Chapter Eight: Farewells
Arthas was pacing at the top of a tower overlooking the sea. His hands were behind his back, and Kel'thuzad was waiting on hand. Something was wrong here, and all the wind and cold air could not distract from it.
As he walked, Alexstrasza entered, looking very pleased. Arthas glanced up as she moved forward. "Well, things worked out quite well with the Nathrezim."
"So I have been informed," said Arthas, looking back north to the sea.
Why north?
"Is something wrong?" asked Alexstrasza in concern.
"It's nothing," said Arthas.
"You've been up here for hours," said Alexstrasza. "Surely, it must be something?"
And then there was a presence. Arthas looked up to see a red mist rising up toward the far end. And out of that mist stepped a tall, stunningly beautiful red-skinned woman with horns. In one hand was a huge axe. "More than you can possibly know, Alexstrasza."
"Kirrasan," said Alexstrasza. "We had an understanding."
"Well, understanding doesn't prevent conflict, does it?" asked Kirrasan. "I only became involved in this because Archimonde asked me to. After that, I got a bit carried away. Duty comes before friendship, after all. Or morality in your case."
"You can't justify your actions without vindicating those who created you, Kirrasan," said Alexstrasza flatly.
"How fortunate for me then, that I simply do not care one whit for either," said Kirrasan. "I'm in this world for my own entertainment."
"What do you want?" asked Arthas, deciding to cut to the chase.
"Sorry to barge in, King Arthas," said Kirrasan. "I would have called ahead, but I'm about to reveal the machinations of your enemies to you. Then when you destroy them, I'll explain why your actions only fulfilled my own schemes.
"The usual sort of business."
"Tell me, is there a difference between Dreadlord's and succubi?" asked Kel'thuzad in deadpan. "Or are you just a lesser female equivalent?"
Kirrasan looked up in irritation. "The difference between a Dreadlord and me? I actually end up completing my goals."
"Then complete them." snapped Arthas in a fouler mood than ever. Why did she feel the need to pose about how she could succeed?
Kirrasan blinked. "...Fair enough. Kael'thas has become the next Lich King."
"What?!" said Arthas.
Kel'thuzad shifted uneasily. Alexstrasza narrowed her eyes.
"Oh yes," said Kirrasan. " He journeyed into the north and found the Helm of Dominion with Ner'zhul's spirit within. Ner'zhul managed to escape death somehow, before returning to his old haunts.
"Kael'thas found him in the ruins of Icecrown and donned the helm. The two of them came to an understanding."
"So they've become one, then," said Alexstrasza.
"Hardly." scoffed Kirrasan. "At present, they are engaged in a battle of wills. But Kael'thas is winning."
"And he means to rule over the Scourge." guessed Arthas. One more usurper then.
"No," said Kirrasan. "He's not a Dreadlord or a power-hungry maniac. He's a hero of Azeroth.
"He means to destroy the Scourge. As soon as he gains power over the Scourge as a whole, he'll order the entire faction to walk into a vulcano. And they will do it."
"How could we not have known of this?" asked Kel'thuzad. "I should have sensed it!"
"Obviously because Kael'thas isn't stupid," said Kirrasan. "He's not going to appear and provide you with exposition about his inevitable triumph. Not when he could just work on overriding the safeguards. Meanwhile, you sit here negotiating and working on your masterstroke. Then, all of a sudden, your minions all commit suicide.
"Then Kael'thas comes back and you are quite dead. And he is hailed as a hero of the Alliance."
"Why would Malygos not tell us of something like this?" said Alexstrasza under her breath.
"Maybe he's not paying attention. Or maybe he approves," said Kirrasan. "Does it depress you, Queen of Life, to know how your ideology has been destroyed?"
"Where is Illidan?" asked Arthas. Depending on the answer, the situation could be very different.
"At present?" asked Kirrasan. "He's Kael'thas most loyal subordinate. I love it when plans get turned against the ones' who made them. It's so much more satisfying than a victory by stupid brute force.
"Not that the Alliance and Horde know anything else?"
"And why are you here? Helping us?" asked Arthas.
"You misunderstand, my King," said Kirrasan smiling. "I don't care who wins the inevitable showdown between you and Kael'thas. I merely want it to happen.
"I've told you what you need to know.
"Do with it as you will." And she faded into the mist.
There was a long, dead silence for a moment. Finally, Kel'thuzad turned to Arthas. "My King, what are your orders?"
Arthas sighed and calculated his options. He was going to have to head to Northrend eventually anyway. He'd had his fleet ready as it was. "Kel'thuzad, you and Alexstrasza will remain here and ensure negotiations continue. I have a journey to consolidate my holdings in Northrend to attend to.
"No one is to know of this. If the Alliance finds out, it could be the start of another war.
"Send word to the harbor and tell the fleet to be ready for war. I have a long journey ahead of me."
Alexstrasza paused. "Are you certain you should trust her? I could-"
"I was going to have to campaign in Northrend anyway," said Arthas. "And I doubt the Legion is able to launch any kind of counterattack."
Arthas set out that very day, while Kel'thuzad teleported ahead to the shipyards. As he traveled, Arthas gathered forces from the countryside. He cursed that it was necessary to move to an alternate port. But if he was seen setting out by all those officials, it would look bad.
As he journeyed, he came to a crossroads and found Jaina waiting there. He halted by her.
"Are you going then, Arthas?" asked Jaina.
"Jaina," said Arthas, unsure of how to feel. "I'm surprised you're back."
"Well, I've been scrying around a bit," said Jaina. "I've had a team of mages scrying on all your meetings. It was ever since you pulled that stunt with Dalaran.
"Off you kill more sentient creatures, then?"
"I am a King," noted Arthas, riding on slowly. "Without war, my existence would be wholly vestigial."
"It doesn't have to be this way," said Jaina, walking beside him.
"Kael'thas is presenting a very real threat to my dominions," said Arthas, wondering how she knew. "And even if Kirrasan is lying, Northrend needs tending to. It can't hurt to reorganize the place a bit."
"Convincing people to join your Death Cult?" asked Jaina.
"And my Life Cult as well," said Arthas. "I imagine establishing both as essential aspects of existence would be in order."
"Why are you trying to protect these abominations? What happened to 'let's study it after we kill it.'" asked Jaina.
Arthas sighed, not feeling up to the usual scorn. "What happened to 'I'm sorry, Arthas, I can't watch you do this?' The answer is the same for both."
"This isn't some moral quandary!" said Jaina. "They're undead! They're not even supposed to be walking around! Most of them would be better off if they were allowed to die!"
Arthas looked at her. "Do you know that, Jaina?"
"You saw what they did to Lordaeron, just like I did," said Jaina flatly.
"You saw what the orcs did to Lordaeron. And they haven't changed at all," said Arthas.
"What?" said Jaina. "Thrall-"
"Thrall is more reasonable than most orcs, but he is no better than Orgrim Doomhammer," said Arthas. "You're only saying he is smart enough to avoid fighting everyone he meets.
"Orgrim was an idiot. He started a fullscale war with the humans on the basis of might makes right. Rather than conquer one place or another, he tried to take it all at once. Thrall is smart, he uses an ideology of redemption to screen himself from the Alliance. At the same time, he makes allies with indigenous creatures to pit them against one another.
"Everyone calls him messiah for taking the slow path to conquest. Not that the Alliance is any better."
"Thrall isn't..." Jaina stared at him. "Mannoroth is dead! The unholy energies driving the orcs are-"
Arthas shrugged. "Killing Mannoroth changed nothing at all. The only reason I have hope for the orcs is that Thrall is moderately self-aware. But let's not use any patronizing ideology to pretend as if the orcs didn't have a choice. They did.
"So did the Cult of the Damned. And they actually had a legitimate grievance. The Alliance had treated them badly.
"I will not suffer them destroyed simply so the Lords of the Alliance will go back to the way things were."
"Do you really think you can accomplish what you're trying to do here, Arthas?" asked Jaina. "People aren't going to unite in friendship because you bludgeon them into submission."
"How fortunate then that I have no interest in universal brotherhood between races," noted Arthas. "The world I envision is a place where the faction leaders are too busy gnawing at one another to rally armies. Once I've established peace, we'll talk about improving the lives of everyday people.
"As for concepts of utopia, I leave the matter to the religiously inclined."
"And what happens if I decide to tell everyone about what happens here?" asked Jaina. "One word from me could send this entire thing falling to pieces."
"Are you going to give that word?" asked Arthas, too tired to be worried.
"You think I won't?" asked Jaina.
Arthas considered the question. "I don't know.
"You are very intelligent and very competent, Jaina. You could cause me some very serious problems if you put your mind to it. I'd much rather avoid a confrontation between us, to be honest."
Jaina shifted. "...You should break off this thing you have with Alexstrasza. You hardly know her."
"No, probably not. I wondered myself if I rushed into things too quickly," said Arthas. "To be honest, I doubt I am any more important to her than anyone else is. Merely a high priority. For all her all-loving nature, she is very calculating.
"Unfortunately, the narrative has become an ingrained part of things.
"Breaking it off at this stage would damage negotiations. Besides, it isn't as though I'm going to be around. I... I will attempt to avoid a war with Kael'thas. It may be that with Illidan, a compromise may be arranged.
"However, I expect it will end in blood."
"Is this all the world is to you now, Arthas? Factions and calculations and math?" asked Jaina. "Kael'thas has destroyed the Legion! Yes, what happened was horrible, but you yourself can't disagree with the results! What reason are you fighting for now if not a simple vendetta?"
Arthas sighed and halted Invincible. Dismounting, he sighed. He thought about the quest for a moment. "I don't want to be here.
"More than anything, I would have liked to retire to Theramore with you. To leave things behind. But I could not leave the Dreadlord's in place. And I could not allow my people to be slaughtered again.
"I do not know what happened to Prince Arthas.
"Perhaps he died. Perhaps he never existed at all.
"Now, I am... King." He felt utterly empty. "I must go to Northrend, Jaina. I must do so, even if it leads to utter ruin because not to would be a worse defeat. To do nothing as the world falls into oblivion is worse than to do badly."
"Then nothing I can do will dissuade you." snapped Jaina. "I don't even know why I bothered coming."
Arthas felt utterly empty. He'd achieved his vengeance, reunited Lordaeron, and crushed the Legion. Now he faced yet another war. He wondered if it would not be better if he died in some faraway land. He wondered if there was any world where this endless campaign had not been set on him, along with the bitter crown.
The answer was obvious. "...I was not brought into this world to live the life of a human. I know that now.
"The Battle of Mount Hyjal, the Third War, it was a time when the utter blackness of the world was thrown back. The mortal races united against evil in a time of heroism that cannot be forgotten.
"But it is only a foundation.
"If the legacy of that time is a neverending cycle of blood and atrocity, it has no meaning. Kael'thas has annihilated whole worlds because they were a threat. His reign will continue as it began. One genocide after another, until eventually he is defeated. Then the same bloody retribution will be dealt to his people.
"So, I must enter Northrend again, to defend the meaning of the past. In the hope of a better future."
For a long moment, Jaina looked at him carefully, she seemed to see something within. Finally, she nodded. "Then, I am going with you."
Arthas sighed. "...I was afraid you would say that.
"Let's go."
A few days later, Arthas and Jaina came to the port with the forces he had gathered. There they met Kel'thuzad, giving orders. Kel'thuzad bowed to them as they came before the ships. "Your absence at negotiations has been welcomed, King Arthas. The Alliance is now convinced that Alexstrasza is the one truly in command.
"All the preparations for your journey have been made."
"Just keep things going for now," said Arthas, feeling as if he should do. "You have been a loyal friend, Kel'Thuzad. I don't know what the future holds, or if I'll even return, but I want you to watch over this land. See to it that my legacy endures."
"I shall, King Arthas. I shall," said Kel'thuzad.
Looking to Jaina, he nodded to her. Then they set out.