From the Ashes Chapter 2: Vengeance of Kael

Cold wind blew in all directions. For days Kael's forces have been marching. Tired and weak after their encounter with Arthas, Kael could notice a growing hatred in his men. He new of their hate, for he also shared the hatred for all other races. As he continued to march through the barren and blasted wastelands of Northrend, Kael remembered the persecution of the Alliance. If it were not for the Naga, he would have been long dead. But after the crumbling of Icecrown, Kael's Blood Elves and Lady Vadj's Naga were separated. So Kael and his brethren were alone in the cold. Their hunger for magic was tearing them apart, like an eternal starvation.

"Prince Kael." said a spell breaker. "We have been marching for days now. Your men are beginning to suspect that you have no idea where you are going."

"Of coarse I know where I am going!" exclaimed Kael. "Lord Illidan told us to search for the Great Dragonblight, directly southeast of Icecrown. Knowing Lady Vadj, she will seek the Great Dragonblight and await our arrival."

"But Prince Kael." continued the spell breaker. "The Great Dragonblight is home to countless frost wyrms and it would be suicide to fight an entire legion of them!"

Then Kael's bitterness got to him. Grabbing the elf by the collar, Kael held the spell breaker with his hands.

"Know only that we have a mission!" shouted Kael. "If you doubt my sense of judgement so much, then what is to keep me from leaving you to fend for yourself! Maybe then you will see that you were better off following my lead!"

The elf shook in fear and dropped to the ground when Kael let him go. Kael's people were promised a plethora of magic. But because of Illidan's death, they did not receive their wish. Without magic, the Blood Elves were like starving dogs, bitter and quick tempered. Kael knew if they did not find Lady Vadj, they would surely go mad with hunger.

As the evening's twilight fell upon Northrend, Kael sat by the campfire,
gazing at the flames. Like before his mind pondered.

"Garithos..." he thought. "Those conceited, wretched humans! This is all their doing! They should all burn!"

Before Kael knew it, he felt a bit warmer than usual. Then he noticed that it was incredibly too warm for Northrend. Snapping out of his concentrated thought, he gazed upon the fire. Without his knowing, he had cast Flame Strike. Pillar after pillar of fire rose from the earth. But Kael saw it was stronger and more intense then the last time he cast it. All his anger and fury came in the form of that fire. Something was changing inside Kael, and he knew it. He smiled upon this new-found power. His laughter echoed throughout the regions of the icy continent. Darkness gripped his mind and soul. In his thoughts arose visions of a future, a future of perpetual and eternal chaos.

"Now all will tremble before my power!" exclaimed Kael.

When night finally came, Kael fell into slumber, awaiting the days ahead.
When he awoke all his men were ready for their march. Kael looked at the fireplace and saw nothing but black, barren ground. Kael walked up to the spot and touched it with his hands. Before he could even touch the ground he recoiled. His hands were almost burned by the mere heat of that spot.

"Hmmm... Still warm." grinned Kael. "Come! We march!"

For several hours they marched. Kael could feel he was getting closer with each step. His men noticed a change in his tune and felt more confident in his leadership skills. It was not until the late afternoon when they stopped in a very wooded area.

"We will stop here for awhile." announced Kael.
After a moment of resting and conversation, a scout came into the area. The elf ran to Kael, out of breath and wide-eyed.

"Prince Kael!" panted the elf.

"What news do you bring me?" asked Kael.

"Come! You should see this for yourself!"

Kael followed the elven scout up to a cliff overlooking a clearing. From their Kael saw an encampment. To be more precise, it was an Alliance encampment. In the center he saw a young paladin, appearing to be in his late twenties. He ordered his men to their activities with great ease and without question.

"Move those supplies over to the barracks! You, guard the east flank!"

"Hmmm... It appears as though we have visitors." said Kael.

"Who could it be, Prince Kael?" asked the scout.

"I have heard of a Second King, but I had no idea he would come to Northrend. What could he possibly be doing here?"

"Milord, we have reason to believe that those blasted elves are in this area." said a footman to the paladin.

"Excellent." said the paladin. "We will attack as soon as the troops are ready. This journey will be over soon enough."

"So!" whispered an enraged Kael. "They have come to destroy us? We shall see who will destroy who! Scout, make haste to our campsite and tell the troops to join me north of the Alliance encampment. There I will give them further orders."

And so in a matter of moments all the Blood Elf forces were assembled about a couple hundred yards from the Alliance encampment. All of Kael's spell breakers, swordsmen, archers, and lieutenants were ready for battle.

"My warriors." began Kael. "The Alliance has take time away from the Scourge to seek our annihilation. But this time, the hunters will become the hunted! Leave no enemy standing! We will send them running back to their homelands where they belong!"

Kael's forces cheered and exulted. Finally all their hate for the Alliance would be quenched.

"The Alliance encampment is separated into three sites." continued Kael.

"We will attack the site furthest to the north. The Alliance scum already know we are here but knows not that we know they are here. If we successfully destroy the first site, the other two will surely counter, which is why we will retreat into the woods. We have been marching here for days so we know these parts very well. The Alliance forces will not let us get away with our actions, so they will come after us. One by one we will eliminate their men and then attack the second site. After the second site is taken we will attempt to take the last. Now I know I speak on behave of us all when I say: 'We CANNOT let any of those wretched scum live!"

Once again the hate-filled elves cheered for Kael. Immediately they took flight and soon were a stone's throw away from the first Alliance site. A footman at his guarding post stood leaning against a tree when he heard a slight sound coming from his left. He drew his sword but saw nothing. He scratched his head. But the next second he saw a blade jutting from his stomach and felt the peace of death. The spell breaker who had slew him grinned down at his dead corpse.

"Sweet dreams, you wretched human." said the spell breaker.
A few other footman had heard the other footman's last cry of death and came forward. But as soon as they saw his corpse two of them were shot with three arrows each while the other two were ambushed by swordsmen and killed without knowing what hit them. The Blood Elves then charged through the woods until they reached the clearing of the first site. The Alliance forces only had a second to act before they were overrun by what seems as countless elves.

Minutes later the second site was curious as to why smoke emitting from where the first site was. Then a dwarf rifleman was hit in the face with something blood, realizing it was a human head. After that many more heads were flung at the Alliance's second forces and saw the horror of their beheaded comrades. They looked into the woods and saw the Blood Elves. With anger half of the soldiers swarmed into the woods. The ones who had stayed could only wait and hear the terror of their fellow men slain one at a time in the dense woods. In a panic a footman ran for King Gardinas's site. But he was there long enough to see the elven onslaught emerge from the forest and completely wipe out the first line.

Moments later King Gardinas and the last site's forces in the second site clearing. All that was left was ruin and corpses. And sad to say for the Alliance, there was not one dead Blood Elf. Without even knowing it, Gardinas's first and second forces were demolished without a chance of success. In deep anger and hatred Gardinas cried out: "You cowards! Come out and fight me! Why not show yourself?! You two! Search those ruins!"
A dwarf and a footman walked over to what used to be a barracks and looked at its remains. Then a circles of green appeared from under their feet. Gardinas immediately recognized it and shouted: "Get out of there you fools!" But it was too late. Before they had a second to think, the two poor souls were devoured by a punishing Flame Strike. But Gardinas was shocked at the intensity and size of its flaming pillars. As soon as the fire died out, Gardinas could only see charred remains of bones where the footman and dwarf once stood.

Gardinas's eyes darted in every direction while his men trembled and awaited as to what would happen next. Then an entire army of elves emerged, well camouflaged with the burned ruins of the encampment. All of the Alliance soldiers leaped before their king, but half of them were killed. And in great dismay, King Gardinas and his men ran for their lives to the ships, only to find that all but three had been sunk. Before Gardinas entered the ship, Kael appeared before him.

"You filthy elf scum!" exclaimed Gardinas. "We will return and put an end to your misguided race!"

"Funny." said Kael. "I was about to say the same thing."
By then all his men were aboard two of the ships.

"Oh, and by the way..." said Kael. "Here is a riddle for you: How many men does it take to make a cowardly retreat? The answer is: ONE!"
And in a flash one Flame Strike took down the Alliance ships with the soldiers on board. That left only King Gardinas with one ship to flee with. In a matter of minutes his beloved forces were decimated. With a heavy heart, the sorrowful King Gardinas fled to his last remaining ship and sailed to Lordaeron.

As Kael rejoined his brethren, a great and mighty cheer came from the victorious Blood Elves. For the rest of the day they marched jubilantly toward the Great Dragonblight with a feeling of full preparation for what may lie ahead.

In Kael's heart a darkness slowly engulfed him. It seemed as though King Gardinas quoted Garithos when he said: "... put an end to your misguided race!" It filled Kael with pride and joy to know he was victorious against a great foe. He knew Gardinas would return and maybe his gorilla tactics would not work next time. But his heart was ready and he was confident that his fellow Blood Elves were ready as well.

And as night fell upon Northrend, Kael could feel their pilgrimage coming to an end. Soon they would reach the Great Dragonblight, and then the Allaince would see what true power is!