Chapter 4 - Growing tensions
Cold. Mind-numbing, bone chilling, soul shattering cold. His very blood felt like it was freezing within his veins. His entire body shook. He felt like he had a lump in his throat, and his eyes were very wide as he tried his hardest just to breathe.
"You gotta hold your breath longer than that, boy." Were Silvius' disappointed words. "You think inhaling pure shadow energy is gonna be good for your body?"
Dalrus tried to speak, but he choked up and began to cough violently. His body still shook, and he had to curl up into a ball on the grass floor.
"Shake it off, it doesn't last very long. Just get some sunlight and you'll be better." Silvius said as he threw his hands in the air.
Doing as he was told, Dalrus twisted and crawled towards the warm, glowing patch of grass before him where the sunlight was filtering over the wall's edge. The effect was almost instantaneous. Taking a deep breath, he began to steady himself, his fingers grasping the grass so hard he tore off patches. "Bloody hell... That was... Awful..."
"I'll say. But you actually didn't do so bad for your first time. I've seen people leave half of them in the shadow realm before stepping outside." They were, as usual, in their training camp. A full year had passed since Dalrus' brother left for the war, a time during which he had focused himself on training. He had become very happy to hear from his master today that he would learn the Shadowstep - a technique through which he could slip through the shadow realm to move short distances almost instantaneously. He had seen Silvius do it dozens of times before, and always thought being able to teleport like that would be the best thing ever. Now though, not so much.
"The shadow realm is a hostile place, boy. It will try to eat you alive. Literally. If you wanted something that would kiss your wounds better you should have trained to be a priest instead." Squatting down, Silvius offered his hand, which Dalrus gladly took as he, still shaking, stood up. "The Light protects, heals and smites the wicked. The shadows will happily eat from the inside out anything dumb enough to step into its entrails."
"Then how the bloody hell do you use it so easily!?" Dalrus grunted, the boy hunching and grabbing his knees for support.
"Simple. I don't give in to it. I don't let it take too strong a hold. That's why we step through its realm for just a brief instant. With time and practice, you'll become immune to its influence for that short span of time. You'll become accustomed to it. And then... You will learn how to wield and manipulate it as an element of its own."
"Yeah, so you say... But what's the point? I see you make poisons that could melt someone inside out. And we can run, leap, climb, hide... What do we even need this hocus pocus for?" He had to stop every few words to catch his breath, and closed his eyes so he wouldn't go nauseous.
"That's a bloody stupid question. Physical skill can only take you so far. You wanna see the difference between someone like you, and a rogue who's mastered the shadows?" Silvius launched the boy a wicked grin. "Come here, then. I suppose it's time I showed you."
Holding back a moan of discomfort, Dalrus straightened his back and followed his master a few paces towards a nearby tree. Stopping by it, Silvius pulled one of his long, curved daggers out and offered the handle to Dalrus. "Here. Slice this tree down."
He just looked at the weapon, then at his master's face. "With this dagger? Are you bloody mental?"
Faster than his eyes could follow, the dagger vanished and Dalrus could feel the pommel smacking him on the head. "It's not about the dagger, you moron. It's what I'm going to do with it. Take a very close look..."
Dalrus watched as his master held the dagger like a sword with one hand, raised it over his head and brought the blade down against the tree's trunk. It managed to dig a couple inches in before it got stuck to the wood. "Woah." Dalrus sarcastically said. "That's so impressive, master."
"Shut that bloody trap, boy. This was just so you could understand how amazing what I'm about to do is." After a few moments of struggling, Silvius pulled the dagger free. "Now pay very close attention. This is what it means to use the shadows for your weapons' sake." Once again, he took the stance, holding the dagger like a sword over his head. Except this time... Dalrus felt something. He could even see it. Those deep, dark and purple tendrils slipping down along his master's cloak and clothes. The sinister presence of the Shadow invading this world and finding a host to channel its power through.
The dagger looked like it had grown three sizes, but in reality, it had been enveloped by an aura of darkness in the same shape as the blade. With a grunt, Silvius brought it down on the trunk and it cut clean through, slicing a huge chunk as it came down from the other side. All Dalrus saw was a black blur of motion, but suddenly the tree was toppling over. With a cry of alarm, he rolled out of the way as it fell down next to him.
"Bloody hell! What did you just do?" He said, amazed. With a cocky grin, Silvius stepped forward and sheathed his dagger. "I used the Shadow to empower my weapon, then attack the tree. This is the result when you become a competent rogue, boy. Did you seriously think we would fight warriors covered in ten tons of plate with tooth picks? No. By using the shadows, our weapons become deadly tools capable of slicing through virtually anything. They are as strong as you are capable of manipulating them. And that is just the tip of the possibilities."
Dalrus pondered for a moment, then lifted a brow at his master. "But what about the hold? Won't it try to get into your brain and drive you crazy?"
"You can bet your sorry arse it will. That's why you must be stronger. Never delve too deeply into the shadows, or it will consume you like a pack of starving hounds. That is why we only summon it to empower our weapons, cover us like a shroud and make us undetectable, and for very brief periods, slip through its realm and reappear somewhere else. But the more you learn how to resist the whispers, to bend them to your will instead... The more powerful you'll be. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what happens if you try to pull more than you can hold, though."
"Crikey." A new shiver ran through his body, but this one had nothing to do with his earlier experience. "Alright, I think I got it. But... Can we, like, summon dark ropes, or drive people insane, or burn them with shadow flames, or something like that?"
Silvius stroked his chin pensively, then shrugged. "We sure as hell could. But it would take you about five years of practice and daily studies to learn even one of those things you just mentioned. And if we did that, we would neglect training our bodies. That's why you don't see mages wearing plate mail and war hammers, nor do you see warriors throwing fireballs and shooting arcane missiles. The amount of effort you need to put into one path kind of makes the other impossible to master. And trust me, boy. Manipulating the Shadow is not something you can do while focusing on something else in the meantime... Like dodging sword blows. What we do is the best possible while also training our bodies."
"Bummer..." Dalrus sighed.
"If it makes you feel any better, you can rest assured you'll never see a shadow mage stepping through the Void the way we can. Magic wielders tend to be very confident in their ability to explode a person with a flick of a finger. They make it look easy, but that's just a ruse." Silvius leaned over, bringing him to eye level with his student. "Truth is, it takes all their focus to conjure even the simplest spells. I once noticed a warlock channeling the power to bring down a rain of fire down our platoon during the war. So I shadowstepped behind him and kicked him in the gut. He lost his focus, along with control over the spell and it fell down on his own troops instead." A mischievous grin was stretching the corners of his mouth now. "Mages are far from invincible, boy. They are what you'd call a glass canon. It sure is powerful, so long as no one is skilled enough to get close and smash it to pieces."
"If mages are glass cannons, what are rogues, then?" Dalrus inquiered, now feeling good enough to stand straight up without serious vertigo.
His master shot him a wink. "We are blades in the dark. Deadly when unseen... But if someone sheds their light on us... We are as good as a butter knife in a sword fight."
"Charming. So I better learn how to always stay in the dark, eh?" He took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Alright, I think I'm ready to try again. Let's..."
That moment, however, his words were cut off by the sound of frantic hooves thundering down along the road outside. Dalrus and his uncle traded a very quick glance before, without hesitation, they both sprinted down towards the source. They arrived just in time to see a trio of Gilneas guards escorting what appeared to be a knight with the Lordaeron symbol painted onto the shield on his back.
"How did he get in?" Dalrus asked, amazed.
"Bugger if I know. But I'll bet whatever you like if they let an outsider in, this is going to be dire news. Let's go, boy." And with that, the two of them followed the horsemen as quickly as possible while remaining on foot and unseen. Before long, they arrived at the Greymane estate, where the rider was momentarily barred before being granted entrance. "Alright, if they are letting him see the king, this is very serious." Silvius commented, his hand rubbing his chin as he pondered.
"Yeah, well, not like we can go after him now. They wouldn't let us in anyway." Dalrus said with a sigh.
A curious glint appeared on Silvius' eyes. "Not necessarily. Remember what I said earlier, boy? About the ways you can manipulate the shadows?"
Dalrus immediately perked up and looked at his master. "I'm listening."
Silvius chuckled. "Channel it. Rather than entering its realm, try and pull it down to ours. Just a bit. A very thin veil, around your entire body, like a cloak."
Dalrus nodded, and began to focus. He could feel the Shadow's hungry presence... And yearned for him. Wanted him to call upon it, to draw more. He hesitated.
"Ignore the thickest of it." Came his master's voice. "The darkest parts are the ones you need to avoid. Instead, look for what's around, hidden behind it. Those bits you can barely see and notice. Those are the ones you need to pull and cover yourself with."
Nodding once more, the boy redoubled his efforts. Now that his master had mentioned it, he did sense there was a very subtle presence behind the loudest parts of the Shadow that called out to him. Just as he said, it was barely there, like spider threads hidden by sunlight. Dalrus began to pull on that, and cover himself with it. He did not feel any different... Except for a somewhat smoky sensation wrapping around his body, as if he were walking over a chimney.
"Not bad, boy. Not bad at all. A little crude on the edges... Could use a little work. But for your first time, and what we need to do now... It will be great." Were Silvius' praising words, and when Dalrus opened his eyes, he could see his master with one hand on his chin, the other supporting his elbow as he nodded approvingly at the boy. "Take a look at yourself now."
Dalrus did. And he failed.
His hands were... Barely there. He could see through his flesh as if he were a ghost, see the ground below. Looking down on his body, he could see that everything was like that; like the shade cast by a candle's flame.
"Alright, don't talk now. You don't want to break your focus. Your stealth is far from perfect, but it will be enough to slip past those guards. Stay close to me now." And with that, Silvius did the exact same thing as him, and hidden like that, the two began to stalk down towards the manor.
Silvius led Dalrus along the fields, telling him to keep his head lowered, his knees bent and his back arched. Just then the sun was covered by passing clouds, which provided further cover for the rogues.
Greymane's manor was on a very sheer cliff with a single road going up to the entrance. Dalrus and Silvius had seen the rider race up along it, and guards were positioned at key spots doing the same as them. "Alright, Dalrus. While the guards are distracted, slip past them. Make no sounds. The key to stealth is not to attract attention to yourself. Have them think they are seeing what you want them to see."
Nodding silently, Dalrus continued to follow his master. They walked right past the first guard, who had his back to them as he looked up at the manor and watched the rider dismount by the entrance. The second guard was just the same. As they came halfway up the road, they could hear one of the guards who had escorted the rider scream: "A knight from Lordaeron brings a message of extreme importance! He must see the king at once!"
Silvius and Dalrus had now arrived at the end of the road, with an open path between them and the manor's doors. Two more guards were standing there, and it was clear they wouldn't be so easy to slip past as the previous ones. Then, the doors slammed open, and Lord Godfrey came stomping out. "Who let this outsider in?! I care not where he comes from, the king himself has said that-"
"I did, Godfrey." One of the riders interrupted. Taking his helmet off, he revealed himself to be the prince Lyam Graymane. "This man brings a message of extreme importance. I have decided to let him in and speak to my father."
"You better have a good excuse this time, Lyam. It's one thing to try and stay in their good graces for the sake of our trades, but letting any rider who claims they have news in without asking one of the nobles about it..." Godfrey began to say, only to be cut off by Lyam once more. "You'll understand when you hear what he has to say. Now step aside and come with us, Godfrey. I trust father is ready for us."
Godfrey scoffed. "Fine. Let's go in, then."
"Interesting." Silvius whispered, then tugged Dalrus by his shirt. While the guards were watching the group vanish through the door, the rogues circled around the manor until they were at the back. Through the windows, they could see Lyam, Godfrey and the rider moving up the stairs. Behind the manor was Greymane tower, a place from which the king could use a telescope to see the entirety of Gilneas. "Alright, boy. Be extra careful now."
Silvius managed to open a window, then quickly hop inside, soon followed by Dalrus. The two were now in the kitchen's storage. Silvius glued his ear to the door and, after a few moments, gave Dalrus a signal for them to walk out. It would still be a couple of hours before lunch time, so most of the servants were busy cleaning the manor or running little errands here and there. The rogues quickly caught up to the trio as they made their way up the long stairway towards Graymane's watch.
Finally, they arrived at the top of the tower. Silvius and Dalrus had to lay down under the entrance, each of them crouching down and focusing just on hearing the conversation.
"Lyam? What's going on? Who is this?" They could hear Graymane's voice from above.
"Father, a soldier from Lordaeron. He says he carries an urgent message for your ears alone. He was quite desperate about its importance." Came Lyam's reply.
From their hiding spot, Dalrus could see the messenger's face. He noticed the man had traces of Gilnean lineage to him, given the shape of his jaw and his beard, which was currently bushed out and terribly kept. He reminded Dalrus of the man he had seen years ago pranting about the undead walking around Andorhall.
"My lord! I... I'm Phineas Peddington. My family, we... I'm sorry, my lord, we moved out when the wall began. Light help me, if only we... If I hadn't been so..." Dalrus saw the man cover his mouth and make hurling sounds, his eyes red and very wide.
"Compose yourself, man! Stand up and look at me. What happened? What has shaken you so? Speak!" Graymane's voice had a demanding tone to it, but even Dalrus could detect the worry.
"M-My lord... It's... It's... Lordaeron... The crown prince Arthas, he..." The man once again tried to speak, but in the middle of his sentence, he hurried off out of Dalrus' view. The rogues could hear the horrible noise of hurling far away from them.
"Mister Peddington, breathe." This time Lyam was talking. "Take a deep breath. Compose yourself."
"The man has lost it." Came Godfrey's voice. "What's led him to abandon his family and come here alone? He's probably deserted from his troop and is desperate to hide in here."
"N-no... My lord, I swear... You must hear me!" Phineas was once again within Dalrus' field of vision, and he could also see Lyam was helping support him.
"Do as Lyam said. Take a deep breath and compose yourself before starting your tale." Graymane could be seen by his telescope, his arms crossed over his chest. Godfrey was nowhere to be seen.
Phineas did as they suggested, and began to speak more calmly. "We received word... The prince... Crown prince Arthas... The king's son, he... About a year ago, he and a regiment of men left for Northrend to chase the demon responsible for Stratholme."
"Aye. I heard that much. I still can't believe the lad would go so far..." Graymane sighed and rubbed his temple.
"Pah. If I knew my people were doomed to become shambling monstrosities, I would have done the same in his place. Best to die still a person than to become one of those abominations." Godfrey's voice came from the other side. "So the prince returned. I take it he managed to kill the demon, then?"
"I-I heard as much, yes... Prince Arthas, we... We held a parade. Bells were ringing... Hundreds of people cheering... C-children calling out for him..." The man had another coughing fit. "He... He demanded to see his father. The king himself sent for him as well... I... I was a guard by the gates. I... I could see the throne room from my post, sir. Arthas, he... He was wielding a... A strange sword."
"Yes? What's so strange about it?" Godfrey interrupted.
Phineas shook his head. "I-I don't know. It didn't feel natural. I felt a chill just by looking at it. Mist was coming off the hilt, and... Runes were glowing along the blade. It looked... Ominous."
"I see... And what happened then?" Lyam asked, now helping Phineas get some support against the wall.
"Light help me, the king, he... He called out to his son. Arthas knelt down... He pulled out the sword... He... Then... By the Light, he...!" Phineas lowered his head and ran his fingers through his hair in desperation.
"Out with it, man! What happened!?" Said Godfrey, although even Dalrus already had a terrible suspicion of what happened next.
Phines raised his head once more, and this time, tears could be seen on his eyes. "He... He stepped up to the throne. And then... The prince, Arthas, he... He ran his own father through with that cursed weapon! The prince, Arthas, murdered the king of Lordaeron on his own throne!"
Shock. Silence. Everyone in the room was absolutely stunned. "How can this be? Has his time in the north driven him insane?!" Graymane gasped.
"It has to... Because then, he... He pulled his hood back. The face... He... He didn't look alive anymore. His hair looked... D-dead... His eyes... So cold... So dark... A-and then... That's when... W-when..."
"Take it easy, Phineas. I know you're in shock." Lyam said, then looked at Genn Greymane. "Father, perhaps you could concede him your chair...?"
"Yes, yes, of course. Take a seat, sir. Tell us everything." The sounds of a chair dragging along the wooden floor, then Phineas sitting on it. Then Godfrey spoke:
"Alright, continue your tale. The prince went insane and murdered his own father. What happened to him then? I assume he's been hanged already?"
Phineas shook his head. "No... No... He had guards... Now I know those things... They weren't human either, no sir. Their hands looked... Dry... Like a corpse. They began to kill everyone in the room... And then the screams began. Behind us... Me... Me and m-my mate looked back at the city... Oh, Light... I still remember the screams... The smell... Blood everywhere!" Phineas swallowed hard and gripped his arms as he began trembling. "Those monsters... Rotting corpses... Abominations that looked like a dozen people stitched together... Gigantic bats sweeping down from the sky, a-and... Spiders... Bigger than horses, they were... Just... Out of nowhere, they began to hunt down and kill everything and everyone in sight!"
Once again, they were all stunned in awe. Then Graymane broke the silence. "Light have mercy... How the hells did you escape with your life?"
"M-my mate, he... Together, we ran. We knew the palace well, we made our way out avoiding most of the monsters. We got ambushed a couple of times, b-but... Thank the Light, the small ones weren't hard to kill. Shambling monstrosities, just... Rotting skin and muscle and bones... But there were so many of them... We killed what we could and continued to run. Just as we were getting outside, I remembered... My wife, my daughter... They were still in the city. We had to go back. So my mate said... He pulled a key out of his neck and gave it to me. 'Go through the sewers.' He says. 'Good luck.' That was the last I saw of him... After that, I... I went back. And... I saw."
Phineas went silent once more, his hand covering his mouth. When he spoke again, his voice was muffled. "It was... The stuff of nightmares. So many... So many people... Dead... Lord, I fought the orcs, I did. They were savage, brutal... B-but... What those... Those... Things did... It was just... Inhuman. I saw... Guts, limbs, blood flowing like a river... T-they killed just for the sake of it. Women, children, animals, nothing was spared. But that ain't even the worst of it... I... As I walked, I saw... The mangled, bitten, chewed corpses came to life... People I saw every day, people I chatted with, people I knew from their first names, they... They just got up. Right back up. I ran for my life... I just... I couldn't bear to do anything to them..."
"Easy now. Try not to dwell on those details." Greymane patted Phineas on his shoulder. "Perhaps we should get you a warm drink before you finish your tale? You could use some rest as well." But Phineas violently shook his head. "No, no, no, no... I need to speak now... Or else I'll never... Never again, I..."
"Yes, yes, we get it. Then finish your tale already." Even Godfrey was leaning in worried now, trying to better listen to every word the man said.
"My lord, I... Somehow, I made it. Maybe the Light was watching over me, but I dodged it all. The blood, the deaths, the monsters... My family lived on the edges of town. I was just a guard, so that was all I could afford... We... I got home. That place looked... Like it was cleaned up already. Just a few monstrosities... E-even my neighbors. One of them, he... Gods, a man who I shared a drink with every week... He leapt at me, claws out, teeth bared... I... I reacted on instinct! I pulled my sword out... I beheaded him right then and there. I couldn't bear it...I dropped my sword and ran inside. It was... The door was in shambles. Something had broken in. There was blood on the floor... I ran upstairs. And there... I... Light help me, I saw her there... My... My wife."
No one spoke now, not even Godfrey. No one was sure they wanted to know what happened next, but almost as if in a daze, Phineas continued his tale.
"She was there... Curled up like an infant... Like she was crying. There was blood on her dress... She was holding something. I... Light save me, I heard chewing. I stepped forward... She looked back at me. There was... There was blood... In her mouth. There were... B-bits of... I-in her teeth. And then she turned around. And there... There she was... There she was..." His voice began to break. "Our... O-our..." His breath was very heavy, the man heaving and shaking uncontrollably. "Light help me, she was only six years old... I was so happy when I heard the prince was back, I bought her a new doll... She... When the things came in, my wife, Theresa, she must have told Anne to hide in the attic. Then when they left... She must have come out, and her mother, she... She..."
"That's enough." Greymane cut him off. "You left that place, Phineas. That's all that matters. I take it you turned your back to that unspeakable hell and ran as fast as you could to the sewers as your fellow guard instructed you to, yes?"
Still shaking, the man nodded. "A-aye, my lord. He... I used the key. The gate was sealed when I got there... No monsters were inside. So I went in... I ran... Light, I ran so much... I just kept running until I fell. But down there I could still hear it... The echoes... The screams... The... The noises those things made when they... W-when they fed... The only thing I could think of was coming back home. The king... King Graymane must know. I must inform the king... I must warn everyone before... B-before they..."
"I understand." Graymane interrupted him once more. "You perform your duty admirably, soldier. I won't ask anymore about this. For now, you need your rest. If you like, go speak to the apothecary. Lyam, go with him. Have the man drink something to help him rest... And avoid dreams." The prince nodded, then gently held Phineas up by his arm.
Dalrus' heart was drumming painfully within his chest. The whole tale had been so horrific he completely forgot to move out of Lyam's way as he and Phineas went down the stairs. Had Silvius not kicked the boy out of the way, the prince would have tripped over him. What happened instead was that Dalrus fell over the stair's edge and began to fall down to his death against the floor several feet below.
It happened so fast he didn't even have time to scream, but just as he could already see the grass in front of his face, he felt Silvius' arms wrap around his waist. This time, instinctively, Dalrus closed his eyes and held his breath, and he felt that terrible chill of the Shadow realm washing over his skin as Silvius safely shadowstepped to the ground a few paces away with the boy still in his arms.
"I don't think they noticed us." Silvius whispered as he looked up. Then Dalrus realized both him and his master were completely visible again. "Don't worry, boy. Leaving this place is a lot easier than entering. So much I can make up for your incompetence. Come on..."
As if in a daze, Dalrus felt himself get dragged along after his master. His body was on autopilot now, performing tasks that years of training had made automatic. Before long, they were outside the manor, and Dalrus slumped against the tree by the road. He had been silent the whole time, his brows arched high, his eyes very wide and his heart on his throat.
"Dalrus. Look at me." He felt Silvius' hand shaking his shoulder and looked up. For a moment he thought he saw a glimmer of concern in his master's eyes, but soon he was scowling down on the boy again. "We need to tell your father. Come on now."
He got up, still deadly silent, his gaze fixed on the road before his feet. He had only taken a few steps forward before he managed to say: "Is... Was all that... True? Did... Did the prince really murder the king, then... Set the undead on his own people?"
Silvius did not stop, nor did he look back. "I don't know. Can't even imagine. I never met the brat. So I have no grounds to judge his character. But I can tell one thing for certain..." He sighed. "That man... He was telling the truth. Or at least he believed in every word he spoke."
Dalrus finally looked up. "Then... You think... Is Felrus-?"
Suddenly, Silvius turned around and took a step forward, quickly closing the distance between them. "I don't know, boy. You don't know, your father doesn't know, nobody could possibly know how he is right now. So it's pointless to worry about 'what if'. Maybe something did happen to him, maybe he's married a dwarf and moved to Khaz'Modan. It's pointless to wonder about what you have no way of knowing. And if you did know, that's even less reason to worry and walk around glooming like a zombie. Understood?"
Shocked, Dalrus took a step back. "I... I'm sorry. I just..." He began to say, then suddenly he grabbed his arms like Phineas had done earlier to try and stop his shaking. "I'm... Scared."
Silvius himself seemed taken aback by the boy's reaction. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly exhaled and gave Dalrus some space. "These are dark times, boy. Very dark times. If Lordaeron fell like this... It won't be long before the fight comes for Gilneas, too. That's why we need to ready ourselves for the storm ahead."
Dalrus looked up at him. "But... How do we even kill something that's already bloody dead?!"
"Well..." Silvius managed to flash a smile back at his nephew. "I have found detaching their heads off their necks is a very effective way of killing things that shouldn't be alive. Kind of a universal rule, really."
"Really... Huh. I'm sorry I lost it, I just..." Dalrus scratched the back of his head nervously as he looked away from Silvius' grinning face, who let out a little chuckle at those words.
"I suppose it was my bad as well. You're still just a young green boy. You haven't even drawn your first blood yet, have you?" The rogue then turned away once more and resumed his march. "We are gonna have to take care of that real soon, boy. Better than leaving it to a time you have no choice."
Dalrus looked back once more at the Graymane estate that was quickly shrinking behind them as they made their way back. He couldn't help but fear for that uncertain future that was quickly approaching... And his own brother who was still out there, fighting this terrible battle.