The Winds of Change Blow (Prologue)

The winds of Northrend battered their ship as harshly it did her arms; the stolen vessel rocked violently on churning waves that splashed the crowded deck with water so cold it stung.

Some hours, or perhaps days ago, she had hissed at every rise and fall of the stolen ship, saltwater burning as it splashed against her bandaged chest and burned the wound, but now healing and simple time had worn away the pain to a dull throb.

Her breaths were low, cracked spear grasped maddeningly tight in her hands as she glanced towards their lookout.

"I see them! I see the ship!" Vejrek howled, near dangling from the nest.

Arctikus wanted to collapse against the deck then and there, but even as a ragged cheer rose up, she kept her gaze locked on the horizon. With a sharp strike of the deck with her spear, her weathered voice rang out.

"Honored Shango, the Soothsayers spoke true and their prayers were answered, thank you, thank you for seeing our children to safety."

Her kin bowed their head in reverence, muttering their own prayers.

"Vejrek! Where did they land?" She bellowed.

"On a raised island Great Mother, seems there's a tower on it, and I see tents in Drakkari patterns- there's a bat rider hailing us!"

Bracing, Arctikus watched the skies as a large brown bat soared overhead, carrying on its back a blue haired troll in light aqua robes layered with gold sequins.

"Hail to thee, Great Mother Arctiku! I Speaker Malaka'raz, voice of Frost King Malakk, do greet you and yours and welcome you to Northrend as honored guests of our liege!" His voice resounded like an echo in a cave, clear and crisp to her ears despite the beat of wings, waves, and wind.

"We thank you Speaker, our children, are they well?" She called back, straining to be heard.

"Well as can be, Great Mother, and they shall be all the better for seeing you I am sure! We have the finest healers and caretakers in the empire tending to their needs and fresh meals on the boil."

He swerved his bat through the air to come hover before them, "Follow my motions to avoid any nasty bumps, this coastline is not a welcoming one, and please settle your ships near the island to come ashore. But avoid the coast for now, we are already irking our neighbors by hosting a camp here, you see!"

"Then we are not near Zul'Drak?" Murmurs of confusion rushing across the ship.

"Not at all Great Mother," The Speaker cheered, "the journey there would be a bit much this day, follow my me and I my liege shall explain!"

Arctikus nodded to her kin who answered with a heave and a ho, while Bonechiller Barafu and her students called upon the winds to guide them towards the humble island.

Awaiting them were great tents in rich blues and silver, made of a thick, near shining fur. Smokeless purple fires dotted the island and towering Drakkari stood alongside the cheering and waving young as they pulled into dock.

She did not bother looking for the face she longed to see most among them, briefly swallowing back stray tears and welcoming the brief touches of her kin before steeling herself and forcing a smile to her face.

'I am the Great Mother, all the children of the tribe are my own,' she reminded herself.

Striding off the ship she practically flung herself into the throng, embracing and ruffling wild manes of hair, paying special mind to those she knew would have no one to find them, warm words falling from her lips with practiced ease.

She was unsure how much time passed before the din abated and the children's words become more than an incompressible wave of sounds. Perhaps even that was helped by them all speaking much the same words, as a towering figure, one who loomed over even the other Drakkari approached.

"The King! Frost King! He's the Frost King Malakk mama!" Arctikus gently shooed the young ones away as she strode forward to stand before him.

He was adorned in elegant dark blue and white trimmed robes, with a flowing coat and short cape made of feathers that matched those on his icicle adorned crown. None of the finery, be it the smooth textiles or strange glowing jewels, piercings or bracers did anything to hide his sheer height or the obvious power in his tattooed frame and measured manner of his steps.

This was a warrior king, and he was the last hope for the Frostmane.

Arcticus dropped to her knees, laid her spear across her lap and grasped the jagged icy blade tip, "Frost King Malakk, I've no words that can convey my gratitude. You've aided us and I can only repay-"

Her move to bloody her own hand as an oath was stalled when his hand rested on her arm and he knelt before her.

"Please rise, you and your kin are my honored guests, and you a leader of fine and fierce people who have been done a great injustice, suffered much and risked everything to secure a bright future for your young. I would see you only as my equal, so please, stand with me, Great Mother."

His voice was strong and a faint touch rough, but oddly pleasant, like well-cut stone.

Arcticus pushed herself to her feet and offered a brief bow of acknowledgement, "The Frostmane tribe thanks its most generous hosts and their mighty liege."

"Your thanks are heard and most welcome, please rest and eat with your family and when you desire it, seek me out at the top of the tower, I would share words, but only when it suits you."

With that he offered a polite bow of his own and strode away, ruffling a few children's manes as he went.

Swallowing, Arcticus let the children guide her into the lavish tent, contained within was more wealth than she'd ever seen! Plush pillows, jeweled water basins, intricately carved stone and wooden condiments, enchanted flames that birthed no smoke and rugs so soft they could have been beds!

Awaiting her at the heart of it was a thick and hearty stew that she took without question, passing it down the line to her kin as more and more of them shuffled in to be fed and when finally, they were all served, some already on their seconds, she took her first bowl and devoured it ravenously.


It was only when the last child drifted off to sleep in her lap that Arctikus moved, slipping a pillow under their head she was joined by Vejrek and Barafu as they followed Speaker Malaka'raz to the top of the oddly square and small tower.

As if sensing her confusion at the sight of him stooping to get through the door, the Speaker glanced over his shoulder and spoke. "This tower was built by the humans who reside here, but they lost it to sea raids some years ago, so when we received a vision of your coming, we paid to make use of it for a time, to avoid irritating our neighbors."

"Are they so strong you must bribe them?" Vejrek asked, hands flexing and coming to rest on his weapons.

Arctikius quietly wondered the same, having seen trollish ruins on their way through the shallow waters.

Malaka'raz made a strange little sound and shrugged, "The humans not so much, the Taunka are mighty but small in number and as to the Furbolg, well, they did much of the damage to the last dominion some two hundred years ago. However," He hummed, "I would not disrespect them, but the old dominion was bordering on collapse back then. If we were to fight them now it would be bloody for sure, but I see no reason why we would not win. But why offend them or fight when they do us no harm?" he chuckled.

Crouching low they left the stairs and joined the Frost King on the roof, one foot resting on the low wall, as he looked out at the sea from whence, they came. His shawl like cape blew in the breeze revealing dark tattoos on his arms, matching those adorning his chin and ears, before he finally turned to face her and said, "You journeyed far, Great Mother, I imagine you have much to tell me of the South, of Rohk'aka."

"I do, though it will not take much time to tell it," she conceded bitterly, stepping away from her kin to join him in overlooking the sea.

"In your own time," he offered glancing back towards the ocean.

"I am no flower," Arctikus answered back swiftly, careful to avoid sounding sharp; one hand toying with an aged crystal necklace hanging around her neck as she took a steadying breath. "You know, of course, of the wars, that much surely came from Zandalar."

Malak nodded, "Yes, I heard of how mighty Zul'jin had re-united his empire, but also joined forces with strange new creatures from other worlds." His expression flittered between what she thought was annoyance and disappointment, but it passed in a moment. "I had looked forward to meeting a leader after my own heart, but the Loa whisper of failure and despair, so I imagine the Forest Tribes are back to feuding states now?"

Repressing an arched brow at his phrasing, she muttered, "It is true," fangs grinding. "They lost, I do not know how, but they did, Zul'jin may be dead as well." Another loss, another pain, he had been a friend of her people in days past. "As the Horde broke and was scattered, we were able to safely hunt and travel outside our old haunts but my… My son had a thought, a brave one, my brave boy…."

"He believed that so many Dwarves," she spat the word like a curse, "had died that if we retook Coldridge Valley they would not know or care, they have few young after all." She clutched the crystal tightly, nearly cutting her hand. "But they did notice, and they came for him and the settlers."

A shuddering, seething breath escaped her, "They put his head on a pike!"

Her claws dug into her palms, "I wept, I raged, I would have sworn to avenge him, but I knew, I knew this was not a war we could win and-". She choked something back, a shiver running down her spine. "They came for us with guns and cannon that belched black smog, fell upon us with spell fire and steel, as the skies filled with lightning and a gryphons cry."

Barafu's sharp tones cut through the air, "This was not to be a war but an extermination!"

Arcikus nodded, her words a hushed whisper, "We could do little but run."

A silence fell upon them, Articus could see a brief something passed between Malakk and his Speaker before the troll king spoke.

"You survived Great Mother, many of your people did, thanks to your leadership," Malakk placed a hand on her shoulder, "I cannot imagine your agony, but I am awed by your resolve."

A low, shallow breath escaped her, "We survived, but the hills are gone, our mountain holds, what little we had left." She looked up to him, "You say we are equal, but that is not true, I am reliant on your charity, Frost King Malakk, my people can only survive through you."

"So, I must ask… What is to become of us?"

The Frost King met her gaze, his expression contemplative, his words smooth when he deigned to speak.

"If it pleases the Frostmane, I would welcome them into my empire. It can be a place where you can build a new home and life for yourselves as we plan for the future."

"I… We would welcome your patronage, Frost King Malakk," she said with a swift bow, her voice growing hasty. "I know it shall be a burden, but we shall find a way to repay you."

Malakk chuckled, sounding bemused, "It is no great burden, think on your tribe and dismiss any debts, I am king, am I not? It is my duty to worry about such things."

Articus bit her tongue, 'What of food and lands, and homes, how can he be so cavalier?' But the Frost King continued to speaker, forcing her thoughts back to the moment.

"Your decision soothes my soul, Great Mother, know that I will see you ever as a leader of great renown and I shall respect your people and their ways." He clapped her on the shoulder and said, "I would ask, it is Shango you worship yes?"

Arctikus nodded, "It was the storm god that ferried us to safety, we must repay them."

"The scales must be balanced for blessings given and offerings made, such is the way of the Loa," Malakk mused, the word Loa oddly harsh on his tongue. "I would help you to build a shrine to Shango, that they might be suitably honored and bargained with. It can be at the heart of a Temple Town in which your people can live or be the center piece of a Frostmane Compound in the upper tier of Zul'Drak."

'Tier?' She wondered, but bowing her head, "We thank you, Malakk, we will of course endeavor to help in all things, whatever needs doing we can help."

"I am heartened to hear that, Zul'Drak is a mighty nation, but it only runs because our people all contribute. I do not extract gold offerings or bodies, but instead Contra, a sort of working tax that can be laid out in later days. I imagine your people will make fine hunters and miners, but you can tend to the aqueducts or find other work if it so pleases those among you."

"You are very kind, my liege…"

He waved her off gently, "Please, call me Malakk, I am scarcely so formal with any of my advisors, I will be counting on you, Great Mother, as my future advisor when it comes to Rohk'aka."

"Advisor?"

"Yes," he said, looking to the sea, "The defeat of Zul'jin and the suffering of your people make it clear the world grows ever more dangerous for our kind. I must be kept abreast of and be well informed of all that may threaten my empire, especially, if I am to ever help you extract justice from those who wronged you and yours."

"Justice… My-, Frost King Malakk, do you mean war?" She gasped.

"Perhaps I do," he said, "But that is for another time, for now your people must heal and homes need be built before we can plan for the future."

Arctikus bowed in accent, "As you say, Frost King Malakk, let us turn our minds from plans and simply see what the sunrise brings."
_

NOTES:

Hi, thanks for checking out New Dominion, this is a story I wrote back in 2019/2020 and have been fiddling with ever since completing by getting feedback and working to improve it and I think its finally ready to be published.

Naturally, by its very nature and necessity, this story will be expanding on pre-existing Warcraft's worldbuilding from several era's and trying to make it cohesive and line up with the world presented to us in the games, though be it expanded to realistic scales.

Also for those interested a look at how Malakk's design and aesthetic have been envisioned for this story can be found here: /CatMacabre/status/1353558931684130816

Any feedback is most welcome!