Summary: Continues right after HBP (including spoilers). Harry is about to leave Hogwarts for good by himself against the will of his friends when a memory of something Dumbledore said before pops into his mind. Deciding to take action based on this memory, Harry decides to remain at Hogwarts for a while longer and train a bit more before going into the world on his own. What he discovers afterwards about himself and the world marks the beginning of a war of unimaginable proportions. This is a story inspired by Warcraft 3, Reign of Chaos. Also, bits of other shows and books are involved such as Matrix, Lord of The Rings, and Full Metal Alchemist (not enough to actually make it a crossover).
Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Harry Potter other than perhaps the actual books that are published. This is written for fun and definitely not profit. I also do not own anything relating to Warcraft. Anything here you recognize, I do not own it, and otherwise, it's probably my innovation or invention.
Arthur's Note: I'm not going to say how many reviews I got last chapter, though I loved each and every one of them, because I don't want to seem like I'm bragging in any way. I sincerely appreciate everyone for reviewing. I'm sorry I didn't update this sooner but I had to work on my other story a bit so this chapter was delayed until today instead of… perhaps up to two days ago. Now that I think about it, it's because of the reviews that I now feel guilt if I don't update. I can't even enjoy reading other people's fan fiction now because of feeling bad. So to get my conscious cleared, I'm going to bring this chapter to you guys now. I've been planning this for a while now and I hope you guys like it. So I'm going to stop talking about it now and actually give you guys the chapter. I'll skip other things for after the story… but first… one more thing…
IMPORTANT
I recently got an e-mail about banning responses to reviews and a petition against that new rule. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but to stay safe, I'm not going to reply the way I normally do. However, for those that wrote some interesting points, questions, and thoughts down in their reviews, I'm putting an explanatory paragraph after the chapter to address those reviews indirectly (wink, wink) and sorry for the inconvenience but if you want to know about my thoughts on proposed ideas, thoughts, and such, you'll have to read through the part to look for your response point. If anyone knows the truth behind this, please tell me!
So without further delay, I give you, the next chapter!
The Gathering Series Book One
The Gathering Twilight
Chapter Four:
TruceIt was a beautiful day, the sky was gray, the rain of blood was fresh, and the sun was black. Sounds of tortured captives filled the air and scents of decaying flesh refreshed those in the metropolis. This was the perfect day for Mal' Ganis. It wasn't just because of the scenery either, it was because today was his big day, the day that marked the beginning of his final mission before being admitted into the second highest rank he could ever hope to accomplish.
He definitely had to succeed in his mission. It was the deciding factor of whether he was worthy enough to become a High Dreadlord at his young age of 200 years. He was the first ever to take a judgment mission before 500 years of age. Excitement coursed through his veins as he recalled the "perks" of High Dreadlords.
At first, the Dreadlords were created by King Archimonde to lead the Burning Legion into war against The Alliance ad their considerable forces. They were humanoid in shape, while they were anything but human. To the naked eye, they appeared to be the most handsome men alive, with a charm that could not be resisted by any normal mortal. That was their purpose; to sow chaos into whatever world they were sent by bending people to their will and turning brethren against one another.
However, as people began to delve into the arcane arts, sorcerers and priests were able to break through their illusions and see the Dreadlords for what they were. In their true forms, the Dreadlords maintained their muscular forms, though their visages were much different. While they still had the same pale skin as their illusion-made counterparts, the skin is wrinkled in most cases and marked with various gray lines. Their eyes are hidden and normally a person can only see their hollow eye sockets.
They worn black and dark silver armour outlined with gold, no helmets were worn though. The piece of metal near the back of a Dreadlord's neck is enlarged to a form like a very high collar. It was so high, in fact, that one cannot see the back of a Dreadlord's head from behind. This was because that most Dreadlords had horns of some kind on their heads. Their hands also changed into more feral forms covered by sharp gauntlets. The most noticeable change, however, was their backs. There, through two holes in their armour, are two skeletal, bat-like wings. It was these wings that truly showed their demonic heritage. Though despite popular belief, they are not able to fly, though their wings allowed them travel through shadows.
To continue their missions, they knew that they needed to become stronger to fool those they were sent to bring havoc upon. Thus, they perfect their minds at manipulation and turned people against those who could see them for who they were. World after world crumbled as Archimonde's empire and forces grew while the Alliance tried desperately to push back, sending their own heroes to be killed or corrupted.
Not everything was as all "fine and dandy" in his kingdom however. For, over time, after the Dreadlords had mastered other various dark and violent arts, they began to fight amongst themselves. It was an all out battle between every Dreadlord ever created and manslaughter was inevitable. Mal' Ganis couldn't remember much about that, as he wasn't a very keen participant in history lessons, but the Dreadlord wars only stopped when Archimonde sent messengers to investigate the situation. Only six had remained alive at the end but they were exhausted to the point of near insanity.
Archimonde then entitled the strongest two as the Arch Dreadlords while naming the other four High Dreadlords. New generations of Dreadlords were being created and they were to teach and train the younglings so that another "wasteful bloodbath" could be avoided. It was also this time that Dreadladies (not very original, but still works) were created for the six remaining elders, more as a prize than anything. The very act created the term "trophy wife" though they were treated more as sex slaves than anything else.
While, incredibly beautiful and powerful in many aspects, the Dreadladies were bonded by a blood pact to their respective masters… ahem… husbands. This was what urged many young Dreadlords to try to become part of the High Four (what they called the high Dreadlords). All that mattered for them was to have a Dreadlady bounded to them, to do with as they pleased, to fulfill their sadistic and primal desires. This was because the rest of them were treated only marginally better than the rank-and-file troops that they commanded and as such they were considered worthless. Thus, Archimonde thought that them breeding would be a waste of time and he told them so.
Mal' Ganis had wanted the fame and power that came with becoming a High Dreadlord more than anything else, and now was his chance to make his dreams come true. Trotting drown the corridors of the Necropolis Citadel merrily, he finally arrived at the main mission briefing room. Upon entering, he noticed the four elders gathered side by side in front of a large portal talking to someone on the other side. Their armour was different than the others. Each sported a different colour. Going from left to right, they were blue, orange, brown, and red.
Mal' Ganis promptly halted in front of his superiors and dropped to one knee while bowing his head slightly. "Hail elders!" He said in a smooth voice. The four turned to look at him before returning to the portal. "King Archimonde, Mal' Ganis has arrived." The high Dreadlord in red spoke to the figure in the portal. "Very well Tichondrius, bring him here."
Tichondrius nodded and turned to look at Mal' Ganis. "Mal' Ganis," he said, in a commanding and wise tone, "come here before King Archimonde and pay your respects." The lower level Dreadlord nodded before getting up and walking to the front of the portal that acted more as a communications device. "Hail King Archimonde!" he said as he repeated the same gesture before the Demon King.
There wasn't really a picture of Archimonde through the mirror-like gateway, only a foggy blur. Mal' Ganis remembered something about something called the First Great War and the severe wounds inflicted upon Archimonde, but he was still confused as to why the king hid. It was said that his power was only 5 percent of his actual strength during the time after the war, but even in his weakened state, he could have destroyed all six of the original Dreadlords with one swipe of his hand. No one knows what the great Archimonde looked like, though rumours said that he was too large to fit into normal sized dimensions.
"Rise Mal' Ganis," the demon king said, sounding powerful and intimidating. Following his command, the young Dreadlord stood up and gazed at the shadowy form of Archimonde. "Are you prepared for your final mission?" He asked, more like a challenge than a question. Mal' Ganis nodded once more, feeling excited at the prospect of a bloody battle.
"Very well, Tichondrius, brief him on the mission." Archimonde said, turning slightly. The silent elder nodded and turned to Mal' Ganis.
"This is a high priority mission. Your main objectives are as follows:
Construct a portal to the Dimension of Sealed Souls, which was part of your initial exam and should be completed as of now.
Bring chaos to the realm and exterminate all possible resistance against the main invasion force.
Wait for further instructions after constructing level 10 base establishments.
Your optional objectives are as follows:
Find and destroy the mortal that calls himself the Dark Lord Voldemort and assimilate his forces.
Contact the Dreadlord scouts Fearoth and Nerothos to try and gain the support of local Vampires (descendants of Dreadlords) and Veelas (descendants of Dreadladies).
Finally, locate and try to obtain the support of subject 021 by any means possible. Should you be unable to obtain his support, report and wait for further instructions.
Are there any questions?"
Mal' Ganis took a while to take in the information. This was definitely going to be a tough mission. This was where subject 021 was located! In the files of the Burning Legion, many people were wanted, the lower number, the higher priority. Anyone less than subject 100 was thought to be at least as powerful as the Arch Dreadlord. This was going to be interesting for sure. Mal' Ganis shook his head in the negative as he committed his objectives to his permanent memory.
"Very well," Tichondrius said plainly before snapping his fingers and a green tome appeared out of nowhere. "This hold all the information allowed to be given to you about anything that relates to your mission." The high Dreadlord handed over the book to him before snapping his fingers again to summon an ancient looking green case. "Due to the importance of this mission, you will be given the power of a High Dreadlord to aid you. However, you are not an official elder just yet. You will be officially promoted should you succeed in this mission."
Mal' Ganis was ecstatic; he would finally be able to taste the power of the first generation Dreadlords. Tichondrius opened the box to reveal two pulsing green orbs. One was solid where as the other was in a gaseous state. Talking the one made out of gas, the other three elders began to chant in a mysterious sounding tongue. "I, Tichondrius, High Dreadlord of the Eternal Dragon's Fire, bestow onto you the powers of High Dreadlord of the Infinite Poisons." With that said, the green orb in his hand was driven into the chest of Mal' Ganis.
Immediately, he felt a great surge of power throughout his body as he grew in size. It was the best feeling that he had ever experienced and it only disappointed him when it was over. Looking at himself, he saw that his armour was now green along with his wings. The second green orb suddenly flew out form its carriage and began to revolve peacefully around his right hand.
Before he could let himself be fully taken over by bliss brought on by his new power, Tichondrius started again. "Now that the briefing is done, you are to depart immediately." Mal' Ganis snapped out of his trance and nodded. With a wave of his hand, two dark clothed figures appeared holding a large mirror. The two servants placed the mirror on the ground and began their arcane spell, chanting while the new High Dreadlord looked on approvingly.
After a long wait, one of the servants cleared his throat uncomfortable. "Master Mal' Ganis, it appears that gates 1 through 3 are destroyed while gates 4-5 are blocked." At the news, Mal Ganis' paled and his skin looked whiter than ever. He could feel the amusement from the other occupants of the room at his mistakes. "Then use the sixth one!" He commanded, getting nervous.
"But sir-" The other began before being cut off. "Just do it!" Mal' Ganis said, feeling irritation coursing through himself along with the other Dreadlords. He gave a sigh of relief as the portal activated. "This is where I bid thee farewell Elders, and King Archimonde." He bowed before stepping into the vortex.
As soon as he left, the two remaining servants retreated. "Are you sure he'll make it through that unstable portal?" One asked the other. "Does it matter?" The other replied before both laughed heartily.
Meanwhile, back in the briefing room, Tichondrius turned to the others with a smirk. "It'll be too bad when we loose him. Ambition-driven idiots like him are so hard to find these days." The other nodded in agreement while Archimonde chuckled. "Perhaps we should have told him that no one ever made it to becoming the fifth High Dreadlord?" The Elder in blue asked, before everyone erupted in sadistic laughter.
"Back to business," Archimonde said, getting the attention of his elites. "Tichondrius, prepare for departure to aid the Lich King." At the sigh of protest from the demon, Archimonde continued. "I know that he seems shady and is more than likely to betray us, but he is the only one in the Ancestor's Council. We need him whether we like it or not." The red Dreadlord nodded grimly before disappearing in a flash of flames.
"The rest of you, prepare the main invasion force, soon, all will be won." Archimonde finished his instructions as the others too disappeared. He deactivated the portal and returned to his throne. He has been healing for centuries and he is still only at 35 percent power. He needed to be at his best for what he intends to do. However, he would just have to make do by sending someone else should he be unprepared then.
"I still don't like them." A gruff voice said from the darkness in front of the throne. "They're too weak." An enormous figure stepped into the dim light. Archimonde looked at the new arrival before sighing. "And I suggest you want me to send the Pit Lords instead?"
A grunt in the affirmative confirmed his theory. With another sigh, Archimonde looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "I'm not going to send them, yet. However, I want you to prepare your troops. I think you would like your old toys back before playing with everyone else… Mannoroth?" His reply was a deep laugh before he himself joined in. 'This is going to be fun…'
"WHY THE HELL AM I HOLDING A PYGMY PUFF?"
Harry couldn't believe it, the most powerful weapon on Earth… was a PYGMY PUFF! Due to his shock over what he was seeing, Harry failed to notice four glowing lights of red, green, blue, and yellow until they impacted the small pink creature in his hands. "Great, can you turn colours now?" Harry asked bitterly. He was clearly unhappy about the outcome of all that has happened.
Giving off a soft sigh, Harry examined the small bundle of fur in his palm. Hoping for something else, Harry did the first thing that he could think of to get the pygmy puff to change. He poked it. And poked it. And poked it…
"OW!" Harry exclaimed, as he looked at the pink ball that has attached itself to his left index finger. Waving his arm wildly, Harry looked at Dumbledore for any sign of help. Dumbledore just floated there, looking serene and smiling with his megawatt eyes. 'The damn thing bit me!' Harry said, clearly pissed off now.
Grabbing the creature, Harry again followed his instincts and threw it against the floor (idea inspired by Deadwilder). To his dismay, as Harry was looking downwards to see if it was all right, it bounced back up at twice the speed right into his face. Harry, in turn fell on his behind. Letting out a big yelp at a stinging pain in his rear, Harry turned to see that the spear tip at the end of his ponytail was now resting comfortably imbedded in the flesh of his behind.
Getting up and removing the offending object, Harry turned to glare at the pygmy puff that was now comfortably seated on the stand that it came from. 'Ok… annoying little dust mite: 2… Harry Potter… 0' He thought bitterly. He was thinking about what to do with his fuzzy little problem before his former headmaster interrupted him. "Harry, I think we should continue, then you can begin."
"Begin what professor?" Harry asked, but Dumbledore didn't answer him as he turned and headed to one of two doors that were in the room. Harry turned to the small pygmy puff with a defeated expression on his face. "Truce?" He asked, holding out his hand. The small creature's eyes turned into upside down V's as it jumped onto his head and snuggled into his hair before taking a small nap.
Harry rolled his eyes as he walked through the same door that Dumbledore did moments before. As he entered the new room, he noticed the big difference between the last room and this one. Instead of being surrounded by a blinding whiteness, this room was completely dark with a large blue diamond in the middle. Going closer, he noticed that there was a broadsword trapped within the ice.
The strange thing was, that as the ice revolved one way, the sword revolved the other. It was a malicious looking weapon. At the base of the blade, the metal was shaped into a skull and the rest of the sword was pitch black. There was a pale blue aura that was shown against its surroundings. There were also inscribed markings on the ice as if to say something to those who are near the sword.
"Whomsoever takes up this blade shall wield power eternal. Just as the blade rends flesh, so must power scar the spirit." Came a voice beside him. Harry turned to see the ghostly visage of his former headmaster. "Come again professor?" He asked, somewhat confused. "Never touch this blade until I tell you so Harry." Dumbledore said seriously. Pressing his hands on the ice and muttering under his breath, Dumbledore shattered the ice and a sheath made out of a black metal covered the blade.
"This is Frostmourne, Harry. I am not allowed to tell you much about it, other than that you are to hold it for now and only use it after I tell you it is ok to wield it. This sword holds the pieces of countless other souls, whether they were give willingly or not. This is also where I shall be to guide you." With that said, Dumbledore suddenly plunged his head into the blade as it was a pensieve. Harry watched in morbid horror as the spirit of his old professor was sucked into the cold piece of metal.
"Quickly Harry, we don't have long." Dumbledore said from within the blade. Nodding, Harry reached out for it until he realized that he barely had any cloths on for the blade to cling to. Absently conjuring a plain set of black robes and shoes, Harry strapped the blade to his back. On top of his head, he could feel the pygmy puff shuddering. 'Maybe I should name it?' Harry thought as he unconsciously put a hand on the creature to try and comfort it.
"Hey," he said, bringing his new friend down. "How would you like to be named Snuffles?" He asked, wanting to have something represent his late godfather. The small ball of fluff seeming nodded before drifting back to sleep. Harry placed Snuffles in one of his pockets as he searched for a way out.
The trip back to Dumbledore's office was uneventful, unless you count the ceiling closing up after he exited from it. As he landed, he heard a small crunch from underneath his feet. Looking down, Harry saw what used to be his glasses (sorry, I forgot all about that in the beginning). He shrugged before throwing it into the trash. In his recent events, he had more to worry about than glasses. However, that probably explained why Harry's original eye was damaged so much. The glass shards must have imbedded into his eyeball.
"Quickly Harry, you need to get two books from my shelf before we go. We need to go really soon." Not understanding the urgency, Harry looked around. "Which ones?" He asked, seeing many tomes in the office. "Feel for them, they're concealed." Still confused, Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on feeling out two powerful volumes. Finding them, Harry couldn't help but grab them quickly, shrink them, put them into another pocket and quickly ran out from the office.
"Why are we in such a hurry?" Harry asked out loud, wondering if there was any danger.
"Hogsmade is under attack…"
End Chapter Four
A/N: All right, I hope that was enjoyable for you guys to read. I'm sorry but I need to do more background stuff that I thought. I actually had to cut some parts from this chapter for later so as to move things on a bit quicker. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and please someone tell me if we are allowed to respond to reviews or not.
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPHS (WINK.WINK)
I have no idea about anything in regards to Dungeons and Dragons, the Death Reverents I used in the last chapter were from Warcraft, but all of these things tend to intertwine so I think it's explanatory.
Sorry to those who voted anonymously but your votes will not be counted. I have already addressed this and I'm sorry but I have to enforce it. If you do not have an account at then please at least write your e-mail in the anonymous spot as that will let people know that different people are voting.
All books in this series are going to revolve around Harry, though there may be a break of a month or so between books for me to get fresh ideas. In the last books there may be other characters in it that are very crucial and perhaps VERY close to Harry (wink. wink). Harry is only powerful right now in terms of raw magical, spiritual, mental, physical, etc. power capacity. He still needs to refine skills and learn better control and what not. He needs to do a lot of training from here on to use his power to the best that it can be used. Wait until you guys see Mal' Ganis against Harry for the first time. WARNING SPOILER He will be going around the world over the summer to train and… run errands. He will be mostly self-training or by Dumbledore though, but some exceptions would be made. SPOILER ENDED No matter what anyone says in their reviews, I will take it into consideration (unless it's really stupid like… "bunnies are from mars with blue machine guns") and I will not take any offence (even if you want me to) at what is said. Know that I do not feel obligated to listen to anyone but I would take suggestions that I like.
Wait for the new Snuffle's ass-kicking action next chapter. Nothing funny next chapter though… serious action… Everyone would have to wait to find out any inner changes with Harry and how his friends would react to him. All of you just have to wait… but not woo long though (Hint. Hint)
I think that's all for now, the major points anyways. I apologize for spelling, grammar, and other such more minor errors and I hope that you guys can understand what I'm saying clearly.
IMPORTANT!
On a more serious note, I just thought of another way to better reader-author interaction. All you have to do is review and for chapters 4-5 (wait for the next chapter), I'm going to pick two random reviewers for chapter 4 and they'll get a prize. The prize is a reasonable request. For example, you may want an extra chapter update before the next scheduled one, or perhaps you may want me to guarantee someone into the pairings (NO SLASH sorry), or maybe you want to be in the story as an OC? That last one would require me to ask you a small questionnaire though. So any of those or a similarly doable request (not "give me one thousand chapters by tomorrow") is fine. For those that don't want part of this, please say so in your review if you still review and for those who want to be part of this, please also indicate that in your review. I will announce the winner in chapter six. I hope I'm not breaking any rules and if it is, please just tell me instead of reporting me.
Also, since I'm definitely going to have Tonks and Fleur in the pairing, since they're the two most popular so far (including chapter 3's signed reviews) and I've got my scenes of getting them into the harem thought out already. So please stop voting for them as they are definitely in. Also, just so people know, you can all vote once per chapter for those who've already voted. That way, you can emphasize the people you REALLY want apart from the people you just like to have in. So, no more blabbering and here's the results so far.
Pairing standings so far (if you vote for "anyone is fine" then everyone gets a vote, if you vote that you don't want someone, that'll be minus one for that person):
Narcissa Black: 15
Bellatrix Black: 17
Patil Twins (both): 15
Gabrielle Delacour (age modified): 9
Padma Patil: 7
Daphne Greengrass: 10
Pansy Parkinson: 5
Hannah Abbot: 5
Susan Bones: 8
Luna Lovegood: (added because of suggestion, no votes yet)
That's all. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and please vote on the pairings. I'm sorry if I didn't respond to them, but my reason is as stated above. I'm not sure if it's allowed.
U-T signing off…
BYE!