Ethan watched in delight as Sapphire flew circles around the forest, chased by the strange lizard thing she called a dragon. Feathers, white as fresh milk, brushed against his face more than once as she showed off how close she could fly toward him and not run into him. It seemed that while he was learning how to use weapons, tending to horses, or reading dusty tomes, Sapphire had her own adventure.

She had learned to transform into animals. She'd visited the human city of Stormwind. Had even found her own mother. Ethan missed his own mother. Though tough on him, his mother was also quick to forgive him for mistakes. In all honesty, he would trade learning about the Light for being back home in his own cave and forest.

Sapphire landed onto a rock, breaking him out of his thoughts. She turned back and gave Ethan an amused grin. Stub, who had previously been chewing on a stick, dropped everything to rush over and attack her with his tongue. Sapphire grabbed fistfuls of white fur and tried to get the hyena off her. However, Stub was persistent.

Highlord Fordring had let Ethan off from his regular daily tasks because Sapphire knew him. Though she refused to get anywhere near the Highlord, Sapphire did not mind Ethan. He wondered if she would hate him if she found out he wielded the Light as well.

Though glad to see her again, Ethan was conflicted. Especially seeing her little undead dog with her. Undead are evil right? As if he knew the boy's thoughts, the dog trotted over and planted both of his front paws on Ethan's leg. He whined. No, the dog couldn't be evil. Even more than the dog, Sapphire's father concerned Ethan.

His name had been Arthas, yet it could not possibly be that Arthas. Ethan knew straight from the Highlord that Arthas Menethil was dead. Once he had connected the name, he specifically asked of Arthas's fate. Highlord Fordring deeply mourned the fact he could not save Arthas from his fate, yet that was what happened.

The man Ethan encountered had not been nice, yet he had not killed Ethan nor any of his family. That did not seem characteristic of the Arthas everyone spoke of. So maybe not undead were fully evil.

Ethan reached out to pet the waiting puppy. Rot rubbed his head against the boy's hand. Maybe not undead were bad. Like Drusts. Kul Tirans thought all of them were bad, but they weren't. Rot closed his eyes with contentment as Ethan pet him. What remained of his tail wagged fiercely.

If he summoned the Light in his hand just now, the dog would burn into a pile of ash.

Horrified by his own thought, Ethan jerked his hand away from the dog. Rot yipped at the sudden movement. The dragon thing landed onto the ground, curious at the noise. Sapphire glanced back at him.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Ethan nodded quickly before getting to his feet.

"We should head back. Would you like to visit the library?"

Stub coughed as if disgusted by the thought. Animals were not allowed in the library. The librarian was adamant about that. Sapphire herself did not seem that interested. He tried to think of something else she might enjoy. He had first seen her hiding in the stables.

"How about the stables? We can go visit the horses."

Sapphire's eyes brightened. At least Stub can go into the stables so long as he behaved.

The two Drustlings and their four legged friends left the forest surrounding Hearthglen. Tanomoan swooped onto Sapphire's shoulder and curled its tail around her neck. As they did so, Ethan saw three figures approaching them. Stockley, Durl, and Verril. Since he had started helping Highlord Fordring, the three had not bothered him. They no doubt did not want to be seen as hostile toward the Highlord himself. Yet now they seemed to have regained their confidence.

Stockley grinned viciously at Ethan. "Hey, Dogbreath! It has been a while!"

Before Ethan could respond, the three got a good look of who was next to him. Suddenly Verril pushed Durl aside before smoothing down his hair. The young man came forward. Sapphire looked confused.

"Hi. I'm Verril."

Stockley curled his lip in disgust. "Verril, this girl is hanging out with the mutt!"

Durl snorted. "Open your eyes. What's with that hair?"

Beside Ethan, Sapphire frowned. She self consciously reached up to touch her hair. "What's wrong with my hair?"

The two boys chuckled. Verril started to look embarrassed, but he still forced out an awkward laugh.

"It looks like it belongs to a corpse, or an old hag!" The young orc snapped.

Stockley grinned. "Is all your hair white? Even the hair we can't see?"

At that, Ethan snapped. He let out a fierce growl while he bared his teeth. At that, Durl snarled back. Stockley gave him a disgusted look, completely undettered.

"By the Light, you are such a freak. Go lick your balls, Dogbreath, before I put you down like the rabid beast you are."

Before Ethan could respond, Sapphire rushed up. He saw her pull back her arm and tighten her hand into fight. She then punched Stockley in the face. The boy staggered back immediately, clutching his face.

"You bitch!" Stockley hissed through his hands. Verril, sensing how tense the situation was, put his hands on Stockley's shoulder.

"Come on, we should get some ice on that. Durl, help me."

The orc looked like he wanted to rip Sapphire's head off, but he did as Verril asked. The trio went off to the main keep.

Sapphire turned back to Ethan. He stared at her in surprise. He had not expected her to attack Stockley.

"Why'd you do that?" He demanded. Sapphire was taken aback by his sudden hostility.

"That boy called you names and threatened to put you down!" She replied.

"He's a paladin!" Ethan snapped. Stockley was a paladin, a soldier of the Light. Despite his crude nature, Ethan knew from the other paladins that only the best people could be paladins.

Sapphire grew angry now.

"I was just defending you," She retorted.

"Well, you shouldn't have!"

Sapphire huffed angrily, and with both hands, shoved Ethan to the ground. On her shoulder, the dragon stuck its round tongue at him.

"Next time I won't!" She snarled back. She rushed off toward the inn, where she and her mother had been given rooms. Rot sprinted after her. Stub came over to Ethan briefly and whined. He then turned to follow Sapphire. Ethan sat there, overwhelmed by shame.


To everyone who traveled the Plaguelands that night, fear reigned more than usual that night. A dark figure on horseback thundered along the main road, passing by as quickly as a flash of lightning. People could hear the hooves before they saw them and wished they had not. Even the feral undead that roamed the forests did not try to attack this lone rider.

Neither he nor his loyal steed needed sleep or rest. Arthas rode throughout the night, relishing in the simplistic act of riding Invincible. It had been so long since he had ridden Invincible. Like him, it seemed the horse felt similarly for he needed no direction or urging at the behest of his master.

The moon shone high in the sky as they approached the Thondroril River, a natural boundary between both halves of the Plaguelands. Invincible slowed down to a canter as he approached the bridge. Three paladins had been posted to this crucial post to guard the western side of the river. As they heard the horse approach, they moved to stand in the way though their stances were not hostile.

"Halt, traveler! What brings you here so late?" One blood elf paladin asked haughtily. Arthas reflexively gripped Invincible's reins. The horse snorted and stomped with impatience. They might have just let him through with a wave or a nod, but no. Paladins just had to be curious. If he were not filled with impatience and barely contained rage, he would find this entertaining.

"Merely traveling through," He responded softly yet this answer still revealed the spine chilling voice of a deathknight.

The paladins became suspicious immediately. Two gripped the hafts of their weapons. The blood elf who asked spat on the ground toward Arthas.

"You are not welcome here, corpse!"

Invincible tensed under Arthas's legs. What a brave paladin. Insolent too.

Arthas pulled down his hood. With a sigh, he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"If you were not so rude, this would have been simple. I would have gone my way and you could have lived."

With that declaration, Arthas and Invincible attacked. The horse reared up and kicked to force the paladins to retreat. Arthas unsheathed his sword in the meantime. Invincible needed no direction. He knew what his master was capable of and made things possible for him. One of the men charged. Arthas grabbed the upraised sword and slashed at the man's neck before he could retaliate. Blood spewed out of the wound.

All of a sudden, Light seared Arthas's body and he roared in agony. He turned against the one who caused this pain. Arthas slipped off his horse and strutted over to him. The paladin rushed at him. Arthas parried the heavy blow and fought with the paladin. Behind the two, Invincible attacked the other paladin on his own. Arthas heard the paladin cry out. Bones crunched and the cry turned to a scream.

The lone paladin now feared for his life and backed up. A fighter should never give up his ground. Arthas advanced. A few more clashes of the sword and the paladin faltered. Arthas pushed back and finally got the upper hand.

He kicked the paladin in the leg, causing him to fall to his knees. The man opened his mouth as if to say something, but Arthas did not allow him. He shoved his sword down and buried it in flesh and muscle.

As easily as it went in, the sword came out. Arthas casually kicked aside the body and turned to check on his horse. Blood and gore smeared Invincible's hooves. The horse happily left what remained of the paladin he killed and trotted over to Arthas.

What an unexpected pleasure, yet the night was short. Arthas would prefer to get to Hearthglen before daybreak. It would be easier to sneak into the town at night. Arthas remounted Invincible. The horse barely waited for him to get settled before heading off back onto the trail.


Sapphire woke up, drenched in sweat. It had happened again. She had seen him kill in Stormwind. Now she saw him kill paladins somewhere in a plagued forest next to river. What other place had such diseased trees besides the Plaguelands. Was there a river nearby? How close was he?

She stumbled out of the simple bed, almost tripping on the horn Salanar had given her. Briefly she wondered if she should use it. Salanar did not tell her if it worked here and had only mentioned using it if she went to Thros or whatever the place was called.

Mixed emotions swirled around her head. Her father had been kinder to her for over a year. Yet he kept the secret of Frostmourne to himself. She desperately tried to remember how it could have happened, but everything was a blur. She had tried to block out her memories before. Regarding this event, it seemed her avoidance had done its job. All she could remember was Icecrown Citadel falling to the invaders. Having lived there her entire life, Sapphire knew practically every dark hallway and room. It had been easy, if terrifying, to escape the invading forces and make her way out of the Citadel.

How did Frostmourne end up in her chest? Did her father do it himself or have someone else do it? If so, how did she manage to get away. A dark thought came to her. What if he had wanted her to get away. He just let her run off, knowing fully well he would find her eventually. A sob tore itself from her. Had it all been a cruel manipulation on her father's part?

Sapphire shakily reached for the door handle and escaped her borrowed room. She fled down the hall to where her mother was staying and banged on the door. Tears ran like rivers down her face.

It took her a moment but Jaina answered the door, astonished at the sight of her daughter. After flinging her arms around her own mother, Sapphire confessed.

"I'm not safe! Arthas is coming to get me!" She choked out.

Jaina pulled her into the room, attempting to calm her down. Sapphire could not.

"Sapphire, it's okay you don't know that-"

Sapphire snapped back. "I do know! Arthas is coming, I saw it in a dream."

She then told Jaina how she'd seen her father in a dream before, back in Stormwind. Jaina looked skeptical.

Sapphire looked up at her mother with wet eyes, wondering if she should tell her everything. Even in the dimly lit room, it was clear enough to see minor things. Under Jaina's smooth chin, her pale neck stood out. Sapphire could tell just how deeply she could bite down and tear into the vein in her mother's throat.

A sob broke itself free. Sapphire buried her face into her mother's chest to prevent any more of those thoughts. A hand came up to gently stroke her hair.

"Sapphire! Sapphire, it's okay. Even if you are right, I'll protect you!" Her mother reassured her quickly.

Jaina escorted the girl over to her bed and gently pulled away. She cupped both of Sapphire's cheeks in her hands.

"I swear, Arthas is never going to hurt you again." Her voice had a sharp edge to it, which was a slight comfort.

Sapphire sniffled. Jaina started wiping her tears away. Again, a thought crossed Sapphire's mind to lash out at Jaina.

"What if I tried to hurt you though?" Sapphire demanded.

"Sweetheart, you wouldn't-"

Sapphire bared her teeth at that, which stopped her mother midsentence. She had to say something. Even if not the whole truth. "I'm a monster. How could you possibly care for a monster?"

Jaina sat up straight. She took Sapphire's hands in hers.

"You choose to be a monster. Likewise, you can choose to not be one. Are you choosing to be one?"

Sapphire was reminded of Volugg. It sounded like something he would say. He had not been a monster, yet admitted to doing awful things in his past. Now, Sapphire regretted what she had done that day with that paladin and Ethan. He had gotten upset with her for hitting that other boy. Instead of apologizing, Sapphire had turned on him and hurt him too. She could have chosen not to. With that revelation, Sapphire shook her head.

"No. I...I don't want to be at least."

Jaina smiled. It was nice to have someone being nice to her. Smiling at her, hugging her, reassuring her. Her mother seemed to realize that Sapphire had calmed down enough so she offered to let her sleep with her. Sapphire nodded wearily. Jaina stood up to go turn close the door and gave her daughter one more reassurance.

"It's going to be okay Sapphire. If Arthas so much as looks at you, I'll burn him to ash."