Chapter 1

The land of Lordaeron…once a huge and majestic human land, it has now reduced to a mass of blight. No living creature stirred here; all plants and animals were nowhere to be seen. The land's so defile by death, not even nature can overcome this. The Undead have truly taken over the land.

"Necromancers, haul yourselves over there! King Arthas wants this citadel to be finished by the end of the month, and we cannot have you idle workers angering our king!" a lich barked at a group of necromancers who were huddled, deep within a conversation. The red-robed mages jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly went to follow his orders.

A robed skeletal being, these liches were once orc shamans who followed Ner'Zhul. Now brought back into the undead, they command the armies of the Scourge in his name. Cho'Nammoth, one of these horrific beings, was sent as a servant and assistant to Kel'Thuzad under Arthas's orders to construct a black citadel in Lordaeron. The citadel was to be the main fortress for the Undead there.

Cho'Nammoth hovered over the Kel'Thuzad, who sat upon his silver throne. He floated above the circular steps that surrounded the chair and paused in front of the master lich. "What is it now, lich?" Kel'Thuzad asked lazily as Cho'Nammoth approached.

"Master, I must ask you the reason for your orders of sending out scouts. I doubt that any banshees are left in this kingdom and none have escaped our execution. Our reign has extended already to Ironforge, where the dwarves' mountains still resist our assimilation. No one dares defy us in our lands now. The scouts would be put to better use to help hasten the construction of our Black Citadel," the lich informed, trying to keep his anger down as much as possible; how dare he call him a lich when he himself was no different?

Kel'Thuzad stood up, and hovering close to the other lich so his face was in front of his, stated softly, "I have my reasons. These banshees are cunning; you forget they were once part of Sylvanas's forces. Surely she has taught them some of her tricks."

Cho'Nammoth interrupted, "But-"

"Do not defy me. Go back to your post and resume supervising the construction." Kel'Thuzad said with a note of finality, and returned to his throne, where a necromancer was waiting to update him of the construction.

Cho'Nammoth, fuming, turned and went back to his supervision. His robes billowing behind him, he thought, "That fool…what other fools hide in our lands? Any hostility is responded with a quick death…and no living creature can live in the death that plagues the land now. I shall speak to King Arthas about this…"

A necromancer approached him as the ghostly lich was pondering, his staff being used as a walking stick. "General Cho'Nammoth, our scouts have found something peculiar in the forest."

Cho'Nammoth, completely taken back as this news was reported at an ironic time, recovered and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Lead me to it!"

The mage led the caster into the forest. Numerous paths had been marked here, using a special blight. These paths led from base to base, serving as markers for caravans. Straying from the path, the necromancer continued faster and deeper into an uncharted section of the woods. Cho'Nammoth, a bit surprised at the speed of the necromancer's pace, started to follow at a pace of jogging. A sudden snap of a twig brought him whipping around.

"Who's there?" he called into the darkness. No sound replied. Now on guard, he turned back around, only to see the necromancer had disappeared somewhere.

"Son of a…where did that blasted necromancer go?" Muttering in annoyance, he decided to continue straight on, hoping to meet or see the scouts the mage had mentioned.

Suddenly, he whipped around; he sensed something in the air. Reaching into his robes while looking around warily, his skeletal fingers grasped a transparent, round object on a pedestal. He waved his other hand around it, murmuring some enchantment. Fog appeared and swirled around in the crystal ball; when it stopped and parted, a figure could be seen flashing around from place to place, almost as quick as a lightning bolt. Temporarily unwary and mesmerized at the vision, he never noticed a figure crawling up to him. Claws gleaming in the moonlight, he flashed forward; one hand went toward the head and the other toward the back.

Cho'Nammoth's head suddenly started to jerk upward, but stopped in the same manner. Dropping the crystal ball, he looked down; metal talons had torn right through him, dripping in the undead blood.

The attacker whispered, "How touching, no one near to hear your screams of death," and tore the lich's head off. His howl of death was never heard as the figure traipsed off into the forest, still holding Cho'Nammoth's head…