Authors's Note: Sorry this update took so long. I promise they will be much quicker in future. Enjoy.
The following events are the accounts of Cynthia Hawkspear, Dark Ranger of the Forsaken – not historical fact. As of such, some of these events will represent fact others merely hearsay but do not, however, doubt their importance, even for a second.
Two days have passed since my last entry and the Forsaken war machine continues on… as it always will. However, the Dark Lady has not forgotten the events of that fateful night in the Apothecarium. They hang on her mind like moss dangling from an ancient tree, haunting her every thought. My Queen cannot help but think about that contemptible rogue Nightingale, if he was able to steal her most secret documentation… what else could he have stolen? So the order was sent out, Nightingale was to be captured and brought before the Dark Lady herself!
This, my friends, is where I enter the story.
The Dark Lady has charged me with the task of hunting the elusive Nightingale and I was to be given every resource the Forsaken had available, which meant I wouldn't be going alone.
Sylvanas assigned her 'daughter', Dark Princess Amaranth and the child's tutor; Eva Nightsorrow, a veteran Forsaken trooper and fiercely loyal to boot. Together we formed Operation: Blackmist, named so as this was the title installed upon our target for his ability to disappear like the mist. Nightingale was last seen approaching the fallen city of Stromgarde and so our journey together begins on a bat flight to Galen's Fall….
A fierce autumn gale blew wildly from the Alterac ranges across the face of Amaranth Windrunner, Dark Princess of the Forsaken, her face flinching at the impact. The speed at which her bat mount flew only amplified the intensity of the mountains frigid gust. She turned her face away from the mountains of Alterac and looked to her wisest tutor but most importantly dearest companion, Eva Nightsorrow. Eva was a Royal Dreadguard, strongest warriors of the Forsaken and guardians of the Banshee Queen. She was assigned to be Amaranth's protector and teacher when she reached adolescence. Eva then turned to face the young princess, noticing her obvious discomfort she laughed, an odd chocking noise in reality.
"If there is one thing I enjoy more than anything about undeath mistress, it would be our resistance to cold weather. You need not worry we have just entered the Alterac Mountains and will reach Galen's Fall shortly." Amaranth nodded in response but still looked somewhat distressed. I noticed this and attempted to take her mind off whatever it was troubling her.
"Perhaps it is time you learned more about your future kingdom, your highness?" I asked "I would be happy to pass my knowledge onto you." The Princess turned to me and smiled
"I would be honoured to learn from one as great as you are, Cynthia. I think I am ready to learn more of my inheritance plus I cannot rule the Forsaken if I remain blind to our achievements." So Eva and I began to tell Amaranth of our most recent history, guiding the Princess through the events that followed the betrayal of Putress, how the horde grew untrusting of the Forsaken and how our conquest of Lordaeron is one way we are rebuilding that trust for as much as Sylvanas did not admit, the forsaken needed the rest of the horde; well… for the time being. Soaring over Hillsbrad, Eva described in brutal detail, the events of the Battle for Hillsbrad and how the Forsaken proved its dominance over the Alliance by destroying the outpost of Southshore. As we neared Thoradin's Wall, Eva came to her conclusion…
"…and so that's how we gained dominance in this region, though we are still harassed by those mongrel worgen bastards!" Amaranth laughed at her friends fiery spirit and casual swearing, her language wasn't the norm among her other Dreadguard protectors. Within five minutes we had touched down over Thoradin's Wall and proceeded to search for Dark Ranger Alina, commander of Galen's Fall. Suddenly, as our trio approached the camp we were met by a bellowing but disjointed cry.
"AMARI!" With that a towering abomination hurtled toward us, its arms open wide in a 'somewhat' friendly gesture. As the creature neared, the princess moved to the front of our group, a slight smile crossing her face.
"Hello Goutgut. How are you today?" The princess spoke as she climbed onto the beast's back and lovingly stroked its head. She moved elegantly and with a grace cherished by all Dark Rangers, she was her mother's daughter. Eva looked up at her mistress with a confused and irritated look, and then spoke very sarcastically.
"So another of your friends is it, why must you torture me so with your friend cheating." Both Eva and Amaranth burst into laughter at Eva's overly dramatic speech and Amaranth responded equally dramatic.
"Oh Eva, you know you're my only true friend. Undeath is truly a girl's best friend but I would never be disloyal to you. Please forgive my treachery." Smiles still scarred both their face, revealing to any bystander the truth of their conversation.
"Okay but only because you asked so nicely." The girls seemed to had finished their little joke, so I steeped in to remind them of their duty here in Arathi.
"Play time is over ladies, we came here to work for the Dark Lady. I wouldn't keep her waiting." Amaranth and Eva exchanged looks and shivered as if a sudden chill had crept up their spines, then spoke simultaneously.
"No, rather keep our heads thanks." They both shared a laugh at their symmetry but quickly harden their expressions, showing me that their focus had returned and they were ready to begin the interrogation. We entered the outpost of Galen's Fall and I immediately noticed my sister's commanding presence. We greeted each other warmly.
"Hail Sister of the night, what brings you to my dominion Cynthia?" Asked Alina, very keen to understand why I had suddenly ventured outside of the Undercity.
"Hail brave sister, we come on direct business of the Dark Lady. We come to ask your assistance in capturing the thief Nightingale. As you are probably aware, the rogue escaped the Undercity right in front of our Queen, possibly with important documents in his possession. My task is to capture him and return to the capital with all haste." Alina surveyed our group for a few seconds until her eye fixed on Princess Amaranth. With elven grace she curtseyed and greeted Amaranth respectfully.
"It is an honour to make your acquaintance milady. I hope you find the outlying Forsaken strongholds to your liking." Amaranth, who was used to this kind of response from members of the Forsaken, responded in kind.
"The pleasure is all mine Ranger. It feels good to finally get out and explore the outlying territories instead of being cooped up in the capital."
"I know how you feel, Princess. The Forsaken conquest of Lordaeron has done wonders for my cabin fever." Alina said, "I will obviously do all in my power to make your trip worthwhile. You will have full access to all the resources I possess." This time Eva spoke, thanking Alina for her assistance.
"Your cooperation is greatly appreciated, Dark Ranger Alina and your assistance does not go unnoticed. The Dark Lady will be informed about this." Alina nodded her gratitude and guided us to a nearby bench covered with all matter of military documents. When we were all seated, Alina began to explain everything she knew about the mysterious fugitive Nightingale.
"From what we can ascertain, Blackmist flew over the wall about a day ago. We believed him to be one of ours and thought nothing of it, a stupid mistake and I promise it will not happen again." She paused briefly, seeming to want my acknowledgement, when I nodded she continued.
"He took off in the direction of the fallen human bastion Stromgarde but his motives as of yet are uncertain. Far as I can tell and from what I have been told…" She motioned in the direction of a Forsaken trooper, who watch the walls of Stromgarde like a hawk "There is nothing of importance within those walls bar the sword Troll'kalar but that holds more sentimental importance than anything." Amaranth stared at the trooper who appeared to be standing in a silent vigil. She pointed in his direction and asked.
"Excuse me if this sounds naïve but who is that soldier, he has an aura of importance about him." Alina glared at the Princess in disbelief then answered her.
"You really have been kept away for too long milady, that soldier is indeed important. He is Galen Trollbane: Fallen Prince of Stromgarde and possibly our greatest asset here in Arathi, his knowledge of the lands and its people is impressive." Amaranth continued to stare at Galen as she often found herself doing, Eva noticed this. She had learned over the years that Amaranth's stares generally meant she was onto something important and so voiced this.
"It seems ladies that our Princess has given birth to a healthy brain-child, what is it that you have discovered mistress?" Amaranth turned to the collection of eyes staring at her. Alina, Eva and I were deeply interested in what the Princess was thinking.
"I think we should speak with Galen again, who knows maybe he's hiding something. He has only recently become one of the Forsaken; perhaps he is in league with Nightingale." I agreed with her, the Princess and I shared similar thoughts.
"An excellent suggestion milady" I said, "Lets speak with him immediately." So our party rose from our seats and quickly made our way over to where Galen stood. As we approached the man showed no awareness of our intrusion physically but he spoke nonetheless.
"I already told you what I know Alina; I have as much idea as you do about why that human has taken interest in my home…" Galen sighed "But it is no longer my home is it?" He turned around and noticed he was not simply staring at Alina as he suspected but three other women of the Forsaken, including royalty. He quickly assumed a respectful position and greeted Amaranth.
"Lady Windrunner, it is an honou…" Amaranth suddenly cut him off, seemingly sick off all the respectful gestures.
"We do not have time for greetings now, Galen. You will tell me why Nightingale has taken residence in your former kingdom!" Amaranth's voice had raised several octaves and she began showing the commanding aura of Sylvanas herself. I thought to myself, this is why she was chosen. Galen did not seem fazed by the Princess' sudden outburst but simply replied very coldly.
"As you wish, milady." Galen paused, took an unnecessary breath and began to speak with a newfound pride. "As you are all probably aware, the Trollbane dynasty has ruled over these lands for many years under the first great human Empire, Arathor. My ancestors established Strom, now Stromgarde, as the capital of their great kingdom during the Troll Wars." Eva, growing impatient of Galen's history lecture asked.
"Hey Gal, has this story got a point?" Galen glared deep into Eva's eyes and spoke fiercely.
"I'm getting to it wench; now take a seat and be patient!" Galen calmed himself and continued his speech. "Where was I, ah yes, it was during the Troll Wars that Arathor was at its peak and my great grandfather Ignaeus Trollbane wielded the fearsome Troll'kalar for the first time, sprouting the seeds of fear among the trolls. However, while we succeeded in defending ourselves from the trolls, the Quel'Thalas elves were on the verge of defeat. They pleaded with the warriors of Strom to come to their assistance and in exchange one hundred humans would be trained in the arcane arts." Amaranth suddenly realized the purpose of Galen's speech and asked him.
"Galen, are there any arcane artifacts still remaining in Stromgarde?" Galen smiled and turned to me saying.
"Such a bright spark our princess is." He then turned to face Amaranth and continued. "The answer to your question milady is yes. After the elves bestowed their 'gift' upon us, the arts of sorcery spread like demonic hellfire and was eventually seen as a relatively common practice throughout the human city states and a useful quality in war. However, with all magic practice comes an urge for power, Arathor was no different. An unknown mage unlocked the secrets to some heinous demonic magic and imbued it into an amulet. This amulet had the power to bind the targets soul to it, forcing that target into the service of the wearer." Galen paused and so I used this as an opportunity for questions.
"So what happened to this Amulet, does it still exist?" Galen sighed then turned his back to me.
"You people really need to learn the virtue of patience… the answer is yes, it still exists. When the mage was discovered, our holy men went to his tower to subdue him, we soon discovered that the power of the amulet could only consume a corrupted or tortured soul and so was useless against the purity of our paladins. The mage was killed in the ensuing conflict. However, the amulet was last seen phasing out of this plane of existence, falling into the wooden floor of the tower never to be found." When Galen concluded when all looked around in terrified realization, this must have been what Nightingale was searching for. He intended to bind the Dark Lady's soul to him, enslaving the whole of the Forsaken to his will… like the Lich King once did. Eva was the first to regain the ability of speech and her words stirred the rest of us out of our trance.
"I will not be a slave again! I didn't fight to bring an end to the Lich King, just to be enslaved once more. Onwards sisters to Stromgarde, let us bring justice to the wretch that seeks to corrupt us!" We all cheered at her stern words but as we began the preparations for our assault a messenger came bursting into camp.
"Lady Alina!" he bellowed "Bloodfang Worgen have descended on Tarren Mill, we are heavily outnumbered. High Executor Darthalia requests your immediate assistance; she will be waiting at Southpoint Blockade. I will lead you." Reacting on instinct our group began rallying the troopers of Galen's Fall. Steeds were brought before us and we mounted, heading in pursuit of the messenger. The Princess seemed excited, finally she would do battle for the glory of the Forsaken.
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