Sup! Alright, so there will be some changes to the lore with this chapter. Normally the Warlock beginning quest line is much longer and much more in depth, but if we want to get to the main plot, along with Team JNPR and stuffs, then I have to move it along a bit. So yeah! Lore changes, but nothing that'll break more than the beginning of the Warlock campaign.
Holy Moley a lot of you reviewed. Okay, short answers!
Smartjocklv: You'll definitely enjoy what's coming up with the Death Knights!
Jgkitarel: Yeah, though my guild is forcing me to raid so I gotta take writing slower than before which sucks.
Novice4129: Fel Dragon... I like that. I think I'll use that. And as for Summer you'll see (Blizzard) soon!
Raging Archon: Yeah, though eventually they will all meet back up again!
Cody the Worldwalker: Oh not just Qrow.. After all, Ruby and Yang do have that Dad of theirs that has no idea who Anduin even is!
Drakefire: You'll see them soon!
Aragorns: Yes, why indeed? I don't know how happy her family would be to see a symbol besides that of the SDC on Weiss.
The True Skull: Thal'kiel will actually be appearing right about... Now.
Begin!
Arrival
"Is there even a shred of humanity left within you?"-Lord Vincent Godfrey
"Well... It's certainly as flamboyant as the priss..." Ravarth muttered as his gaze drifted in all directions, absorbing his surroundings with a mixture of fascination and awe only barely hidden behind the usual mask of cynicism.
"While I won't be one to condone your analogy, I must agree with your sentiment." Anduin acknowledged, mimicking the Worgen's actions, though his amazement was much more pronounced. "The architects of this kingdom certainly know how to display their prowess at building."
With that the two trailed off into silence, staring up in fascination at the towers which surrounded them from the platform that jutted out from one of the many smaller buildings that formed a sprawling maze of concrete and steel that made up the Kingdom of Atlas.
Many buildings that surround the group rivaled Stormeind's tallest towers in size, with quite a few far surpassing them.
After the small group of bullheads had first arrived at Atlas, Anduin had been quick to shoo the rest along to neighboring kingdoms in hopes that if they were able to find any pockets of civilization still resisting the Legion's flame that they would be able to bring them into the fold, though now he was beginning to regret such a decision.
A small niggling feeling in the back of his mind that told him to surround himself with anyone and everyone that he possibly could.
With all the steel and stone that towered up and around him, not a hint of life in sight save for his traveling companions and the streets hundreds of feet below him, Anduin couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that plagued his body the moment he had stepped off of the bullhead.
The feeling of loneliness, of a child without the love of a family to call his own.
That of an empty soul.
"So Priss, which one's yours?" Ravarth's finally asked after the Worgen realized that the silence had become rather uncomfortable for Weiss, who had been used to seeing such large structures from as early as her infancy.
Weiss, saying nothing, quickly pointed to the largest, most imposing tower in the distance, the symbol of the Schnee Dust Company clear on the face of the skyscraper. It was so large that if he hadn't just blatantly been alerted as to the true identity of the tower, Ravarth would have just as easily guessed that the tower was the property of the ruling royal family.
Of course if Weiss and her mannerisms was anything to go off of, Ravarth thought to himself, he would not be shocked if told that the man who owned that building also figuratively owned Atlas itself.
Before he could make that comment vocal however the sound of approaching bullheads caught the group's attention, with most turning towards the sound, all expect for Weiss, who bit her lip as she felt her heart make an escape attempt by way of smashing through her sternum.
A few moments later a small group of bullheads flying just over the horizon in the direction of the SDC building came into view, appearing as if they were making their way towards the group.
Once she was sure that the approaching bullheads were in fact heading in their direction Weiss quietly reached over and tapped Ravarth on the arm, causing him to twitch ever so slightly before glancing over at her.
Realizing Weiss' intent, Ravarth gave the heiress a small nod before turning to Anduin.
"King Anduin," Ravarth waited for the King to turn his attention over to him before continuing. "The Priss and I forgot our weapons back on the bullhead, we're just gonna go back to fetch 'em."
Anduin nodded, quickly redirecting his attention to the approaching bullheads. "Try to be quick if you can. As friendly as I'm sure these Atlas representatives will be I'd rather not be meeting them without a guard by my side."
"That's a load of tosh. You've got one." Ravarth jabbed his thumb towards Ruby when Anduin tilted his head in confusion, the Worgen's fangs shown off in a slight smile. "Your wife's no pushover. She's as dangerous as any soldier we've got."
Anduin chuckled softly before waving him off, a silent signal of permission.
Ravarth nodded before he and Weiss quickly make their way back to their bullhead, ducking into the main passenger compartment with relative haste as the other aircraft continued to draw ever closer to the platform.
Once inside, Weiss quickly made for Myrtenaster, propped up against her seat. She quickly sheathed it along her waist, taking a moment to ensure that nothing appeared off with the weapon. After months without any dust functionality on the weapon, Weiss would be a fool to not be slightly apprehensive to see how it would fare.
Especially since her father would no doubt desire a display of the martial skill that she had acquired since she had begun her lessons at Beacon...
Ravarth meanwhile lazily reached for a pair of two large red and black swords, which Weiss had heard him call his 'Warmongers', before he also pulled out a large black robe, wrapped up in a bundle.
"Are you sure this isn't just a huge waste of time Weiss?" Ravarth asked as he began to haphazardly unwrap the silk, his lupine claws nearly catching and tearing the delicate cloth on more than one occasion as he worked. "There's no other way?"
"No... I don't think so." Weiss sighed, sheathing Myrtenaster as she watched Ravarth throw the robe over his form. "My father and many employees of the Schnee Dust Company already have a predisposed, and rather close minded, view of the Faunus... I can't imagine their reaction to a Worgen would be a positive one, visitor or not."
"Still, my human form isn't one I want to be in."
"Why not?"
"It's... Just not who I am anymore." Ravarth admitted, tying up lose ends of the robe so that it hung securely around his torso. "As far as I'm concerned my human self died in Gilneas. The sooner this is all done and dusted the better."
Weiss only nodded, saying nothing, though a twinge of sympathy broke her emotionless facade for a moment.
Ravarth picks up one last cloth, which he slung around his jaw, tightening it behind his head before throwing the hood of the robe up, covering the remainder of his head.
A few moments later his large, muscled form suddenly began to rapidly shrink inside of the cloak, his shoulders drawing closer to his center as his back, which was also shrinking in size, began to straighten up, all while the cracking of bone and the popping of muscle overtook the cabin in a gut-wrenching cacophony of sound.
Less than a minute later, the changes stopped, leaving Ravarth in a form considerably smaller than he had been before, no larger than Anduin in fact, though he was still nearly completely concealed by the old cloak.
Despite this however, he still towered over Weiss by around a foot, a detail not lost on the heiress, who still had to crane her head slightly for her eyes to meet his own, which were now a dark brown, replacing the glowing yellow eyes that had preceded them.
"Damn, my heads pounding..." Ravarth complained as he cricked his neck loudly, the after pains of transformation stiffened seemingly every muscle in his body. "I'll never get used to that..."
With that, Ravarth took one last chance to stretch his muscles a bit more before reaching for his Warmongers, slinging them behind his back, all while Weiss watched silently, her eyes scanning Ravarth's form in hopes of catching glance of his true face.
A moment later the unmistakable sound of the other bullheads landing on the platform assaulted Weiss' and Ravarth's ears, signaling the arrival of the Atlesian diplomats.
"Alright, let's go meet your leaders then I suppose..."
"Hey, Ravarth?" Weiss asked suddenly, causing Ravarth to freeze, giving the heiress an opportunity to speak. "...What do you look like as a human anyway?"
"...I'm not takin' off the cloak if that's what you're asking me to do..." Ravarth growled, annoyance clear in his tone. "C'mon. If we keep gabbin' like this we'll get left behind."
Without even waiting for a response, Ravarth jumped out of the bullhead and began making his way to the other bullheads, leaving a slightly disheartened Weiss behind.
"I was just curious." She huffed before following in the footsteps of the Worgen, though not before silently praying it would not be her father that would be waiting for them on the platform.
Meanwhile on the other side platform a group of armed men, all wielding dust rifles, marched up to Ruby and Anduin, led by a tall woman, with white hair done up in a neat bun.
"King and Queen Wrynn. Welcome to Atlas." The woman began, standing at attention before the King and Queen. She spoke with a tone of near perfect authority. It was obvious that if she spoke, she was to be acknowledged. "I trust your journey through the inter-world portal was a smooth one?"
Anduin gave the white haired woman a small nod, his tone neutral as the words passed from his lips. "It was, thank you. And whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
"I am Winter Schnee, eldest daughter of the Schnee dynasty, and specialist of the Atlesian military, though you may address me as Winter."
"Wait... Winter?..." Ruby, who had previously been staring at her shoes in apprehension, glanced up from the floor in surprise at the name, only to break out into a bright smile upon recognizing the older female. "Winter!"
At this Winter took a moment to glance over at Ruby. "Hold on a moment, I recognize you... Aren't you Ruby Ro-..."
"WINTER!"
"Are you trying to blow my ears out Priss?!"
Upon hearing the sudden cry of excitement, Winter turned to the source of the voice to find her younger sister speedily walking towards her, only barely restraining herself from a jog.
"Weiss?!" Winter seemed to lose her rough composure for but a singular moment, hints of relief darting across her stoic features as her sister drew ever closer, followed closely by a young man in a black robe, a hood and mask covering his face.
The moment that Weiss was in range of Winter the two captured each in a hug with complete disregard to those around them, with the eldest of the two accepting the hug eagerly to the visible surprise of the soldiers flanking her.
When Ravarth finally caught up he stood next to the King and Queen, staring in abject horror behind his mask.
"Oh fuckin' hell, there's two of them..."
At this Anduin glanced over at Ravarth, only to do a double take as he realized that the Worgen was now no taller than himself, and possessed a distinct lack of furry features. "Ravarth, what in the world are you doing?!..."
"Keeping a low profile." Ravarth answered simply, keeping his gaze locked ahead.
"Is that even possible?" Ruby snickered from the side, only barely keeping the amused smile off of her face.
After what seemed like hours, Weiss finally pulled away from the hug, taking a moment to recompose herself before standing at attention before her sister, her head held highl
"It's good to see you well Weiss." Winter breathed out in a calm manner, a much more controlled response than the last had been, though Anduin could easily see the true joy behind the mask of indifference. "After Beacon had fallen and we hadn't heard from you we feared the worst. Have you been well?"
Weiss nodded, a proud smile creeping forwards. "I have. I've been enjoying the pleasure of an extended stay in Azeroth for the last few months while Beacon undergoes repairs. It's been quite a fruitful experience for my personal growth, both physically and mentally, though I'm certain you would love to experience all that the planet has to offer for yoursel-..."
"Hey Priss, try sounding even more pretentious, it's not like my heads pounding already."
Winter, upon hearing the words flowing from the group of young adults standing only feet away, turned to face the hooded man who had spoken, an unamused expression etched clearly on her face. "Flattering. And who might You be?"
Anduin and Ruby suddenly froze up while Weiss' eyes flash with a hint of terror as Winter's stare steadily grew into a full fledged glare.
"He's, uh-... He's just-..." Weiss stuttered as she attempted to rationalize the Worgen's jab. She'd grown so used to his lip over the last few months that she had almost forgotten that as far as anyone on Remnant knew few were brave enough to insult her and expect to get away with it, with fewer still bold enough to say it to her face!
Thankfully, while the others began to stutter and hum to themselves in an attempt to formulate a cover story, Ravarth merely cleared his throat before speaking, his voice much smoother than its usual coarse tone.
"Thomas. Thomas Bloodclaw." Ravarth said while performing an exaggerated bow, clearly taking another silent jab at the previous conversation Winter and Weiss had been having. "I'm here to protect King and Queen Wrynn while they establish a, hopefully beneficial, diplomatic relationship with Atlas."
"I see." Winter spat as she made her way over to the disguised Ravarth, halting only when his face was inches from her own. "And what makes you, Thomas Bloodclaw, think that you have the authority to so freely disrespect my sister in such a crude manner?"
"Simple." Winter's nose scrunched as 'Thomas' spoke. Even from behind the thin black cloth covering his mouth, his breath carried the gut wrenching stench of uncooked meat and fresh blood. "I'm her superior officer... Schnee..."
"Superior officer?" Winter asked as she turned to Weiss, who was beginning to show an uncanny resemblance to a deer in headlights. "Weiss, what is he referring to?"
"Oh.. Right, well..." Weiss trailed off as her mind drew a blank.
It was deadly silent for a moment, the tension soon growing palpable as Winter turned and stared into Ravarth's eyes, only to receive the same exactly glare in return.
Eventually, after nearly a minute of silence, Winter spun on her heel and stalked away from Ravarth, leaving the young man grinning behind his mask. This Schnee certainly seemed to command more inherent respect than her younger counterpart, that was for sure.
"I see that we've got quite a bit to catch up on Weiss. Why don't we discuss this en route to Schnee HQ?"
"Schnee HQ?" Weiss asked as dread began to encroach upon her heart. "Father will be attending?..."
"Yes, he will." Winter sighed, turning her gaze to the grand tower in the distance. "The summit will be held in Father's office. Seeing as how he's been providing Atlas' military with enough Dust to hold the demonic hordes off nearly indefinitely he's become a friend that General Ironwood has no desire to lose by keeping secrets."
Weiss inwardly cursed. She had hoped she would have had more time to prepare, both physically and mentally, before reuniting with her father.
She just needed a little more time. Then she'd be ready.
Just a little more time...
"Come." Winter spoke up, breaking Weiss from her trance. "The meeting will be starting soon, and neither General Ironwood nor my Father like to be kept waiting."
Anduin was the first to speak, giving a small nod as he did so, "Lead the way Lady Schnee."
Winter only hummed softly to herself in response before turning towards the bullheads and making her way towards them, the Atlas soldiers following closely behind, not a word spoken between them.
"So much for keeping a low profile Ravarth." Anduin sighed, snapping his gaze towards Ravarth. "Took you a grand 30 seconds to end up in a verbal conflict with our host."
"Couldn't help it." Ravarth shrugged.
"Told you~!..." Ruby cooed in a sing song voice.
Anduin let out a soft sigh before he and Ruby began following Winter towards the bullheads. Thomas soon made to follow them, only to hesitate when he noticed Weiss lagging behind, her gaze locked to the floor of the platform.
"Weiss, you coming?" He asked, glancing back at the heiress. She seemed to have changed gears on a dime the moment that her father had been mentioned, a change that caused Ravarth, as Ruby had done only minutes prior, to begin to wonder exactly just how bad the relationship between the two of them was.
Weiss let out a sigh, the fear in her breath nearly visible, before nodding. "Yeah... Let's go."
With that, the two of them both made their way to the bullheads waiting for them that would take them to Schnee HQ, where the summit would be held.
And where Weiss' father no doubt waited...
"Now!..."
A Felguard let out a gurgle of protest as his helmet was suddenly, and forcefully, embedded into his skull, courtesy of a shotgun-backed punch from Ember Celica, his body letting out an involuntary spasm as a generous amount of fel green blood shot from the wound before he fell over dead, his
"Alright... That's him taken care of..." Yang muttered as she rubbed her hand against the fallen demon's back, wiping off the excess blood and brain matter that had splattered onto her hand. "I still can't believe we're going along with that little mutated mistake's plan."
"I don't particularly like working with something so clearly off it's head either..." Varimas agreed, leaning against a nearby rock as he gazed out into the distance, trying to get an idea of just how many demons stood between them and Jagganoth. Too many, that was for sure. "But he's our best chance on getting out of this situation with our own heads still attached to our shoulders."
"Why don't we just use your hearthstone? Get out and come back with reinforcements." Yang asked, propping her now clean hand on her hip as she gave Varimas an annoyed glare. She Really was planning to just sleep all day before he had recruited her in this insane mission of his, and now she was stuck on a damn alien planet!
"It's not working, already tried." Varimas replied, ignoring the lilac eyes that seemed to burrow a hole in the side of his head. "Might as well be a fancy rock right about now."
"Damn..." Yang let out a sigh of resignation, hopes of any quick resolution to their situation. "Alright, well if we're gonna take out the head uggo, we should probably have a plan of attack."
"There isn't really much of one to be made, there's no sure fire way of dealing with a Pit Lord that I know of, past the possible element of surprise, it'll be a toss up as to whether or not we'll actually get him." Varimas explained, nodding to himself when he concluded that no more demonic patrols would be in their area... At least for a while. "For now let's just see if we can find some form of shelter or cover, the longer we're out in the open like this, the higher chance we'll be dealing with Jagganoth with no plan at all."
"Agreed." Yang nodded.
The two then set off, leaving behind no signs of their presence, save for the still bleeding demonic corpse that lay on the ground, a pool of foul green blood forming around it.
Eventually they found themselves crouching in a small crevice in the rocks, a large cliff side on their backs as they ducked behind rock formations in an attempt to go unnoticed by the patrolling felguards.
"Hey, what about in there?" Yang spoke up once the latest demon patrol had passed, pointing behind she and Varimas to what appeared to be a small entrance to a cave, shadows concealing whatever lay within past the first few feet. "Doesn't look like it's inhabited, the guards might not think to look there, at least for the time being."
"It'll do for now," Varimas agreed, "At the very least we'll be able to catch our breath."
They quickly made their way into the cave, with Yang in the lead, Ember Celica aimed into the depths of the cavern, ready for anything that may end up making itself known.
However when it was obvious that they truly were the only ones in the cave, Varimas finally spoke up, his voice bouncing off the wall in a loud echo. "Yang, can you give us a little light?"
"Affirmative." Yang replied as she snapped her fingers, fel fire igniting between her digits, illuminating the cave in a soft green glow.
When their eyes soon adjusted to the dimmer light of the cave they found that not only were they in a cave with no other life present, but that a small tunnel that led deeper into the cave lay only a few meters in front of them, it's mouth seeming to beckon them closer like a flytrap looking to lure in it's prey.
"I'm willing to bet that doesn't exactly lead to gumdrop land." Yang huffed as she stared at the tunnel's mouth, knowing they'd end up inside before Varimas even spoke up.
"Well fortune does favor the bold I suppose." True to her suspicion he was curious, and part of her couldn't blame him. The rare opportunity of exploring part of an alien world was not an opportunity to be taken lightly.
Even if that alien world was no more than a battleship sized chunk of rock floating through space.
Yang, realizing that it was either the tunnel before her or the demons back outside, shrugged before slowly making her way towards the small passageway, with Varimas following her closely.
They both squeezed through the passage, which had turned out to be extremely narrow at some points, to the extent that both Yang and Varimas were forced to sidle through the narrow pass, only barely making their way past.
Eventually though, they found themselves in a much larger section of cave, and with growing curiosity taking ahold of her, Yang once again lit her fingers alight, flooding the normally pitch black cave in a dull green glow.
When their eyes finally adjusted to the dim light however they were surprised to find that this chamber, unlike the last, was not barren.
In the middle of the room, floating over a small pedestal, in which rested a strange looking dagger, a floating skull rested, black horns and a golden jaw adorning the normally mundane looking bone.
"Is... Is that a floating skull?" Yang asked, completely baffled.
"Yeah... Strange place to keep something like that." Varimas agreed, silently beginning to make his way towards it, with Yang following closely behind
"...Do you think it can talk?"
"Why would I know that?!..." Varimas asked, glancing back at Yang in disbelief.
"You're a warlock! You're supposed to know all about demonic stuff!"
At the sound off Yang's raised voice, the skull suddenly began shifting around, scanning the environment for the source of the noise, both of which had dived behind a nearby boulder, hoping to not be noticed.
"Oh fantastic, you woke it up!"
"It's not my fault!..." Yang defended, crossing her arms.
"Yes, yes it very much is your fault!..."
"What do we do then?" The brawler inquired, taking a moment to peek out from behind their impromptu cover to find the skull still scanning the area for them. "Should we try talking to it?"
"Well if we're going to die by floating skull either way we might as well just make friends with the damn thing!..."
"It's settled then." Yang, unfortunately either not sensing the sarcasm or just too fed up with their current situation to care, soon hefted herself to her feet, bringing herzelf within full view of the skull.
"That was sarcasm! Yang don't!..." Varimas called out in a desperate attempt to wrangle her back, but it was already much too late.
"Er, hello?" Yang called out.
"Now what?!" The skull growled, spinning to face the source of the noise, felfire burning in the sockets his eyes would have been. "I swear, one day I will rid myself of your control, and once I do I'll-..."
The skull froze. What stood before him were not the demons he had been expecting, but two humanoid creatures, staring at him quizzically.
"Wait... You're not my master!..."
"Your master? You mean the fat Pit Lord somewhere out there?" Yang asked, propping her hand on her hip and letting her head tilt slightly, her ponytail hanging lazily to the side, a smirk on her face.
"No! No you blonde buffoon!... My master, he-... He is..." The skull grew silent for a moment, hanging motionless in the air as if by a string for nearly a half a minute before it spoke up once more, it's tone noticeably less aggressive than it had been only seconds prior. "I sense my master is not near... Yet his minions still gorge upon my power like the greedy decrepit swines that they are..."
"Decrepit swines?" Yang chuckled. "That's a weird insult."
"Come! Help me to repay this degradation, and introduce them to unfathomable levels of torturous agony!" The skull ordered, rushing over to Yang, halting when it was only inches from her face.
"Listen buddy, we're just trying to make heads or tails of our situation over here." The brawler replied, using her index finger to slowly push the skull back to a reasonable distance. "We were trapped here by the Pit Lord out there, and we're just looking for a way back home."
"I can get you two fools home easily!" The skull exclaimed loudly with pride dripping from the words he spoke. "Assist me in the destruction of my jailor and I shall return you to your precious home in a matter of moments!"
"Is that right?" Varimas asked, doubt clear in his tone. "And why should we trust you? We've already met one strange demon today. We don't need a second."
"Tell me mortal, why else would I be hidden away within such an inhospitable plane such as this?" Upon reciving no answer the skull continued. "My power. I, Thal'kiel, hold within myself enough power that the Legion chooses not to use me, but to hide me away, far from where any could hope to stumble upon me and use my power to decimate their forces!"
"But we found you." Yang pointed out.
"And that is why-..." Thal'kiel froze when Yang's words seemed to finally register, letting out what sounded a lot like a dismissive cough. "Er... Right. Well. Obviously the two of you are just as great a threat to the Legion as I if you possessed the skill to locate my prison."
"Actually we just found this place when we were hiding from the guards-..."
"Silence you harlot!"
Yang crossed her arms and huffed, glancing off to the side. "Freakin' bossy skull..."
With Yang silenced, Thal'kiel turned to Varimas, floating around the warlock like a moon orbiting a planet.
"Warlock..." Thal'kiel began, his voice noticeably more ominous. "Take up the dagger that rests beneath me, it has more than enough power stored within its blade to tear through the armored skin of Jagganoth with ease. I sense we will require its power in the coming battle."
Varimas nodded, quickly reaching down to take up the dagger. Upon examination Varimas couldn't help but to take note of how old the blade looked, no doubt seeing countless battles, yet not a dent or chip was present. It seemed to be as sharp as the day it was formed for the first time.
"Alright! We ready team?" Yang finally spoke up, a wide grin on her face.
To that Varimas shook his head, eliciting a groan of annoyance from Yang. "I'm still concerned... Even with an artifact with such power by our side, Jagganoth is still a Pit Lord of considerable strength..."
"Don't worry so much Var, now that we have Mr. Floaty Skull on our side-..."
"You shall address me as Thal'kiel, you miserable wretch!"
"Right. With Thal'Meal on our side, there's no way we can lose!" Yang exclaimed slamming her fists together, activating Ember Celica. "Jagganoth may be a Pit Lord, but I'm sure if we just brainstorm a bit we'll come out 'a-head'."
The room trailed off into silence for a moment.
"What was that?" Thal'kiel finally uttered after a moment.
"What?" Yang grinned, inching closer to the skull as she put her arms behind her, attempting to appear as innocent as possible. A look that neither Thal'kiel nor Varimas fell for. "Did what I say fly over your head?"
"Are you mocking me, human?!..."
"Oh sorry, am I coming off a little... head strong?"
"Cease your foolishness! A Pit Lord such as Jagganoth is no laughing matter, nor am I!"
"Don't be so sternum! I'm just ribbing you! What's the matter? Do you not find this bone punnery... humerus?"
Thal'kiel said nothing in response this time, only slowly beginning to float towards Yang, the look of murder in it's expression.
"Get it?!" Yang laughed as she pointed at Thal'kiel, unaware the skull was drawing closer thanks to her being clamped shut due to her laughter, "Because your a skull!"
Thal'kiel still did not answer.
"Aw, what's wrong," Yang finally said after the laughter had subsided, taking a moment to glance up at Thal'kiel. "Do you not like jokes or do you just have a hard he-..."
THWACK