soul for what is righteous! I am giving my life for justice! The reckoning has come, Arthas!" and with one final, mighty push, the Paladin's whole power surged outwards, blinding anyone in the vicinity with it's intensity, burning any undead with purging fire…

One tale must come to an end…

XxxxX

For another…

To begin…

A young, blond boy sat atop the Hokage monument, gazing down upon his home… what he at least wanted to call home. In all his ten young years of life, he still hadn't got used to all this hatred…

And for what? Why did he have to pay for sins he possibly hadn't committed and if he had, wasn't aware of? He sighed… maybe that was one mystery of life that he would simply never decipher…

His young mind hadn't drifted off enough yet to not notice what happened next. Through the wide blue sky, something was coming down as it shone in the light of the sun…

Where there shooting stars during daytime too?

Curious he was, as he saw the object coming in a mighty crush somewhere in the forests of Konoha, not too far from the village walls. Standing to his feet, he quickly run down to the busy streets of the town, intent of finding out just what this 'star' was…

Completely ignoring the glares and whispers around him as he passed through the districts of the town, he finally found himself at the gates of the village…

The guard was soundly asleep on his chair as usual… there wasn't any traffic this time of the year and this time of the day in particular whatsoever anyway. If he wasn't in a hurry, he would pull a prank on the man for sure…

Running outside, he looked around for any clues that would help him find the mysterious 'star' that fell from the sky. Seeing a shadow move at his left, he made the wild guess that it was a shinobi who had also seen it…

Without further ado, he did his best to follow the shadowy figure…

XxxxX

"Wow…" the man exclaimed as he gazed upon the small crater. It was simply… amazing…

He had never seen anything like this… and he had seen many things in his life, that was for sure…

There, lied the manifestation of perfection. The blade was flat and long, yet it's sharpness was not to be questioned by the mere sight of it. The hilt was decorated with red and yellow colors… but what surprised him most was that…

As the blade went on from the hilt, runes decorated its outline and a small curve found itself a little before the edge, then curved up again to meet the end of the weapon.

And right where the curve was… lied what looked like a round narrow orb. And what was this on it…? It looked like, a palm. The distance between the fingers closed and the palm facing upwards, the small object hovering slowly up and down, not too far from the weapon but neither touching it. It seemed to hung from bare air…

His hand stretched to grab the manifestation of purity, joyous feelings filling his heart as he neared…

"What's that?" a young voice said from behind. He jumped from reflex and quickly turned around to look at the newcomer. Said boy looked curiously at the object within the crater, it itself amazed by the sight. The shinobi smirked, noticing the wild blond hair and whisker marks…

It just couldn't be more perfect. The demon was right here in front of him, and it was as if heaven itself had dropped this divine weapon to smite down the little monstrosity. He fully grasped the hilt of the blade and rose it from the ground…

The little boy felt a shiver run down his spine as he took sight of the smirk on the shinobi's face. Said man lifted the sword with ease, aiming it at the blond…

"Finally… I shall kill the demon and be deemed a hero!" he laughed…

And the blade shot away from his hand, a jolt of golden thunder hitting the limp that held the sword, it shooting away and embedding itself in a tree…

"What the hell?" he gripped his now wounded hand… could this weapon be guarded by Raiton seals or something? Most likely…

Well, there wasn't a problem. They were out here… alone.

"Heheheh…" he reached into his pouch, the cackle that was his slow laughter growing in intensity as he gripped a kunai.

The blond boy looked on in fear. There wasn't anyone to help him out here, and he didn't have any weapons…

He glanced at the embedded in wood sword… it was the only free weapon… but it had rejected the other shinobi's grasp, why would it obey his?

There wasn't much of a choice. He just had to do it or die. His feet quickly brought him near the blade and his relatively small hands grasped the hilt and pulled with all the strength his body could muster.

The older ninja only kept chuckling, sure in the vainness of the little boy's attempts…

Yet his eyes went wide as the blonde managed to pull the blade out of the wood…

Said boy was stunned at how light the weapon was, despite its size in comparison with his own small frame….

The assailant didn't back away though, even when he realized that the sword stayed in the blonde's hand. He took one step forward…

And through the blade shone light with intensity that none of the two individuals had ever thought possible…

As it faded, both small and big frames stood still at the sight before them…

It was a tall, muscular man, clad in golden-white armor with blue and white sashes covering his shoulder armor and waist. Short straight grey hair that reached only a few inches before his shoulders decorated the top of the figure, a similar grey beard gracing chin and face. His eyes slowly opened…

Only to reveal nothing but golden light shining through them…

The figure also had a large tome on his waist, and the weapon he held was an exact copy of the sword the kid held in hand.

And what amazed them both was, that the form was ethereal…

"Leave the boy be…" the figure commanded as it looked upon the assailant, raising his own blade to aim the tip at him. The man only snickered…

"As if!" and he charged forward…

Yet before he could even come close, the ethereal form moved swiftly, driving its blade through the man's heart…

He looked down, bewildered that he indeed had a gaping wound on his chest…

And before he could even ponder on it, his now lifeless body hit the ground…

The young boy stared in bewilderment and amazement, the concrete sword trembling in his hands…

"Wh…wha…" he couldn't find the correct words to describe what he was trying to think…

"Do not worry, young one" the ethereal form said as his eyes softened, gazing upon the boy. "Hold on the sword…" he started dissipating, retreating back into the blade…

The blond knew better than to defy his savior, even if the means that he used where a little… unexpected.

When the whole ghostly substance was absorbed into the sword, he suddenly felt something… as if… as if something… or someone… was there… with him.

'Do not worry boy… all shall be revealed… in due time…' he heard a voice in his own mind…

'For now… other matters… at hand…' the voice was wavering, echoing in his mind as if the speaker was struggling to talk.

He saw another flash of light shining…

And the sword was gone, a few small snowflakes of light all that remained behind…

What the hell was going on, anyway?

XxxxX

The Sandaime was a clever man, that much was something he would allow himself to have credit for. His wary old eyes had seen many things in his long lifetime, things that most people would prefer to keep in the dark corners of their imagination.

And here he was, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato, leader of men.

He let his gaze drift off in the endless series of buildings and rooftops from his vast window in the Hokage's office. It was a beautiful morning…

A sigh escaped his aged lips as he remembered what had occurred a mere month ago. Yet another assault on the young jinchuuriki of Leaf. Sometimes, he wondered just how much IQ one could need to see the truth…

But he couldn't really blame them. Considering the massacre Kyuubi had created that night, and the fact that rumors are a mighty weapon when used right, the people of the village may have been irrational about their opinions over the child, but well enough within the bounds of human nature. This particular part of humanity is what Sarutobi despised at times…

Humans fear the unknown. They trust in unbiased words when their very eyes show them the truth. Word of mouth indeed…

He decided to put the matter on the corner of his mind yet again. That assault had been stopped by him personally and there were a handful of men that went to jail that night. And where still there.

Turning around, he inhaled slowly from his favorite pipe, the substance soothing his nerves as the day ahead would be… as the Nara clan would state, troublesome.

An eyebrow was raised in curiosity as he spotted the stacks of paperwork… did they just get larger or was it just his idea…?

Of course, the aged Sarutobi failed to notice the object that fell from the sky and in the forests of Konohagakure…

XxxxX

"I… sense… run boy… get out of here…" the voice in his head seemed more sturdy now, if only a little distant, as if someone was yelling at him from afar, yet managing to keep his voice in a decent tune. Awkward…

Yet he obeyed as his ears picked up sounds coming from the south, the direction of the village. He guessed he wasn't the only one to see the falling object…

And if the former encounter with the murderous leaf ninja was any indicator, it would be no fun to find himself among bunches of them…

Plus, he still had to go to the academy… he had woken up far earlier than usual today and as much as he would struggle in bed, he just couldn't sleep again till time for school came.

So here he was, young Uzumaki Naruto running through the forest, careful to avoid the approaching crowd, heading towards the village, one of the mightiest weapons known in existence now in his hands…

XxxxX

The armored warrior frowned as he gazed upon the mighty pillars that seemed to form some kind of cage, a rune of some sort etched on a paper that was stuck in the middle concrete round object.

He took one step forward… he could feel it, it was as obvious to him as if he was looking at a bright blue sky.

There was something evil in there… something so evil, so tainted, that even he, could have flinched had he not experienced similar situations…

Two blood red eyes opened from the darkness, frowning down at his form.

"What is the meaning of this? What do you want here…" the voice was dark, ominous, promise of endless suffering under every word. The armored man though stood relentless before the mighty presence before him. Yet he knew that demons always meant their threats… subsequent or straight, it didn't matter.

"Paladin?"

XxxxX

The hyperactive boy was finally at his apartment. He still had around half an hour before the clock hit 8 a.m.

The Hokage had decided to let the classes start one hour later than the usual 7 o'clock in the morning, allowing the students at least a little more time of sleep while making the classes end yet another hour later during noon. That way, as it was shown, the shinobi-under-training of Konoha had found it far easier to concentrate and perform even better at class, rising the potential of the future of Konoha.

It's amazing what an hour can do, is it not?

The young blonde already had his usual trademark jumpsuit on so… what was there to make the day really begin?

Why of course,

Ramen!

XxxxX

"Well, well… what do we have here?" his voice was strong, yet light altogether. The Paladin scanned the round concrete boulders up and down…

"A demon in a cage… what a rare sight to behold" he stepped forward, a hand reaching out, gloved fingertips touching the stone.

Two humongous claws shot out from the small openings the bars allowed, the plate armor wearer not even flinching as the claws crashed next to each of his sides, the noise they made on impact thundering through the otherwise sewer of a mindscape.

"Pitiful…" was all he muttered as he stepped back, turning around to walk away.

"If only I was free, human. If only I was free…" the beast's tone was one of clear irritation. How it wished it could just get out there and slice the insolent beard-face in pieces…

"If you were free…" a hand stretched out, light shining around the extended limp as some kind of weapon started to form…

"And met me along the way…" the light subsided, illuminating snowflakes of said light flickering around the summoned instrument of battle.

No… the demon couldn't believe in his eyes…

"You would be nothing but ashes" and with that, the Paladin walked away, into the shadowy corridors of this troubled mind, the Light his beacon through a kingdom of darkness…

XxxxX

Ahh… ramen could miracles on him. It could replenish any energy he had lost, it was his favorite fuel to start, converse through, and the day.

He stepped outside his apartment, closing and locking the door behind him. He took a step forward and stopped mid-track…

He had forgotten his favorite goggles inside! Well, no matter, one day without them wouldn't be that much of a tragedy… he guessed… plus, he was going to be late already…

XxxxX

He kept wondering through the seemingly endless dark corridors, only a soft deem light illuminating his way… not that he really needed it anyway.

He was searching for something specific… something that would help him achieve the little purpose that he had inclined to himself. There wasn't much else to do anyway…

Plus, it was his duty as the former wielder of the blade to guide the next bearer… to guide him down the right path, less the sword turned on the dark side again…

A Naaru's(6) essence is just freaking troublesome at times…

A hand found itself in front of his face. Concentrating, he let the Light flow through him as he scanned the illusionary mindscape…

There. The door he wanted was roughly a minute's walk away from his position… if time was even relevant in here, of course.

No time to waste, the sooner he began, the better. His plated boots echoed throughout the endless labyrinth of a mind, the sound vibrating through every surface. He could never stop feeling amused at such otherwise trivial things… his armor sounded so heavy yet it felt so light…

Oh well, he could ponder on this later on. Other matters where at hand, where they not?

XxxxX

There it was! The academy! He still had around two or three minutes before class began… he might as well take a stroll rather than rush in like a maniac. He pumped into Sasuke last time he did… and the position they had found themselves in all of a sudden had the swarm of fan-girls surrounding him looming above them like a thunderstorm ready to rage and on this case… it raged on poor Naruto…

And oh the irony, speak of the devil… scratch that, make them devils…

Sasuke was just walking into the academy, his emo-side on full force as he ignored Sakura's endless pestering on dates and how cool mister 'I'm the Alpha Emo' was.

Damn the Uchiha! Damn him to hell and beyond! Why couldn't Sakura just for once lean away from the teme, why couldn't she see him? Uzumaki Naruto?! What did the brooding emo had more than he did?!

"Self consciousness… rationality… heritage… a functioning brain… want me to continue?" the young boy jumped at the sound of the voice. What was going on? He made a full turn around himself, but there wasn't a soul in the vicinity… everyone was already inside…

Oh crap, he was going to be late again!

XxxxX

Thankfully enough, he had walked in right after Iruka-sensei, so he was most unlikely to get scolded today… again.

And there it was! A spot of heaven! A sit was open next to Sakura-chan!

One foot raised itself in order to bring the blond yet another step next to his crush…

And behold, heaven found it funny to mock him, a no-namer sitting next to the best girl in the whole world! And leaving him hanging there to add to it!

"If you exclude the lack of intelligence, a forehead that a Gnome(6) can land an airplane on, temper far worse than Xarxas's… and hate for everything that opposes the object of her… uhh, affections, for lack of a better term"

The voice was speaking slowly, calmly, as if it knew every word that was supposed to be said. As if it knew what it wanted to say. And during the small speech, Naruto was frantically looking around, surprised that there was no one talking to him whatsoever. And what was the weirdest among all... the voice sounded distant, as if it echoed through a thousand tunnels…

"Naruto! Sit down!" Iruka commanded, irritated at the noise that the class was making in overall. And the blonde was still standing! He wasn't a man to let his anger flare easily, but he hoped his students, especially Naruto, would be respectful enough to just sit down rather than have him verbally make them do it…

The blond seemed in a trance as he sat next to the first sit he found in front of him. He missed the small 'Eep' of surprise that was elicited from someone next to him, his eyes gazing off into nothing…

"Now… I would like you to concentrate young one… for I have a long… really long tale to tell…"

XxxxX

(1): Arthas Menethil: Son of Terenas Menethil, Prince of the kingdom of Lordaeron, Paladin at first, an ex-Paladin later on, Death Knight and finally, Lich King.

(2): The Lich King: The fused soul's of the Death Knight Arthas and the armor of Ner'zhul, a warlock of the old that was trapped in an icy throne for years in the artic roof of the world. The Lich King is the leader of the undead in Azeroth, his purpose the decimation of all life

(3): Icecrown Citadel: The Lich King's citadel and home in the region of Icecrown. The citadel is a fortified position from where Arthas commands the undead…

(4): The Ashbringer: During the Second War between Humans and Orcs, Alexandros Mograine found a strange crystal of darkness that was dropped from a killed Orc warlock. After a few years, Alexandros met with other followers of the Light, and assuming that this crystal was a manifestation of Darkness, its polar opposite should also exist. Through using the Light, they turned this crystal in an object of purity. Later on, Alexandros gave the crystal to Magni, the king of the dwarfs, who forged the legendary blade for the Paladin to wield. With the help of the Ashbringer, Alexandros became the bane of all undead… the tale goes on from then on, the Ashbringer changing wielders from time to time… and changing sides, from Light and Darkness…

(5): Frostmourne: Many years ago, Arthas Menethil had made an expedition in Northrend to defeat the leader of the undead and avenge his people. To do this, he searched for the legendary runeblade, Frostmourne. Upon finding it, he called upon the spirits of the vault to give him the blade so he could avenge his people. The icy pedestal exploded, freeing Frostmourne and killing Muradin Bronzebeard, friend and companion. With no remorse, Arthas picked up the blade and defeated his enemy… The blade was forged by the Lich King, Ner'zhul himself, and was empowered to steal souls. His was the first one it took… wandering off in the frozen wastelands of Northrend, Arthas lost the last remnants of his sanity… after returning home and murdering his father with the blade, Arthas was Ner'zhul's first Death Knight…

(6): Gnome: Really short humanoids, even shorter than a dwarf, yet extremely intelligent. They excel in Engineering and their intelligence is slimly questioned… Though they can be a little crazy at times, one of their greatest inventions was the airplane…

A/N: Any of you noticed that I didn't explain what a Naaru is? Yeah, sorry, I think I'll make up to it on the next chapter. Lots will be explained there, what a Paladin is, what's their purpose... and what the hell is Naruto going to do with that sword anyway? Oh well, I'm kinda ill so I won't be working that much... hope I'll get back on track soon enough

Oh well, the whole thing is bound to get even more interesting... I'll keep writing even if I don't get enough feedback... I love the tale of the Ashbringer and I'm kind of a sucker for Light/Darkness thingies... hehe