Yes this fanfic takes place in Cataclysm and right before Mists of Pandaria. More specifically, it has been running parallel to Tides of War up until this point.
While hippogryphs were not his preferred mode of transport, Arthas could not deny that the beast that carried him was proving useful. The beast flew quickly from Moonglade, through Ashenvale, and finally through the Barrens. While hippogryphs could not soar as long as a gryphon might, the riding was smooth enough. Still, Arthas planned to exchange the flamboyantly colored animal for a gryphon as soon as he got to the Alliance outpost, Fort Triumph.
That plan soon proved to be impossible as the hippogryph crested over a hill. Only a couple of short walls and two scout towers, calling Triumph a "fort" was being incredibly generous. Calling it Triumph now was ironic, for the place now lay in ruins. Smoke still billowed from the now smoldering fires. One scout tower had still been under construction, though now its completion would not be happening.
Arthas signaled for the hippogryph to land despite the ruin. He might find a survivor at least. The animal landed where the flight master would have been. The gryphon nests were empty, but there was still water in the food through. The hippogryph gladly dunked its beak into the water.
While it rested, Arthas explored the ruins, casually stepping over corpses. Vultures scattered as he drew near. From what he could tell, they had only been dead for more than a day, but less than a week. The defenders probably thought they could defend against the Horde army, protect Theramore, and be hailed as heroes. Idiots. Not only did they die in vain, but it seemed that the Horde had been happy to take all the siege weapons the Fort was equipped with.
Arthas did not even bother checking the towers for anything. The Horde had cut the soldiers down to the last man. If anyone had survived, they would have fled already. Either back to Theramore, or to take their chances in the wilderness. Either way, no one was here. Arthas let the hippogryph catch itself a few prairie dogs to eat, then whistled for it. They needed to head straight for Theramore now.
What he was going to do once he got there, Arthas did not know. He preferred to not think about it.
The hippogryph took off and they left Fort Triumph behind. They headed east down into the boggy marshes of Dustwallow. The fetid stench of stagnant water and decay rose up in the air so even far above the trees, Arthas could smell it. The hippogryph glided over the trees easily and soon Theramore could be seen. The pale stone walls stood out against the dark swamp. A tall tower rose up in the middle of the city. Arthas could imagine Jaina sitting inside curled up in a chair with a book in her lap.
He could see the army that the Horde had amassed, but strangely enough it was too far from Theramore to attack, yet it looked like there was damage to the city. Was the Horde retreating? Arthas meant to turn the hippogryph around to survey the Horde's numbers, but he got distracted by a roar of a dragon. He looked up in surprise.
A blue dragon launched itself at a lone zeppelin, which seemed to be carrying something Arthas could not discern. Cannons went off at the dragon and though it tried to dodge them, one hit the dragon, grazing his wing and causing the dragon to fall out of the sky. Then whatever the zeppelin was carrying underneath its hull was released and started to fall.
All of this happened so fast, Arthas did not have time to react. And suddenly the whole world lit up in a blinding light. It sounded like the entire world had cracked in half like an egg. Both Arthas and the hippogryph were blinded and proceeded to drop out of the sky. Tree limbs snapped against them, and Arthas was flung from the saddle.
When Arthas awoke, it was to the shrieking of the hippogryph, far above him. As he opened his eyes, he realized he could see again. Arthas cautiously got to his feet and surveyed his surroundings.
They had landed in the swamp. At least he had not landed in the scummy, dark water, but on the spongy earth. He could not see the sky clearly from his vantage point will all the overgrown plants in the way. The hippogryph was stuck up in one of the trees. Arthas would have just left the thing to die if he did not need a way back to Moonglade. So he made the effort to climb the tree. Thick oozing moss covered the trunk and made climbing all that more difficult but eventually Arthas got up to the hippogryph.
Both the beast's harness and antlers were tangled up in the tree branches and vines. Arthas had to snap off branches and rip out the vines for what seemed like an hour before the animal could free itself the rest of the way. It squawked at the indignity of it all and seemed highly resentful of Arthas for bringing it to such a dismal location.
It only reluctantly let Arthas mount back up and slogged itself through mud and water to find a place to take off. Finally the trees opened up enough to allow flight. It had just started to turn to dusk when they had fell, but now based on the light, Arthas realized it was morning. Once they took off and Arthas had a chance to see what had happened, he was shocked by the sight that lay before him. Theramore had been slightly damaged during whatever fighting had happened previously, but it had remained rather intact. Jaina's tower had stood tall over all the buildings and walls previously.
Now, nothing but a glowing crater remained. What looked like lightning crackled through the sky and loud booms still echoed. It had been a mana bomb. That was obvious. As the hippogryph landed just outside the remains of Theramore, Arthas could feel the potent arcane magic still in the air. Parts of buildings floated in midair, along with bodies.
No one could have survived the blast. Arthas should have no desire to enter the city. The acrid smell of arcane magic fueled the hesitation. Mana bombs were powerful and he did not know what affects the lingering magics might have. Even from the distance he kept, the residue might be negatively affecting him. The hippogryph clearly did not want to stay either.
Arthas entered Theramore. Jaina might have left him to the ruin of one city, but that did not mean he was going to leave her in the ruin of her own.
Nothing remained untouched. Bodies lay everywhere, when they were not floating in the air. While some buildings still stood, they were missing pieces or look like they had been taken apart and then rebuilt by a child. Arthas knelt down to examine a corpse, but as soon as he touched it, the body disintegrated into violet dust.
If Jaina had not survived, Arthas might not even be able to touch her corpse. If she had been in the tower, there would be nothing left of her now. Disturbed, Arthas pushed those thoughts down and continued through the wreckage. Even the grass did not survive.
But finally, there was a sound of someone else. Arthas moved to hide behind an overturned wagon.
There she was. The last time he had seen her, she had invaded his private quarters in Icecrown Citadel. He had tried to kill her at the time. Her appearance drastically differed from then and now. Of her golden hair, only a strip of it remained. The rest of her hair now shone like snow in sunlight. Her eyes glowed pale violet. While she had survived the mana bomb, it had affected her just as much as it had everything else.
But she was still just as beautiful. Neither age nor stress seemed to have an affect on her. Sapphire would look like her mother in a few years.
Arthas restrained from going to Jaina immediately. She might still resent him from the whole trying to kill her event. So he watched as she went from body to body, clearly overwhelmed by her surroundings.
She knelt down next to the body of a young gnome woman. Her hand shook as she reached out. When her hand touched the body, it reacted like the body Arthas had touched. It crumbled into dust.
That broke Jaina. She screamed, breaking the silence of the city. Arthas had never heard her make a noise so raw and emotional as that. She desperately scooped up the violet dust as if she could just put the body back together through sheer will. Jaina had lost her entire city. She had prided herself on trying to make peace with the Horde and Alliance. Her dreams were now nothing but dust as well.
Before, Arthas would have gloated over her failure. Arthas still thought her woefully naïve for ever believing in peace, but now he just wanted to go to her and comfort her. He almost did, walking partially out of his hiding spot. But Jaina got to her feet and he retreated. She picked up a shard of mirror for some reason, staring at it for a long time. Then they were not alone. Over two dozen orcs came patrolling through the ruins. Jaina turned to face them. The head orc said something in thick common, but Arthas did not catch what he said at first. The orc then turned to the others.
"We get to kill Jaina Proudmoore," He said.
"Bring her head to Garrosh Hellscream!" Another called out sadistically.
To Arthas's surprise, Jaina was grinning. She dropped the mirror shard she had been looking at. And then she attacked. It seemed that she never needed defending from others. As in their youth, Jaina was perfectly capable of defending herself. She shot arcane magic at several of the orcs, then froze others' feet to the ground. With them unable to run, Jaina summoned up a ball of fire and flung it at them. As they caught fire, the orcs screamed in agony.
She did not stop there. She froze them, set them on fire, and blasted them with arcane magic. Two dozen went down to a dozen, then finally all but one remained alive. The one remaining tried to stand, but Jaina picked up the mirror and went over to the orc. Arthas was too far away to hear what she said, but he could see the rage in her eyes. With one quick thrust, Jaina stabbed the orc in the throat. Blood spurted out from the main vein and splattered across her face.
Jaina had mercilessly killed over two dozen orcs and stabbed one brutally in the throat. She did not even wipe the blood off her face. Arthas had to admit seeing her so coldly killing things made him feel things that he had not felt in a while. He had not even known he could feel that way anymore.
He had to come out some time. Atleast now Jaina had sated some inner bloodlust and spent much of her magic on the orcs. Arthas took a step, and his boot audibly crunched some broken glass.
Jaina whipped around and quickly a fireball flew in Arthas's direction, hitting the side of a house. Arthas starred at the blackened spot.
"Who is there? Come out, coward!"
Arthas immediately yanked his hood up over his head and obeyed her command. He saw magic start to coalesce in her hand as he came out of hiding, but he quickly put both hands up.
"Apologies for startling you, Lady Proudmoore," He said quickly.
She did not seem in a very forgiving mood. "Who are you and why are you here? Did you survive the bomb?"
Arthas shook his head. "No, I came here to help, but the bomb dropped before I could. As for who I am...You know me, Jaina."
The cloud of magic dimmed in her hand as she seemed to contemplate. She had to have recognized his voice, though it had been years since she had heard it properly. The last time she had heard it, it had been deepened with the presence of the Lich King. Before that...he had asked her come with her to Northrend. It seemed like centuries ago.
"Tell me who you are or-" She started to threaten, but Arthas decided it was safer for him to catch her off guard.
He removed his hood, letting his white hair fall loosely around his shoulders.
"It's been a while, Jaina."
