Eight days had passed since the five Stormwind Navy ships had arrived at Theramore, and the 20th legion of Stormwind was close to home. In the far distance Solwein could spot the murky and foggy wetlands, though he couldn't see Menethil Harbor yet.

Kaonus stood unusually quietly beside Solwein, as he had for most of the trip. It took some time for it to really sink in, but during the time they had spent on the upper deck of their ship, staring out to sea, Kaonus began to fully understand what Arthas had done and what he was now. Kaonus had been very sullen indeed.

Arkhel had noticed the two had been very reclusive as of late. From the stern section he too gazed into the mist, and at his apprentices. For the first time in a very long time Arkhel wasn't offering his usual words of wisdom to Solwein or Kaonus. Solwein had been anxious about Arkhel doing something drastic. Little did he know exactly what Arkhel was about to do.

For the first time since they embarked, the paladin lord at long last approached the brothers at the bow. Both of them turned around and stood at attention before their master. Arkhel bent over the railing on his forearms and kept looking into the distance. Solwein and Kaonus both took it as a gesture of sympathy, so they joined him. After a few seconds of quiet contemplation, Arkhel spoke to his apprentices.

"I am very proud of both of you." He said. "I have put you to tests that any normal man couldn't have hoped to pass and you passed them all with flying colors." The apprentices turned their heads to their master and listened intently, for this was most unusual behavior for Arkhel. "You have been at my side for almost two years now and you have made all the difference in several battles over time." Arkhel's voice strained as he spoke. "It is time that you both ascended." Solwein was stunned and Kaonus's mouth fell agape.

"My master…" said a flabbergasted Solwein, lacking the composure to finish his sentence. Arkhel moved between the two and put his hands on their shoulders. "When we arrive at Stormwind, I take you before the Archbishop and officially declare your paladin training complete. After that, you will be knights of the Silver Hand."

Solwein was speechless. Kaonus was on the verge of jumping for joy, had it not been for their present predicament. There was a brief moment of silence but it seemed to drag on forever as Solwein attempted to collect his thoughts and reply to his master. He didn't come up with much.

"Thank you." The young vindicator managed. Kaonus came to and expressed his gratitude a little more coherently. "Thank you, master."

The shore was growing ever clearer as the three powerful vindicators returned to the railing and looked on. Nothing was said between them and nothing needed to be. They simply stood in rare moment of mutual affection between teacher and students, smiling as the dock workers came into view through the misty sunlight. Solwein was particularly glad to see friendly lands again. To him, the threat of the Scourge and Arthas didn't matter for a while.

He would be a Knight-Gallant soon, a holy shield to those who cannot shield themselves. And Kaonus would be a Knight-Errant, a holy head hunter, tracking down the lights enemies and sending them to judgment day.

As the boat docked with a shudder against the sturdy wooden docks, Solwein tensed a little, as if something was choking him. Arkhel and Kaonus looked at each other and then at Solwein.

"You both feel it too, don't you?" Arkhel asked. Solwein and Kaonus nodded. "What is it? What are we sensing?" Kaonus asked in his usual oblivious but concerned manner. "It's the Scourge, and Arthas." Solwein replied. "Right master?"

Arkhel closed his eyes and breathed the air for a moment. Solwein had seen him do this before. It was when the three were after a particularly powerful warlock in the Redridge Mountains. He felt the presence of fel energy and lost souls and it made him cringe.

Arkhel opened his eyes and then looked back at Solwein. "No. It is not Arthas." He replied gravely. He then stared at the deck without another word. And then Kaonus asked what Solwein had hesitated to ask. "Then what is it? Master Arkhel?" Arkhel still didn't say anything for a while, but continued to stare at the wooden floor of the ship. As the dockworkers came on board to ask about the hold up, Arkhel waved them off and answered Kaonus's question at last. "Death Knights… Dozens of them. They have risen again."

Solwein and Kaonus glanced at each other in mutual confusion. Then Kaonus once again asked the question Solwein had hesitated to ask. "What's a death knight?" Arkhel bowed his head and stared at the deck again without answering. Solwein and Kaonus had never seen their master like this; so thoughtful, almost as if he had hit a rare mental block and didn't know what to do. After a heavy sigh Arkhel spoke to the brothers at last. "Get the men off the ship and formed up outside of town. We march for Ironforge immediately." Feeling rather sorry for his master, Solwein put a hand on Kaonus's shoulder and led him away, not taking his eyes off of the unmoving and sorrowful Arkhel until the last second.

As he turned the corner and descended the stairs to the second deck down, he thought about the death knights that Arkhel had spoken of. Their master had never before shown this side of himself before. Whatever a death knight was, it must be something much worse than the Horde. It must be something that is altogether dreadful and dangerous, a threat to the entire world and not just human interests in Kalimdor.

The misty sunlight of the wetlands was little consolation for the eerie and disturbing feeling Solwein's attuned senses were creating in his gut. The only time he had ever experienced anything like it, was when he fought a band of orc warlocks in southern Durotar. There was a perversion about it, almost as though it was mocking all of humanity. What is a death knight? The question burned through his mind and he couldn't shake the lingering fear of the title from his head. The feeling inside of him was growing, threatening to consume him, but he didn't let it show.

"It's time to disembark men." Kaonus bellowed down the corridor below deck. Immediately, the troops started flowing out of their rooms and down the corridor. "Form up with all of your gear on the edge of town and make ready to march. We're headed for Ironforge." Solwein finished.

Two hours later, the legion was ready to march west for Loch Modan. The paladins three convened in front of the long column of men on the road to plan the journey. Arkhel issued the brothers' orders privately.

"Solwein, take point and lead the way. Keep a sharp look out. You know what's out there; orcs here in the wetlands, and troggs in Loch Modan. Keep your eyes open. Kaonus, take the rear and keep the stragglers in line. I've put our scout detail in back so you shouldn't have a problem with that. I will be moving up and down the line to keep order and deal with any problems that should arise."

The brothers acknowledged and rode to their designated positions in the long formation. As the march commenced, Solwein's mind simultaneously drifted back to recent events.

One of the prophet's three conditions had been met. There was now an enemy that he himself and probably all of the alliance could not defeat. The messenger on that fateful night had said that Arthas had raised Hearthglen to the ground personally. No fighter that he knew of, not even the strongest paladin, could deal out such destruction.

But what was bothering Solwein the most was the growing feeling of discomfort that started in Menethil. Like all paladins, Solwein was sensitive to fel energy. What made his current situation so peculiar was that there was none nearby and yet, his senses were irritated. And the farther west through the wetlands he traveled, the more prominent his discomfort. In the back of his mind, Solwein was expecting a source at any moment. But as they passed through the wetlands and into Loch Modan, nothing came. It simply got worse and worse and by the time the legion reached the southern guard tower, Solwein was almost to the point of paranoia.

The 20th made camp that night at the southern tower. After pitching his tent, Solwein visited his brother's tent. The two had been on opposite sides of the legion and only got to talk with one another when they made camp. Solwein had been hesitant to speak of how he was feeling, but it was beginning to affect his concentration. He knew Kaonus would listen.

"Good evening Solwein." Said a quiet Kaonus as he roasted a fresh spotted sunfish over a camp fire. "Hello." Solwein replied. Kaonus didn't say anything and Solwein couldn't think of any small talk. The silence continued and Solwein couldn't muster the courage to speak his mind. After a long silence, Kaonus finally said exactly what his brother was thinking.

"Solwein, there's something I'm feeling in the pit of my stomach." Solwein let out a breath he had been holding for a while. "I know Kaonus, I feel it too. I don't know if we want to speak with Arkhel about this though."

"Speak of what, apprentice?" Said a voice behind them. The brothers rose to attention at the speed of light, but Arkhel gestured for them to relax. "You wouldn't be keeping secrets from me would you?" He asked mindfully. Neither apprentice knew how to answer. "You feel it don't you? The plague?" Arkhel continued.

The two young paladins looked inquisitively at their master. "I am sure that you have been wondering what that itch inside of you is, and I admit I have been a little too secretive. So I'll come clean right now."

What you are feeling is what is known to the world as "the plague". To those who are sensitive to fel energy, the infected air has an adverse effect. The difference between fel energy and the plague is that the plague is a living thing, albeit an unnatural organism. Think of a druid and his ability to create life from nature. With his magic, and nature's permission, he can begin a new life. However, it is against nature's law to return something to life once it has died. That privilege is reserved only for the light and it isn't often that it performs such a miracle. When a mortal attempts this, the laws of nature prohibit the dead from fully returning to life. The result is a half life that we know as undeath, neither dead nor living, but somewhere in between."

Arkhel had never spoken of such things with his apprentices. For the whole of their paladinhood, the brothers had learned and preached the vileness and perversion of necromancy and the practice of resurrection, but they had never been taught why. Their master continued on.

"This plague, created from fel energy and bacteria, is in the air all around us right now. It can only be transmuted through the blood, so airborne bacteria won't harm us. Never-the-less, the inner light in all righteous beings wrestles with it as long as it is there, and we who are in touch with our inner light can sense it always. If the plague is able to extinguish our light, we not only become undead, we become slaves…" Arkhel paused "…to the plague's master."

Neither apprentice needed to ask who the master was and the current state of the world finally became clear. Solwein was angry. He wanted to lash out and rage, but his discipline held his tongue. Kaonus looked like he might throw up.

"The reason I explained all of this to you is so that you know exactly who your enemy is and, more importantly, why. Arthas is your enemy. He turned his back on the light by his own will. HE put out his own inner light. No matter how virtuous or noble the individual may have seemed, it takes an awful man to do that. Make no mistake; he is your enemy now. But there is something even more important that I have to tell you. It is going to be every paladin's mission until it's accomplished."

"We must defeat him at all costs. At the expense of our lives, dignity or anything we have, we must destroy Arthas. Right?" Kaonus exclaimed. Arkhel shook his head. "No Kaonus. I wish it were that simple." Arkhel sighed heavily. "We must defeat his boss at all costs. We have to get to the Lich king."

Solwein made an incredulous face and then snorted. "The Lich King? An old legend? Surely you can't be serious master!"

"I am very serious Solwein. Arthas the betrayer follows the Lich King. I am certain of it." Arkhel replied strongly. "And here is your proof."

Arkhel pulled out from under his cloak a tome titled 'The Legend of the Lich King'. He opened it and searched briefly. "While we were in Theramore, Jaina and I spoke on Arthas and one of the things she mentioned was Arthas's mission before his betrayal."

"He was after a weapon in Northrend, Frostmourn." Said Solwein. "Exactly! The two of us did a little research on the weapon and we found this tome. This is what frostmourn looks like." Said Arkhel, holding up the tome for Solwein and Kaonus to see.

"This is what gave Arthas the power to command the Scourge and rise against his nation. This is the Lich King's blade. And it is Jaina's and my belief that the Lich King is controlling Arthas through Frostmourn."

By the light. Thought Solwein. "Then we destroy the Lich King." said Kaonus. "Aye. We destroy the Lich King" said Arkhel. "Then let's rally what's left of the order and mobilize the Stormwind armies! We must strike at the heart of the Scourge, the Lich King himself, and we must do it now!" Kaonus exclaimed. "Unfortunately, again, it is not that simple. We don't know how to beat the Lich King." Arkhel said darkly.

"Say you are correct master. Say the Lich King actually does exist and say that he is actually behind all of this. What makes him so different from the rest of the Scourge? He is undead, so if we destroy his body, the magic cannot hold together. Powerful as he may be, he cannot defy the laws of magic, can he?" Said Solwein. Arkhel hesitated for a moment. "First of all, magic has no laws. You know that Solwein. And as for being undead, no one knows for sure what he is."

"But we do know where. He is in Northrend, so that is where we will go. It's simple is it not, master? We go to Northrend with every fighter we can muster and storm his…" Kaonus paused. "...castle?" He finished, unsure exactly what kind of dwelling the Lich King lived in. "He resides on the tallest spire in the frozen north, on a frozen throne. And that, my apprentice, is exactly why we don't just storm in. To get to the Lich King, we must first release him from this frozen prison. If we were to do that without a sure way to bring him down once and for all, the consequences would be catastrophic. No, first we must figure out exactly how to beat him." Said Arkhel.

The three sat in silence for a while around the flickering fire. To all of them, even Arkhel, the future seemed so grim. Solwein suddenly remembered the turmoil inside him that the plague was causing. He shook it off as best he could and asked a question he had waited to ask since Arkhel spoke of resurrection.

"Master? You said that the process of fully returning someone to life is only done by the light." Solwein said. "Aye. What of it Solwein?" The master replied. "When I was a young adept, I read from a tome in our archives about something called redemption. The incantation was in a language I was and am still unfamiliar with and I thought… master?" Solwein broke off. Arkhel was obviously surprised and caught off guard by what Solwein had said. Solwein wondered if he was in trouble. Kaonus looked back and forth between the two anxiously.

"How do you know about redemption Solwein?" Arkhel asked as normally as he could. Solwein hesitated for a moment. Solwein hesitated to answer as he had just said how he knew about it. "I-I read it in our archives…master." Arkhel steadied his demeanor and breathed a deep breath.

"Redemption is something that all things with a soul are capable of. Yes, it fully returns the dead to life, but it takes the life of the redeemer in return. It is, however, an involuntary act and the meaning of that incantation was lost long ago. Yet, it is believed, when redemption is performed, the redeemer recites it in the lost language and his or her soul embraces the dead… and returns it to life." As Arkhel finished his explanation, he pulled his knees to his chest.

"Listen, both of you, to what I am about to say." Said Arkhel. "Neither of you must speak of redemption unless it is necessary. The ritual is considered taboo to all mortals. Those who actually do perform it have great reason to do so and if you have none, do not even mention it. It is a godly subject, one that is beyond our rights to discuss without cause."

"So why have you explained it to us master?" Kaonus asked. Arkhel didn't answer but instead gave Kaonus a stern look. Solwein saw the situation deteriorating quickly, so he changed the subject."

"So what's our next move?" He asked. "Our next move is to get you two to Stormwind. I said you would be knighted, and I shall see it done." Said Arkhel. "After that, however, we may have to go our separate ways."

The brothers looked at each other and then at Arkhel. Both of them knew the day would come when they broke away from their master as independent leaders, but it still stung anyway. Neither of them said anything else on the matter.

The sun was fully set now, and the camp was lit only by the occasional camp fire here and there. Arkhel stood up. "Sleep well my students. We'll march for Ironforge at dawn and we'll be on the Stormwind side of the Deep Run Tram by dusk." The two stood as well and bade an informal good night to their master. Arkhel walked back behind Kaonus's tent and was out of sight.

Solwein looked over at his brother again. Kaonus was staring into the flames like he hadn't a thought in his mind. Solwein was worried for him. "How are you holding up Kaonus?" He asked gently. "I need to be honest. The plague is not my equal, but it has weakened me. I don't like being affected this way." Said Kaonus. Solwein couldn't help but smile at his brother's simplicity, but at the same time, he felt sorry for him.

The prophet popped into Solwein's mind. He had the urge to tell his brother that a prophet visited him. His words had been so vague. Solwein was so confused.

There are so many different things that could go wrong, so much evil mounted against us. What am I to do? Where is this one that can supposedly single handedly defeat the Lich King? Is the Lich King even real in the first place? How am I to decide what to do without any information to go on? It was at that moment as Solwein finished the last question in his head that he remembered what the prophet had said about his journey. "You must find the only one who can defeat your adversary." That is what the prophet said. So what do I need to do right now? What is priority number one? Solwein's deep thinking was interrupted by Kaonus.

"I must admit brother. There is something else bothering me." Said Kaonus hesitantly. "The order… the messenger said it was breaking apart. You said that we two will make it through together, but what about the order? I don't want to think about a world without the Silver Hand."

Solwein sighed and silently agreed with his brother. The order is the guiding light in the alliance. If it dies, there will be no rally point. The alliance needs paladins more than ever. We can't let that happen. Solwein raised his head slightly and wrinkled his brow. That's it. That's what's next.

"We won't let that happen, Kaonus." Solwein said confidently. Kaonus half smiled and looked over at his brother at his brother. "We can only hope." Solwein got up quickly. "No Kaonus. We, you and I, will not let that happen." Kaonus looked at his brother across the fire curiously. "We are about to be knights. Our training is complete and if our leaders do not persevere, then you and I shall." Solwein said determinedly. Kaonus was obviously skeptical. "We are only two men. We aren't even officers. Who would listen to a couple of lowly knights like us?" Kaonus replied. "We are disciples of Arkhel "The Glorious"! You and I are destined to be leaders in the Silver Hand and it is our responsibility to ensure it does not fade away." Kaonus's half smile became a full and admiring smile. "If the order should falter, would you stand with me and press on? Would you rule the Silver Hand with me?" Asked Solwein, extending his hand to his brother. Kaonus grasped Solwein's hand and pulled himself to his feet. "Aye, little brother. So long as we live, there will always be a Silver Hand." He said. "So long as we live, big brother.

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Around the corner, a silent Arkhel stood with his shoulder against a large boulder, listening proudly to his students. As long as either of you live, hope will never fully fade away. I am so proud of you both. I shall get word to Stormwind that you are to be knighted. I don't think you'll be seeing me again, so take care of one another. Charge hard paladins, and never lose faith. Arkhel reached into his cloak pocket and retrieved a hearth stone. As he rubbed his thumbon the hearth symbol, he bowed his head and whispered to himself. "Alright Stratholme. Here I come!" And then he was gone.