CHAPTER 3
The Tides of War
The Forsaken camp . . .
Mira looked up from the battle plans Queen Sylvanas had trusted upon her just as the door to her tent parted to the side. The demon Detheroc entered, squeezing to fit his wings through the small door opening. "What do you want?" Mira asked.
"You know for the sake of this battle don't you at least think we could be civil and work as a team?" the Dreadlord asked. "After all, I control half of our forces. It would be a shame if you came up with a battle plan and half our men didn't follow it."
Mira strode over to the Dreadlord and got right into his face. "Sylvanas may trust you but let me make it perfectly clear demon, cross me and nothing but a horrific end will come to you! Are we clear?" the Dark Ranger asked, staring right into Detheroc's blood red eyes.
"Oh we're quite clear mistress Shadewither," Detheroc said, "no worries, as long as you fill me in on the battle plan my men, excuse me, our men will follow it." The demon smiled at her condescendingly before turning to leave.
"Hey demon!" Mira yelled after him. Detheroc turned in response. "I'm watching you, every single second."
"Wouldn't have it any other way mistress" the Dreadlord answered before walking back out into the darkness. Mira watched the demon until he was completely out of view before going back to her work.
Bloodbane jumped off the side of his mount, landing roughly on the ground beside the great beast. The frost wyrm was truly a servant to the will of the Lich King, much like the Baron himself, powerful and loyal. The wyrm bent down to its master's side at the Baron's request. "Watch over the camp tonight Therashk, if there's any trouble roar before taking action" the Death Knight said. The wyrm nodded and flapped its powerful wings before taking to the skies to patrol. Just then a hulking figure approached the Baron from behind.
"Lord Bloodbane," the creature said, bowing slightly, "I am Thebis-Ra, Crypt Lord and servant to the Lich King." The Baron had heard stories of these behemoths before but this was the first one he'd seen. Thebis-Ra was a giant, thundering beast that resembled an oversized beetle. The Crypt Lords had once been the kings of Azjol-Nerub, a kingdom of spider-men who tried to overthrow the Lich King. But with the promise of power and immortality the Crypt Lords were shown the light.
"Good to have you aboard Crypt Lord, why were you sent along with the others?" Baron Bloodbane asked.
"We Crypt Lords are the guardians of the Scourge's holdings in Northrend, naturally we would rise to protect it. The Lich King told me to guard his most precious general, that would be you" the Crypt Lord said.
"Thanks anyway, but I don't need any protection other than my new mount. I'm sure as another warrior you can understand" the Baron explained.
"And I'm sure as a fellow servant to the Lich King you can understand that when he gives an order you follow, whether or not your pride gets in the way" Thebis-Ra returned. The Baron just nodded, seeing the truth in the beast's words. "Let your wyrm protect you in the sky, but when you're on the ground you will be far more vulnerable to an ambush. That's where I come in, I'm sure you'll find my skills most suitable."
Bloodbane just nodded again before beginning his hike through the undead and toward his tent for the night. Just before sleep found him he noted that the Crypt Lord had taken it upon himself to guard the Death Knight's tent.
The next day Baron Bloodbane awoke to find that most of his warriors were raring to go. Within an hour they packed up and began to march again. Therashk swooped down to grab his master and led the charge once again toward the horizon. Thebis-Ra scurried along under them, part of the front line of the Scourge. The Baron had to admire the Crypt Lord, most of the time men in positions of power sat in the middle ranks, only looking over the battle. But this beast would meet the first line of the Forsaken just as Bloodbane planned to.
It didn't take long before the Forsaken rebels came into view. Just over a small hill Bloodbane spotted them as they marched toward certain doom. He circled Therashk around the Scourge, "The betrayers are here, fight to the death, let each sacrifice to the Lich King be the greatest honor you could bestow upon him!" Certainly not the most inspiring thing to say, but the truth was this wouldn't be a battle with no bloodshed, though from the looks of it the Scourge outnumbered the Forsaken two to one.
The first lines of warriors met with a bloody clash. At the head of the clash Thebis-Ra used his bulk to smash through a group of ghouls and then began tearing at them with his powerful claws. The Crypt Lord continued to eat through the enemy forces with a relentless charge. The airborne forces met as well. The gargoyles the Forsaken controlled flew through the air like hawks, easily maneuvering through the first line of frost wyrms and began attacking them from within their ranks. The attack was well thought out, the gargoyles using the very size of the frost wyrms against them.
Therashk wasn't as easily fooled. With a mental command from the Baron the wyrm flew outside of the Scourge ranks and used a similar tactic as the gargoyles, flying straight through them. The frost wyrm grabbed the first couple of gargoyles within reach and crushed them in his mighty claws. Then, with a breath of pure ice laid waste to another couple of gargoyles, freezing them midair and watching as they plummeted to the ground.
Mira watched as her forces were torn apart by the Scourge. She added an arrow here or there from the sidelines but from so far behind she couldn't do much but instruct her warriors. "Fill in those gaps, refresh the front line you fools!" she screamed before firing another arrow at an abomination. She had to hold off the Scourge just long enough for her plan to work.
In the sky another gargoyle charged the frost wyrm, releasing discs of pure magic from its mouth and toward the Baron. Therashk dropped down just in time to dodge the attack and turned, a stream of icy breath following the trail of the beast's opponent. Within a second the gargoyle turned to pure ice and fell helplessly to the ground. Noting that his forces were pushing through the rebels both below and in the sky Bloodbane began wallowing in confidence. This was one battle he could report to the Lich King with words of success, not failure.
Then, in an instant, all that changed. Forsaken warriors poured from all sides of the Scourge, forcing the Baron's men to face enemies from all sides. The Forsaken forced the first lines of the Scourge back, and for the first time since the battle started the Forsaken seemed to have the upper hand. Bloodbane came to a horrible realization. The reason the Scourge had originally outnumbered the Forsaken was because the first group was a distraction. The second group of rebels had closed in so quickly it had forced his warriors shoulder to shoulder, making it much harder for them to fight back in such cramped quarters. He had to turn the tides again, victory would belong to the Scourge.
The Baron whistled at the air units behind him and pointed at the ground. Frost wyrms descended from the sky and fell upon the rebels, each breath freezing lines of warriors. The Forsaken's lines faltered and once again the Scourge gained ground, allowing more room for maneuverability. But that didn't change the fact that they no longer outnumbered the enemy. Each ghoul or abomination that charged forward was met by an equal amount of fighters.
Thebis-Ra glanced up and saw Bloodbane's sudden assault, taking advantage of it to cut through an abomination. Suddenly he felt a warrior jump on his back, a fatal move. The spikes that covered the Crypt Lord's back extended, cutting clean through the ghoul. Thebis-Ra smiled and continued to battle.
Mira watched as her grand plans were foiled before her eyes. The original attack by Detheroc's forces had easily taken the Scourge by surprise but the faltering air units had finally been defeated, allowing the frost wyrms to turn their attention to her men. "No! Banshees, aim for the sky!" she yelled. Her fellow undead elven sorcerers turned their attention to the frost wyrms and began casting spells. Waves of purple magic exploded from the banshees and slammed into a nearby wyrm. The magic covered the frost wyrm and the Dark Ranger watched as the wyrm fell from the sky as a pile of bones. The bones fell into the Scourge warriors, causing even more destruction. "Yes my sisters, slaughter them!" A fresh wave of gargoyles came down upon the frost wyrms as well, forcing the beasts back into the sky.
Detheroc suddenly appeared beside her. "All is going well mistress" the demon said. For the first time Mira looked at the demon with something other than hate, she even seemed grateful to see the Dreadlord.
"Yes Detheroc, soon our people will prevail over the Scourge and we will cleanse the land of the Lich King!" the Dark Ranger cackled. Detheroc smiled.
"Of course mistress, of course."