Eternal Requiem
Chapter 7: Shaken to the Core
The Horde have proven their retaliationsto be a threat to the Grand Requiem Empire. Though they no longer hold friendly ground with the goblins of Ratchet, their forces have kept the imperial troops at bay, even when fighting a defensive battle in their own homeland. The battle bolds well elsewhere in the world though. The fabled magical power of Arbiters Asmeroth and Spade have pushed the orcs of Splintertree Outpost into Warsong Gulch, where the once-thought hopeless forces seem to hold better ground. The imperial forces hailing from the north have not yet spilled into Mulgore, for they have found trouble in the jungles of Feralas, for no arbiters were positioned there. But there is far greater reasons for hard times in Kalimdor other than the Horde's bolstering armies. The Emperor has had his eye fixed on a more 'important' target. Though the orcs, trolls, and tauren are reasonably powerful foes, he was rather intrigued by the undead of the Forsaken. And so begins a new chapter in this timeless war...
The wind howled through the rotting trees. A heavy mist lay close to the ground's cold, dry, hard soil. No light seemed to penetrate the dark clouds looming overhead, as if the land was forsaken by the Light itself. It might as well have been, for this was once the proud nation of Lordaeron, now formally called the Tirisfal Glades, home to the Banshee Queen's Forsaken, capital of the Horde's undead population.
By the dozens soldiers marched across these nearly barren lands. The sound of an army's feet echoed through the few hollow trees that stood. All were masked and marked in the name of the White Dragon. The Empire had finally arrived at their destination; the front gates of the Undercity. Like a chorus they sang their seemingly unending hymn, of which was always sung before a glorious battle:
From the chaos and disorder Shall arise a new order!
We stand and we fight As our enemies take flight!
For their future is grim With Requiem's hymn.
So before you die,
By fear or by sword,
Remember we Requiem.
ENEMIES OF THE HORDE!
Again and again they sang. A warmongering anthem it was! With this engraved into their minds they lived out the anthem to their fullest. Imperial soldiers from all over came to the regions to Tirisfal Glades; Legionnaire Azadifury and his Twilight Legion descended from Blackrock Mountain, just recently made soldiers of the Empire. Arbiter Lithius, Towns, and Serp, with their legions, hailed from their posts in the southern lands of Azeroth, ready for more combat. Arbiters Kente, Xenia, and Glacier, having guarded the conquered Tarren Mill for so long, also joined the fray.In fact, one other made an appearance at the front of the still growing armies at the Undercity's doorstep. The clouds split open, showing a ray of light from the bright sky above. From it descended the white dragon Stormreaver with his master, Emperor Darithal, at the reins. The emperor had come, further increasing the armies' already high morale.
Stormreaver landed before the armies where the arbiters all stood, waiting for their master. Azadifury the Twilight Commander, Lithius the Swift, Towns the Sly, Serp the Strong, Kente the Brave, Xenia the Magical, and Glacier the Pure all stood before their emperor. Darithal greeted each of them with open arms. He then looked to his empire, taking in a deep breath of pride.
"My soldiers!" he cried out with his arms outstretched, and they all cheered to his radiance. "Today this war shall truly begin. For long days we have crushed their armies, pillaged their homes, massacred their innocent! But I feel we have been all but too merciful!"
Again their voices rose to newfound heights as they again praised their warrior king.
"Today we shall take not only their stronghold, but their place on this earth as well!" he again spoke.
"Are you not just a little confident, Darithal?"
Darithal's blind eyes sensed a powerful presence in his midst. He swiftly turned away from his armies and faced the direction of the Undercity. Someone now stood before its gates. On his head was a black hood and in leather his body was armored. Beside him were two large, rotting hyenas, both red from much decay. He too was undead. In his hands were two swords and on his back was a finely crafted bow and quiver. Darithal knew this undead man all too well.
"Nathanos? Nathanos Blightcaller?"questioned Darithal the undead man.
Nathanos the Blightcaller, once a man of the Alliance, was one of the only humans ever to accomplish the legendary rank of ranger lord -a near impossible task. With his tactical genius, he led the forces of Lordaeron to many a victory and plunged his foes into the dust. But only recently did he, being only human, succumbed to the plague. But luckily for the Banshee Queen, he regained his mind and became one of the Forsaken.
"Darithal..." muttered Nathanos. "You disgust me with your pride."
"You have no power over me, Nathanos." said Darithal. "Retreat back to your nest in the Plaguelands where you belong!"
The hyenas growled at the emperor and Nathanos glared at Darithal with malice. Darithal then laughed at them.
"Arbiters, you know your orders. Rally your legions and strike as I have seen fit." said Darithal to his arbiters.
"Pets..." said Nathanos to his hyena minions. "Join our queen in the city. I shall handle this madman."
And so they obeyed. Immediately the dashed into the Undercity, but not without first making a final growl at Darithal.
They all assembled in their legions. Glaive throwers could be seen dragged up to the front. The glaives themselves were then loaded and ready, their blades freshly sharpened. They faced the Undercity. Nathanos looked up this and spat.
"You intend to take the Undercity with above-ground weaponry?" he laughed. "Has the once great Ranger Lord finally lost his own wit?"
"That was a long time ago... I am a greater man than any 'Ranger Lord'!"
Darithal turned to him and, under his helmet, smiled. He drew two long swords, one in each hand. His blind eyes could see into the Blightcaller's mind. They were ready to fight. The battle of Ranger Lords was about to begin.
As Requiem's armies moved forward into the Undercity, the two faced each other down. They wished to draw blood. And they did. They struck at one another directly and with great precision. Their accuracy was flawless, their defenses untouchable, their strength unmatched. The sound of flighting could be heard below them. The armies have engaged with the Banshee Queen's forces, and the battle was great. Abomination guards blocked off the way into the main core of the city. But as they fought above and below, there was another battle. Secretly, unknown to Sylvanas, Darithal's task force had just finished drudging through the cavern that dwelt just west of the Undercity. They had found a new way, an unguarded way.
As the Forsaken dealt with now two oncoming forces, the glaive throwers were slowly being pushed through the tunnel. They intending upon bringing siege weaponry underground. Insanity, maybe, but it just might work. Darithal and his rival, the Blightcaller, clashed again and again with no sign of giving in. No blood had yet been shed, but sweat was trickling down Darithal's face. Nathanos could see this through the Emperor's visor, and he laughed.
"What is wrong, Emperor?" he snickered. "Has fatigue taken hold? I suppose being undead doeshave its advantages."
"Yes..." Darithal muttered, almost as though he had just gotten a brilliant idea. And he did. "Undead have no fatigue... do they Nathanos?"
Nathanos and Darithal stopped fight, even though the battle continued beneath them. The Blightcaller, as confident as he was, could not help but frown at this. What was he up to, he wondered.
"Undead have no fatigue because they do not function as the living do..." Darithal continued. "Neither do they feel remorse, fear, or sleep... They do not even have to breath..."
As Darithal said this he stepped toward the Blightcaller little by little. Darithal smiled as he spoke, and that did not bold well for Nathanos. He drew his blades again, but Darithal just continued to step forward.
"In fact... Undeath could be very useful to me..."
Darithal then attacked Nathanos with a newfound might. Nathanos was hit had by the blunt side of the blade, knocking him down to the ground hard. He then looked over Nathanos, smiling and leering menacingly.
"I could use that undeath..."
Darithal then put his pendant to Nathanos's chest, right around where his heart would be. The pendant began to glow bright once again, and Nathanos squirmed in pain. He let out a cry, and as he did a greenish liquid began to erupt from his heart and started to fill a vial that Darithal had just drawn from his pocket. The Blightcaller gasped for breath, throwing himself into an uncontrollable convulsion. Darithal looked at his vial and smiled at Nathanos.
"Thank you ever so much for your embalming fluid..." he grinned. "This will be of much use to me..."
And just then the remaining Requiem forces stepped from the Undercity, carrying hostage Forsaken with them - including the Banshee Queen herself. She was then dropped down before Darithal, tied up and seemingly helpless.
"Well... this is surprising..." said Darithal to Sylvanas. "Surely I thought you would put up a better fight."
"If I did not, your men would have struck the core pillar with those savage glaives." muttered Sylvanas. "I had no choice."
"Oh of course you did." laughed Darithal. "You could have chosen to die with your city."
"What!" barked Sylvanas in distress. "What do you mean!"
"Did you not know? I have no use for your 'precious city'."
Darithal then looked back to the hostages being dragged to wagons, of which are to immediately travel to Ironforge.
"These 'specimens' will be all I need."
Sylvanas looked down at Nathanos and shuttered.
"What have you done to my champion?" she growled.
"The same as I am about to do to your people..."
Darithal pointed to her.
"...and you."
Though she struggled, the Banshee Queen was easily carried to another wagon and joined the others. But the Emperor wanted to see her kingdom's final hours. He wanted to see her squirm in agony before she was taken away. All his the wounded and unwounded had evacuated, so now was the time.
"Initiate." ordered Darithal.
The sound of glaives firing echoed below them. Stones bursting, gravel erupting. All this could be heard below their feet. And, before their very eyes, the surface of Lordaeron sank into the Undercity, crushing everything below. What Sylvanas had spent so many years to do had finally been undone. The Undercity was no more. Darithal could now only mount Stormreaver and relish in hearing the once proudBanshee Queen's despairing cries fade off into the distance as she and the others were taken away...