Chapter 10 - Those who dwell in darkness

"You mean there are... People!?" The boy said, dumbfounded. "Actual people living in there? Amidst all of... You know... That!?"

"Hmmm... Not exactly." Sister Margaret said. This, Dalrus had come to learn, was a phrase she loved to use. Apparently nothing regarding the Void and all who dwelled within it were what they appeared to be. Or maybe she just wanted to sound wise and mysterious. "Once, they did have a home world of their own. Then they made a few mistakes... Let's just say their arrogance attracted the attention of a Void Lord. And let me tell you something, honey... That is literally the last thing in every universe you'll ever want focusing on you."

There was no moon that night. Margaret had lit several lamps around their room for that night's session. Dalrus was sitting on a stool next to her, frowning at the many parchments she had separated for him. "So... You're telling me this thing pulled them into the void, or something?"

"Sort of. " She said, her fingers tapping at her delicate little chin. "There was a war, you see. A consequence of this war was that they all ended up losing their physical bodies, and became beings of pure dark energy. Eventually, they lost the war. Their home was destroyed, and they ended up living within the Twisting Nether. But they can also come and go as they please to the physical realm."

"That's a nice thought." He said as a shiver crept up his spine. "So... What. These, uh... Ethereals... Are they like ghosts?"

"In a manner of speaking... But they do have a presence in this world. They had centuries to adapt to the void, become part of it. Most of them are greedy traders, seeking relics to hoard and sell. Some seek to spread the void out of spite. Then there are some who would just rather live a peaceful life wherever they can fit." She launched him another one of those heart melting smiles. "Charming, isn't it? There could be one passing next to you on the street and you'd never notice!"

"Bloody wonderful..." He muttered. "And... What exactly do they want?"

"Hmmm... The same as you and I, I suppose." She said with a shrug. "To live. To do what they enjoy. That often involves the deep misery of others, though. But life is like that sometimes."

"Ah. Yes, of course."

Memories of that night with Sister Margaret keep running through his mind as Dalrus carried the villagers, his uncle and Lorna Crowley up to the streets. By now, the undead menace had been successfully handled. All the remaining bodies were in the process of being burned down to make sure no more surprise guests would arise in the middle of the night. Dalrus could hear Greymane shouting all the way from the Cathedral, his voice carrying over and far. The boy let out a sigh and sat down against the wall of the house where he had just killed five men and discovered one of his masters was a being of dark energy from another world. Life was indeed strange sometimes.

The undead downstairs, as well as the acolytes Dalrus killed had all vanished into dust, not a trace left behind. He suspected Margaret - if that even was her real name (did ethereals even have genders?) - was behind that as well. She had explained to him everyone was put to sleep and no one would remember what happened, except for Dalrus himself. He let out a tired sigh and rubbed his head, looking up at the cloudy, moonless sky. What a big mess. And somehow, everything was already taken care of. He stood up and walked up to where those four people, plus his uncle, were passed out. Earlier they had begun giving signs of life, but soon Margaret put them right back to sleep. He hoped she hadn't done anything drastic to them. Just as the thought crossed his mind, his uncle Silvius let out a short, painful moan and sat up, one hand clutching his forehead as he hunched over. "Crivens... What the hell happened to me?" He mumbled in a groggy voice, then half opened one eye and stared straight at Dalrus. Confusion took over his face, then he looked around and saw the other rest of the people around him and his confusion grew even further. "What the f-"

"Oy, take it easy." Dalrus cut him off, taking a step forward and placing a hand on his bare shoulder, the other on his chest. "How's your head? You feeling alright?"

Silvius winced, then began rubbing the side of his head with one hand. "My head's killing me. I remember I was... The undead camp. They had a base set up. I was... Some strange people in long, dark robes... They were doing a ritual. Summoning those things straight off the ground. I began assassinating them... Damnit." He winced once more, his mouth twisting into a painful grunt. "Huff... Blast it, all went dark and now I'm here. I heard a voice... Someone was telling me things."

"Yeah, bad news, uncle." The boy said, now gently patting Silvius' back. "You got beaten by those blokes, then they did some mind tricks on you to get inside the city. Pretty nasty business, dead soldiers began to rise... But everything is A-OK now." He shot his uncle a cocky grin. "Thanks to me, of course!"

The man simply stared at him. "You."

"Yes, me!"

"What exactly was it you did?" He inquired, one brow raising on his forehead.

"Killed the whole lot of them. Five, no less! And saved your life. You're welcome."

Silvius continued to stare at him, then he looked around once more. "And... Where are these... 'Blokes' you killed?"

"Ah, well..." The boy looked over his back into the wooden doors leading to the basement where he had battled the acolytes. "They just up and turned into dust the moment Margaret left."

"Wait, what!? Margaret was here?" Silvius blinked in confusion. "Where did you see her? Where is she now?"

The next few minutes, Dalrus explained in detail everything that happened after waking up in the manor, then arriving at the main city. When he was finished, Silvius was sitting cross legged, his arms also crossed over his bare, scarred chest. "Unbelievable... I never thought she'd show herself to you like that. Color me impressed, she must really like you."

"Ah, you know me. I'm quite the charmer around alien ghosts from the twisting nether." The boy replied with a shrug. "More importantly, what do we do now? These people will wake up soon."

Taking a glance at the people below, the old rogue let out a soft grunt and stood up. "Yeah... We should just leave them here. If what you said is true, they won't remember a thing. The threat is over now, so... We should probably just keep this between us. It won't do to let the panic spread."

Dalrus lifted a brow at him. "You mean you don't want anyone finding out you screwed up."

"I didn't screw up, boy!" The man hissed. "After the sixth acolyte I killed, they began to take drastic measures. There are... I don't even know what those things are. I think it was a human once... But then it was like a living piece of the void with a human mind inside. Even I couldn't see it! But it sure as hell could see me. That... Shade... Warned them where I was."

Placing one hand on his chin, the apprentice nodded twice. "I see, I see! It's not that you screwed up! It's just that you were seen on your attempted assassination, and then you were captured! That's totally the opposite of what screwing up means!" Dalrus saw his uncle instinctively reach for the dagger on his belt, but it had been taken the moment he had been captured. On top of that, the man didn't even have the strength to shadowstep forward and smack him across the head. So instead he just glared at his nephew and squinted his eyes. "Either. Way." Silvius slow and forcefully said. "The important thing is, it's over. But the thing is, we can't have people knowing about who Margaret truly is. And the last thing you want is an ethereal mad at you."

"Right, whatever you say. Let's go home, then. You're a wreck." Taking it off himself, Dalrus offered his cloak to his uncle, who, after brief hesitation, reached out and threw it over his shoulders. "Fine. But let's take the long route around. I don't need anyone seeing me like this..."

It took the duo about an hour to sneak around the guards and make it back to the manor. Dalrus' father and brother hadn't returned yet, so they just entered through the front door. Letting out a tired sigh, Silvius threw himself on top of the couch. "Bloody hell... Those things sure make a big mess."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Dalrus said, laying down next to his uncle. "What I saw today... It wasn't pretty." He shuddered as memories from the war earlier raced through his mind. "Just... Damn, it's hard to imagine something so... I don't know... Brutal can exist. Those things, they... They just don't care about life at all." He leaned his head back over the couch and stared up at the wooden ceiling above. "It's like... They are anti-life or something."

"Hmmm... Well... You're not too far off the mark." With a strained grunt, Silvius brought his leg up and placed it upon the coffee table in front of them. "Those things are literally walking corpses. Life must be a vague concept to them... Or it would be if they could think."

"What, they don't? Come to think of it, what even are they? Why are they here?" Dalrus frowned. "I think I've been kept in the dark about this bloody long enough."

His uncle launched him a side glance, then placed his head on his torso and finally relaxed against the cushions of the couch. "Yeah... I don't think I can keep calling a boy someone who managed to kill five people on his own. Alright then... You ever heard of a Lich King?"

Dalrus lifted a brow at him. "Yeah, one of those people in the basement mentioned him. He's supposed to be their leader or something, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Hmmm…" Silvius appeared to be organizing his thoughts. "OK, you remember the orcs, right? The horde who invaded us a few years back?" Dalrus nodded. "Well, turns out... The one behind it all, nasty fellow by the name of Gul'Dan... He was communing with demons. Specifically... An army of demons called the Burning Legion. They used to gather under the banner of a fallen Titan by the name of Sargeras." Even Dalrus had heard of the titans before. The forgers of the universe. Creatures of immeasurable, unthinkable power who shaped the worlds and filled them with life. Basically, gods. "I don't know how or why he ended up the way he did... But Sargeras was evil. He wanted to consume every world he set his flaming dark eyes upon. And then one lovely day he saw Azeroth."

"Lovely." Dalrus said, his mouth going dry. "What's that got to do with the Lich King?"

"I'm getting there, boy. Be quiet and listen." Silvius then reached out for a couch pillow and placed it under his extended leg. "That's better. Anyway... Azeroth turns out to be harder to invade than most worlds. They can't pull it off. So when the orcs show up, the demons come to them with an offer. They offered the orcs great power in exchange for their souls. The orcs drank demon blood and were imbued with fel, and that's why their skin is green like that. Warlocks in particular took in tons of demonic energy. And then there was this one fellow by the name of Ner'Zhul... After the defeat of the orcish horde, the demons decided they had plans for him. They ripped his soul right off his body and locked it inside a suit of armor encased in magical ice. Then they put that ice block on top of a citadel in Northrend."

"Wait... Isn't that where prince Arty went and lost his marbles?" The boy said, now facing his uncle. "You mean... That's what the Lich King is? He's the soul of an orc trapped in ice and controlling the undead?"

"That's the jist of it, aye." Silvius placed one hand on his face and began to rub his closed eyes. "The Lich King and the Scourge are tools of the Legion. They are launching their third invasion to end us all for good. This time, they brought out their biggest weapons... An eredar lord by the name of Archimonde. He is one of the leaders of the Burning Legion. And he is the one currently commandeering the scourge."

Dalrus went silent. His hands gripped at his knees, then squeezed his pants. "So they corrupted Arthas and began their attack from the heart of the eastern kingdoms... And Gilneas is just another stone in their path, it would seem."

Silvius went silent for a while, the only noise in the room being his eye rubbing. Finally, the old rogue moaned painfully and let his arm fall over the armrest to his right. "Afraid so, boy. Unless we do something about their leaders, demons will just keep falling from the sky while undead assault us from below."

Silence once more. Then the boy spoke once more: "Then why are we walled up here when we should be out there looking for this Archie fellow?"

His uncle scoffed. "He's not here. Left long ago, otherwise we would be dust already. From what I could gather while sneaking around their backlines, the main force is all directed towards the west... Across the seas. To a place called..."

"...Kalimdor." Dalrus whispered, suddenly reminded of the missives sent from Dalaran under the name of a 'Jaina Proudmoore.' "So... That's where the real fighting is. Kalimdor. That's where the horde went... And where the rest of the people in this continent went too. They are going to fight the final battle there."

"Lucky us, eh? This would be a hell of a lot harder with demonic fire golems raining from the sky around our city." Silvius let out a tired chuckle. "Damn it, I'm still so sore... I think I'm just gonna pass out right here, boy. You wake me up if we are facing a new life threat or something." And with that, Dalrus saw his uncle lean his head to the side, close his eyes and fall asleep almost instantly. The boy looked back over his shoulder and through the window behind them. The sun was already starting to rise, but the mountains surrounding their home - not to mention the wall - didn't allow them to see any actual rays for a while. In the distance, he could see the purple veil of Arugal's magical barrier flickering, then slowly fading out. Horns were blowing, people were screaming. Soon the walls were manned once more, and the battle to defend Gilneas from the Undead Scourge continued. "Yeah." Dalrus said, despite his uncle being sound asleep. "Lucky us."