Chapter Six
Duskwood was quiet as three ship's crept along the shoreline, their sails drawn up to hide their allegiance, allowing only the waves and current to drift them slightly in. The fog was heavy and thick, giving perfect camouflage for the ships. Their wooden bow's creaked and groaned under the riptide, only a handful of figures littering the deck at the moment.
"Should we land now, sir?" a quiet voice whispered from beside Tavin suddenly. He placed a face with the voice and glanced out over the water and nodded. "I only hope we can reach Stormwind in time.."
A deep fear clung to his heart for the Kingdom of Stormwind, and for Aydeline whom resided there now..
"Fire!"
Shots rang out across the night as muzzle flashes lit up the tunnel, a cacophony of rounds streaking across the grounds and burying themselves in the sparse band of thieves, riddling them and stopping them dead in their tracks. The Stormwind soldier's were weary and burdened, perhaps one of the last units left within the confides of the walls, which were now sealed shut, barring any reinforcements from the outside, or allowing anyone to escape from the inside.
Several hours ago, an explosion rattled Stormwind as the main portcullis into Stormwind was ripped apart by a chain of explosions, destroying the main way into Stormwind, except that by sea and flight. Confused and slightly dazed, Stormwind quickly sealed the harbor off, but soon further fell subject to mass murder as Defias bandits appeared everywhere, killing Officers and Enlisted alike, quickly blazing a trail for the keep and obviously Varian. Where they had come from was beyond anyone, considering Stormwind was quarantined off, but they came in waves, destroying most of the royal guard and almost dispatching Varian, whom scathingly managed to seal shut the keep, then barricade himself within it, leaving perhaps a handful of soldiers and some nobles left. Apart from the keep, the main regiment that protected Stormwind quickly fell by the bandit's attacks, leaving maybe a company of men surviving.. if that.
Commander Welsh knew nothing of the civilians or any other soldier's remaining within Stormwind, his men had retreated to the Trade District, forming their last stand with their backs against the rubble of the main portcullis, trying slowly dwindle Defias numbers from the small tunnel at the front of the District. Morale depressed, Welsh knew they had to make a run soon for the keep or manage to make a plan, but he also knew no doubt they would be subject to countless ambushes... he truly wondered if it was worth the risk.
It wasn't long before the peaceful hued sky above Stormwind was burned to red as the city fell to razing, the dark forms of Defias' flitting across the city grounds, their bandannas worn proudly around their face as the words "Defiance!" rang out across the once proud city... Welsh wondered how they would survive what was now the second fall of Stormwind...
Tholomew glanced out across Stormwind, shuffling his boots across the rooftop, his eye glittering with pride as he watched Stormwind slowly burn under the Defias' revenge. He enjoyed to think of this as repossession.. they were never paid for their services to the House of Nobles, and now they finally had the city back in their hands, wrenched away from the proud nation of Stormwind. Tholomew smiled spitefully under his mask for the umpteenth time that day.
He glanced to his left, looking at Vanessa with favor, enjoying the way the black leather hugged her frame along with the glittering daggers strung about her waist... They suited her well.
"We did it." Tholomew said above the crackling of the fires, slipping up beside her. Her eyes glimmered dangerously as she nodded in agreement, "That we did.." she raised her right hand and held it against the burning skyline, her cog tattoo seeming fitting against the sight of the razed city. She allowed herself just to smile slightly as she wished her father could see the success of the situation. It had taken years to reach this point; years of precise planning and executions to finally pay back Stormwind, the nation they had former shed blood, sweat and tears for... It was so fitting that in the peak of their lively hood that they should be brought down by the very hands whom rebuilt them.
"The Defiance will be here soon enough.." Tholomew said, breaking Vanessa from her reverie. She grinned wickedly at his words, remembering the ship, surprised slightly that she had forgotten momentarily about it. "Aye.." she whispered, turning her eyes to scan the harbor, imagining The Defiance strolling into the harbor, its decks ablaze with the ingenuity of Goblin engineering.. no doubt the harbor would be rubble in a matter of minutes. The Defiance was the centerpiece of the Brotherhood's firepower; a historic ogre Juggernaught from the First War that once sat motionless in the Deadmines, but finally, after years of reconstruction, it was operational again.. and ready to raze the coast of Stormwind.
"I can hardly wait.." she said, commenting on his words.
"And the girl?" he asked from behind her, showing an edge of curiosity in her. Vanessa wheeled around at this, catching the tone in his voice. She raised an eyebrow at him, "What of her?" she asked, turning the question upon him, seeking to invoke an adequate answer.. and also to make him choose his words wisely.
"I was merely wondering what we intend to do with her." he said, the tone slighlty disapeering.. but still there. I like the use of "we".. Vanessa thought to herself. She let the silence linger for a moment as she thought about the girl still locked within the confides of Tholomew's office. It was impressive to think that it was the Queen of Lordaeron under their thumb at the moment.. no doubt they should use her to her full extent and manipulate the Kingdom of Lordaeron for awhile, or at least stay them away from their territory. With the Horde nearly disbanded and behind their walls and the main benefactor of the Alliance at its knee's with no one knowing... all that stood in the way of the Defias essentially controlling Azeroth, was Loraderon.
"Well we cannot kill her.." Vanessa finally said. She paused for a moment, "How is she complying today?" she asked finally. "Rather well... She actually seems to be turned, but then again I am feeling a strange presence, or presences surrounding her; whether or not this is the Fel Magick affecting her, or if its something deeper... I cannot place." Tholomew answered.
Vanessa nodded, partially glad about the news. "Is the real Aydeline still dwelling within there, or is she merely your puppet now?" she asked, deepening the question. Tholomew shook his head, "I have her under my control at times, and at others her will overrides my control, and I am left but to watch how she acts.. and surprisingly she complies, even with the free will." he said. Vanessa raised an eyebrow, "Do you believe that another entity is perhaps possessing her?" she asked. Tholomew shrugged slightly, "Perhaps... If it is, they are certainly powerful... She is extremely strong, especially her magick, however when under this other influence... its almost frightening." he said.
Vanessa ran a hand through her hair, glancing away for the moment. "How did you manage to influence her in the first place?" she asked. "She had a bit of defiance against her King, a bit of insolence and a bit of regret, among other feelings... so with these mixed, it was only simple to bend her to my will using thoughts and events, until finally her will became mine..." he paused, and glanced over at Vanessa, "It's a labyrinth of the mind, and basically like playing chess." he finished, putting it in simpler terms. She nodded and the two fell quiet for a moment.
"I will.. "attend" to her for the moment." Vanessa declared suddenly, walking across the rooftops towards the Cathedral, which was essentially the only part of Stormwind not burning at the moment. Tholomew murmured something but Vanessa heard it not, as she bounded down to the streets, making her way towards the Square.
The burning was unbearable.
Aydeline screamed in agony as she writhed on the floor, the deprivation of Fel Magick raged pain through her body; her eyes were a ghastly green, her teeth gained a primitive look as well as the rest of her features.. it was terrifying for anyone to see, let alone experience. But Aydeline had only one mindset right now: to feel the Fel Magick course through her veins again, the euphoric feeling of the demon tainted sorcery as it ripped through her, giving her the slight edge that she suddenly needed just to live.
Hungry, Aydeline scoured the office, ripping open Tholomew's drawers, sending files and dossier's everywhere, spilling countless papers across the floor along with quills, inkbottles and other various utensils. Finally her hand wrenched out what she was partially seeking:
An alchemy kit.
However this was no ordinary alchemy kit, which would contain hued potions or crushed herbs alongside a mortar and pestle. This one was more gnarled and ancient looking. A small stone basin with intricate engravings around the rim. Lying on its side in the middle was a large flask, filled to the brim with a wicked green substance, a fresh wax seal around the stopper at the top.
Aydeline wrenched the stopper off and tilted her head and the flask back, allowing the contents to cascade down her throat and into her body. The liquid burned her throat but the pain was instantly blocked out by the wave of euphoria that crashed over her, causing her veins to pulse with excitement. The withdrawals washed away, the Fel Magick coursed through her, giving her a high for a moment...
But suddenly:
Anach kyree! A-rul shach kigon! Gor'om haguul! Katra zil shukil!
A cacophony of demonic words rushed into her head, inciting more pain and agony than before, the words attacking her from all angles, allowing her no where to go within the confides of her mind. She screamed in pain, tears streaming down her pain wrenched face as she clawed at her head, trying to make the voices stop.
"LEAVE!" she cried, blindly swinging into the air. Her fists flew forth, trying to strike her invisible enemy in hope that the voices would stop. All she met however was the fragile surface of the wardrobe mirror, the glass shattering into pieces and cutting her hand deeply, adding to her pain further. She cried out and fell to the ground, sobbing and heaving at the voices that continually scrabbled at her sanity.
Shaza-kiel!
Aydeline dove within her mind, finding the source of the uprising, grabbing a wretched hold of it.
...
"You will not control me!" Aydeline screamed at the looming dark figure present in her mind. It cracked a sadistic smile, its deep demonic runes covering its body glowing ominously. "You've belittled your faith, and you've hidden it for so long, away from your "holy" husband... Ahh the vagabond and wretched tithe payer..." he said, speaking in riddles, beginning to circle her. "I've allowed my.. "servant" to extend his control over you, but in truth I've always been in control of you my dear.. ever since you lost your sanity and faith in that dark, dank room.. with that image of-
"Silence!" she screamed, wishing not the reminisce of that night.. "I see I've hit a note!" it whispered, edging closer to her. Aydeline flinched away, but a burning hand soared out and seized a hold of her. "Control;"
"It is mine."
Vanessa slipped into the Chapel, surprised to not her the echoes of painful screams, or any form of sound filling the spacious ceilings... It was odd. She sighed and slipped down into Tholomew's office, her hand straying towards her dagger slightly, in case the ignorant broad tried anything hasty. Instead, she found Aydeline waiting behind Tholomew's desk, a tome in her hand as she scanned its pages. Vanessa observed her for a moment, noting the deep green eyes, swirling with some sort of.. magic? aura? Vanessa could not quite place the word to describe it, but it was certainly interesting, if not disturbing.
"You seem different..." Vanessa commented, making her presence known, stepping out of the shadows and up to the front of the desk, her eyes never leaving Aydeline. She looked up from her readings, staring at Vanessa with the same unnerving eyes, "Solitude does change those caught in the abyss..." she whispered, her voice containing an edged tone. Vanessa ignored it, "I trust you've come to accept our views?" she asked, hoping Tholomew's words about her cooperating would prove to be true. Aydeline paused for a moment, seeming to ponder.
"Acceptance is not the word I would use." Aydeline said, dropping the book on the desk and standing up. "I prefer the word.. Synergy." she whispered, pausing to let the words soak in.
Smart girl.. Vanessa thought to herself. She didn't know the literal or common meaning of Synergy, however in her arcane studies the word became present when combining magic types, such as fire and arcane, or ice and arcane.. and also demonic with life forces and other arcane elements. It, in simple terms, was the cooperative action of two or more elements, resulting in a different or greater response than that of the individual elements... Add fire to fire, and you get a bigger fire.
Vanessa eyed her for a moment, before nodding approvingly, motioning for her to follow. The two slipped out of the Cathedral and out into the Square, walking across the deserted district. Aydeline glanced up, seeing the flames licking the sky from the Trade District mainly, as well as a few houses nearby; ash coated the air and drifted down onto the streets, soon glazing almost every square of Stormwind, the heated winds in the city carrying around.
They began to exit the subsection of the city, however Vanessa cursed loudly as they found themselves in a precarious position;
In the sights of the remaining Stormwind Guard.
The leader amongst them pointed a gauntleted finger towards them, screaming several commands, the soldier's instantly dropping down and raising their rifles, hesitating not in the slightest bit at this point. Vanessa dove back and wrapped herself around Aydeline, slamming the two to the ground just as the stone above them shattered into fragments as rounds buried themselves into the stone walls.
Before Vanessa and Aydeline could make another move to escape, a shuddering sound rumbled through the air, halting the two parties in silence for a moment..
..
A whistling sound singed the air...
And Vanessa's eyes grew wide.
"Run!" she screamed, hauling Aydeline up and stumbling away, trying to get away from the gate.
No sooner did they brush past the fountain, did the entrance into the Square explode with a brilliant cloud of dust and shattered shards, as something obliterated the archway completely, collapsing the entrance into the Square, further separating the two from each other.
"Damn't.." Vanessa muttered, wiping a smudge of soot away from her eyes, pulling Aydeline back to her feet at the same time.
Welsh cursed loudly as he shielded his face from the debris that flew past his face, caused by the sudden explosion that crashed in through the harbor, destroying the archway into Cathedral Square. Welsh coughed and waved a hand over his face, glancing to the right, out into the bay. "Dear Light..." he whispered, his eyes settling on the confides of an ogre Juggernaut that bellied itself in the harbor, its massive guns pointed at the city, their depths billowing with black smoke from the gunpowder. It would no doubt take the cannoneers several moments to clean and reload the guns... but obviously when they fired, it was devastating.
"Go!" Welsh yelled, waving a hand towards the Keep.. they needed to get away from the range of those guns, otherwise they'd find themselves destroyed under countless chunks of rubble and debris. In addition, they needed to catch those Defias if they could... they looked important. Ignoring the urge to grin at his sensible decisions, Welsh took off, his men with him, their rifles ready to fire need be.
The group burst around the corner, eying the bridge over into the Dwarven District, just as the same two figures skittered across it. "Fire!" Welsh roared, his men not even hesitating, bringing their rifles level and squeezing the triggers, a volley of cascading shots echoing across the Canal's as a half dozen lethal rounds whistled towards their targets. The rounds roared across the canal, but grazed by the figures, slamming into the walls with no luck. The two figures dashed away, skittering around the corner towards the Keep.
"After them!" Welsh roared, hoping to corner them against the sealed walls of the Keep. Their plate armor clanked as they sprinted after them, many forsaking their firearms for their swords, wrenched them from their scabbards and keeping them ready as they charged after the two lone figures.
The two dashed around the corner, finding barricades and sandbags awaiting them in front of the Keep, likely the first defense thrown up by the guards before they retreated within the Keep itself. Vanessa and Aydeline hurried and slid down behind them, finding several discarded weapons strewn about, including several flintlock pistols. Vanessa immediately grabbed one and glanced over the sandbags, silently hoping some of their rogue's would notice the stray guard and execute an ambush.
Until then, it was the two of the, verses the guards.
A folly of gunshots rang out, the sandbags hissing in resistance when the rounds struck them, tearing parts of the canvas apart, the sand inside bleeding out of the sacks into the street. Vanessa spewed out several choice words, before grabbing a hold of another flintlock pistol, bringing both of them up. She waited for the pause in the folly, before she sprung up, aiming the two pistols at the center of the group, pulling the triggers sharply. Instantly, black powder exploded out of the barrels, hurling the two rounds forward, striking one guard in the chest, another in the neck. Blood spurted from the guards wounds, throwing them to the ground, their rifles skittering away from them. Another volley shot out just as Vanessa began to duck, several of the rounds grazing by her shoulder, managing to tear the leather slightly but missing the skin by a hair's length.
She threw the two smoking guns away, grabbing the second, and last, pair. The smoke from the gunpowder and the fires had fogged the area, casting a haze over the square, obscuring everyones vision especially those with firearms, considering all they could see now were faint outlines. She waited for the lull in the firing, but as the first chain of rounds seemed to stop, various shots rang out in the distance and suddenly a light exploded overhead, illuminating the entire square, bathing it in red light.
"Flare!" a soldier screamed behind them. Vanessa peeked over the fortifications to find several of the soldiers scattering for sparse cover, most facing the other way turning their attention away from Vanessa and Aydeline, turning their attention to whatever lay behind all of them. Vanessa instantly seized the opportunity and took the last two pistols, firing them towards the center of the ragged band. She smirked as she heard two painful yells as the rounds found their correct marks. Finally, a lull in the firing appeared, the scent of gunpowder moist in the air as black smoke billowed from the handful of discarded guns both by Vanessa and near the fallen soldiers ahead of them. She sensed a few still remained alive, but they obviously had no were else to go, no weapons... a last stand.
Her keen ears perked up as she heard soft padded feet drop down across the cobble stone behind them, the resounding click of rifle mechanisms being cocked back as the other faction of attackers quickly took over. Vanessa stood up, a faint sense of confidence leading her towards the epicenter of the fight. As she neared, a small bolt of relief ran through her as she spotted familiar red bandannas encircling the remaining guards, the Defias' rifles and flintlock's raised towards the surrendering guards. She instantly assumed command and placed herself in front of the captain of the rough handful of soldiers. She snatched his pistol from his belt and rolled the firing rig back, priming the hand cannon for a single shot. Whomever would be on the receiving end of the handgun when it went off at this range would surely not live to see the gunpowder clear from the air.
"You sicken me." the man finally spat out, glaring at Vanessa with a malevolent gaze. She only smiled back though, deciding to humor him to the slightest bit. "Revenge is bittersweet." she merely said, jabbing him with the gun, jerking her head towards the doors of the keep. He curled his lip and scoffed, "Line men of honor up to die like pigs at a slaughterhouse?" he murmured, regretfully obeying her orders, leading the sparse men left towards their graves along the gate.
"Considering you treated us like pigs, its fitting we should kill you like ones." Vanessa snapped back, allowing her anger to tinge her emotions... she had waited so long for this moment and time; the victory and vengeance tasted sweet in her mouth, although she still knew her thirst for justice would never truly be sated... but this would be as close as it would get for the moment. The soldiers lined themselves along the wall, the captain of them taking notice in Aydeline. "Queen Aydeline." he said distastefully, glancing at her with a revolting look placed on his face. "I thought you were our allies." he spoke, his voice dropping to a whisper, straining for them to hear.
Aydeline seemed unphased as she returned his look with pure emptiness... she did not care.
Vanessa sensed she was under the control of something else, otherwise she wouldn't be in possession of this attitude or stature... she enjoyed seeing her like this. Vanessa pulled back her pistol, interested to see where this conversation would go; she partially hoped the man would bring out the true demon underneath Aydeline's skin.
"No wonder your husband deserted you in this time of war... so indecisive and idiotic." he said, fumbling with his words, truly making no sense but just seeking to sputter out his anger as quick as possible. "Not to mention the betrayal you handed to him... I heard she slept with another demon just because he said he was Tavin..." The group chuckled halfheartedly at the joke, deciding to make the best of the moment and die with a grin on their lips. Aydeline merely stared at them with a blank slate of a face, but Vanessa recognized the fury that brimmed underneath her baleful eyes.
Aydeline stood stoic for a moment, letting the laughing cease, before her hand snapped up. A green tempest swirled amidst her palm and shot forth, slamming into the Captain and hurtling him towards the keep walls. As his body ricocheted off the wall, the energy expanded and with a bright flash, exploded.
Vanessa adverted her eyes and clamped her ears as a defeaning roar ripped out across the plaza, accompanied by a blinding flash of sickening light. The agonized screams of men was quickly drown out as the shockwave tore deep ruts into the stone and ripped away large chunks of the wall away. Dust pillowed up around them, and as it faded away behind them, Vanessa brought her eyes back to face the aftermath, her eyes widening with both shock and amazement.
The corpses were fringed and decimated, nearly disintegrated in some areas, the charred remains thrown against the walls viciously. The outer flesh of the keep bore pockmarks and black marks around the edges, both gifts from the devastating shockwave. The most impressive part was the keep door, which had exploded inwards, ripped off its hinges in many areas, the burned and ragged bolts cascading to the ground, clinking across the cobblestone in defeat. The pathway up to the throne was clear now.
Every Defias turned to face Aydeline, who's emotions had hardened again, her face fading back to its stoic nature. "The way is clear." she said.
Authors Note:
Sorry for the delay, but alas here it is! Review?