Chapter 2: Forbidden Knowledge
The Lich King
Deadwind Pass.
The moons shone up in the sky, their white and blue light contrasting with the dull grey of the rocky environment. Sharp ledges and canyons, absent of any color, bordered the simple path that led passing adventurers from the dark forests of Duskwood to the more life-covered Swamp of Sorrows. The winds, though not as freezing as those from Northrend, made the few living beings in the zone to shelter for the night.
In one of its roads, a black light surged out of nowhere, taking the form of a gate out of which black smoke erupted. From it, a humanoid figure, covered in dark, sinister-shaped plates, emerged. A strange blade, engraved with blue runes on its front, hanged from his belt. Under the weak light of the moons, the Lich King looked even deadlier than usual.
Arthas took a moment trying to figure exactly where he'd arrived. Sure, he had approximated the Pass' coordinates by using the presence of the Scourge's few forces in Duskwood, but unlike major cities, figuring where the portals would end was not easy, even for him. Besides, the repetitive scenery of the zone didn't help at all.
He looked up, searching for the White Lady and the Blue Child. Up inthe sky, they both stood guard over the Great Dark Beyond, illuminating the nocturne skies of Azeroth. Remembering his days of adventuring as the prince of Lordaeron, he turned to face east and started walking. Even though he'd never been in Deadwind Pass before, he'd seen maps describing the zone. Following the road, he would reach the tower eventually.
As he walked through the rocky cliffs of the Pass, Arthas became lost in his thoughts; not that there was much too see anyways.
He remembered the tales he'd heard about Karazhan; the cursed tower where the last Guardian of Tirisfal, Medivh, once took residence. Strange tales were told about the tower; that the spirits of its last visitors still haunted the halls; that the tower itself would fend off any intruders… hell, he'd even heard some people say that the spirit of the Guardian himself still persisted inside Karazhan. He thought about that for a minute… would he be able to control such powerful spirit?
He stopped himself from wondering such useless things and started thinking about his plan. He had decided to go to the tower on his own, both to go mostly unnoticed, and to ensure that he would find what he looked for. If there were any unlucky adventurers on his way, maybe he would even add more soldiers to the Scourge. He had pondered about sending one of his death knights instead, but finally decided against it; too many of his lieutenants had already failed him in less dangerous missions.
He then started wondering about the necessity of this trip. Was it that crucial to gather information about the Old God? Part of him insisted on getting back to Icecrown, avoiding any unnecessary trouble; he was the Lich King, Master of the Scourge, Bane of the Living… he should be able to handle a weakened monster.
Another part of him, more cautious, thought about the corrupting power of the deities. Many of the strongest beings in Azeroth's history had been manipulated by them: the fallen Earth-Warden Neltharion, the Elemental Lords… Even without their mind-corrupting abilities, their sheer power was huge: while dormant, years ago, he felt the great surge of magic coming from the awakened Old God C'thun as its forces battled against the Alliance and the Horde. He realized it had been an Old God after feeling the same dark magic in the corruption spread by Yogg-Saron.
He needed that information. He had to be as prepared as much as possible to face such thing; he would not end up under the influence of the Gods. Besides, the great library of Karazhan was rumored to contain knowledge about all the history of Azeroth. Even if he didn't find something related to the Old Gods, there could be some useful information: secrets of Northrend unknown even to him, ways to overcome the power of the Light… the list went on.
He barely noticed the passage of time as he walked through the road. After a couple hours, he finally laid eyes upon his target.
Karazhan.
The mighty tower was located at the center of an old, abandoned village surrounding it. Its walls, made of great stone bricks, showed the same strength they had on the golden days. Arthas looked up, trying to find the ceiling; he failed miserably. The tower was extremely big, surpassing the clouds with its height. He compared it to his Citadel; though not as visually imposing, it definitely had a stranger, more mystic aura to it.
Arthas could feel the magic coming from the tower. He wondered about the reason behind it; unlike the Frozen Throne, which had been infused with power by Kil'Jaeden long ago, the magic spreading from Karazhan felt… distinct. Strange. He shook those thoughts aside and approached the entrance.
A rusty, metal gate stood at the end of the road leading to the tower, daring any travelers to enter. The Lich King stopped a couple feet from it. He could still go back at this point… No. He would enter the tower, and find the knowledge to bend the power of a god.
With that last thought, he pushed the gate and entered the tower.
The entrance hall wasn't really shocking: a cobblestone walkway led through a wooden arc into the unknown to the left, and a great staircase leading towards upper levels stood behind some marble pillars to the left. Arthas stood there for a minute, figuring where to go. It didn't take long for him to realize that he had no idea where the library was located. He could easily get lost traveling through the halls of the tower, but there was no time for that.
He stretched his right arm in front of him, opening his hand. After focusing energy through it, an orb of black smoke formed over his palm. After a couple seconds, a small orb of smoke detached from the main one and started hovering around Arthas. Then, a second orb detached from the main one, then a third, and a fourth. After a couple of minutes, dozens of small smoke orbs hovered around Arthas, waiting for orders. He dissipated the magic, the first orb in his hand disappearing.
The Lich King's mighty voice resonated through the hallow halls. "Spread through the halls and locate the library." The many orbs quickly responded to their master's will, and after dividing in groups, started advancing through the corridors of the tower. He channeled his magic into his optic nerves, and locating the magic essence of his orbs, linked his eyes to them.
He could see through his smoke orbs, no need to walk through the tower now. Many images passed in front of him: large corridors of stone covered with paints, halls with silk carpets covering its floors… one of the orbs even reached a great room which resembled a theatre; a great stage hid behind two giant red curtains, and many chairs stood organized under a great chandelier, almost as if they were waiting for an opera to start.
But the Lich King hadn't come to appreciate the scenery. He switched from orb to orb, waiting for the library to appear. Some rooms contained a couple bookshelves filled with books, but nothing worthy of being called a library. Just as he was starting to lose temper at the almost countless corridors and rooms of the tower, he saw it. He quickly casted a portal the orb's location, and went through.
He appeared inside a circular hall, a golden chandelier shining at the top of the room. And bookshelves. Many, many bookshelves. As he had seen through the orb, the door led to a spiral ramp, which in turn led to an even bigger room completely filled with books. Growing confident that he would achieve his goal, he located all the other orbs around the tower and called them to his position.
As he waited for his summons to appear and cut the optical link to his orbs, he realized something: he hadn't seen any spirits around the halls. Even though the orbs had seen a (probably) great part of the tower, he had yet to see even one miserable ghost. "Hmph." So much for a cursed tower. After a while, all the smoke orbs arrived at the room.
Since he'd already reached the library, Arthas thought about relaxing a bit. But he decided to be extra cautious. Focusing more magic around the orbs, they started becoming translucent, the black smoke turning more transparent with each passing second. After a minute, they could barely be seen.
"Search this library for any book or document regarding the ancient beings of Azeroth. Aspects, Titans, Demigods, but most of all, Old Gods." He wondered for a second, "Look for any information concerning Northrend, saronite, the Light, or the history of Azeroth as well." Arthas kneeled, placing his left hand on the floor. A black pulse emerged from his palm, and a circular rune, engraved with patterns, appeared over the place. "You're to bring your findings to this rune. Go."
He could feel his orbs spreading around the library, each one obeying its lord's will. He'd spent quite some magic to make sure they could recognize the information without his aid, but he was the Lich King; given his colossal amount of mana, he could barely notice the difference. Since his orbs would do the job for him, he decided to walk around the library.
He left the room, walking down the ramp into the bigger hall. Even though he had no heart, he could still appreciate the taste in decorations: red and golden patterns crowned many of the ornaments in the library. Candles positioned on each of the marble pillars lighted the zone, giving the hall an almost mystic look.
He then noticed something peculiar: there was no ceiling on the library; no, there WAS a ceiling, but it was totally destroyed. Broken pieces of stone floated above the library where its roof once stood. He wondered what kind of magic kept the shattered ceiling in place. Between the moonlight coming from the gaps in the "ceiling", and the light coming from the candles, there was enough illumination for anyone who wanted to read.
Arthas even thought about picking up a book himself, but he suddenly felt something. A strong, powerful presence approached the library. Almost as a reflex, he spent more energy hiding the orbs' essence. He tried sensing the presence again, but it was gone.
No. It wasn't gone. It hid itself. Arthas became more cautious, looking around the library to find anything out of place. Perhaps there really were spirits roaming the tower? No, even if he felt it for barely a second, it was way too powerful for a simple ghost. In the split second that he'd managed to notice it, he felt an aura of wisdom, strength, nostalgia… almost like it was someone who was defending its home.
His eye barely caught a strange movement on the air. He turned his face, only the see the movement of books from the bookshelves to the room where the rune stood. At least they'd found something. Then, a strong voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Well then… perhaps you'd like to tell me what you're doing in my master's home, stranger?"
