Chapter 2:
Soon I will arrive at the playgrounds of the Argent Tournament.
I made a promise to show up here today. Still not completely sure why I agreed to this at all, but well it does not matter and they are members of my guild after all if that means anything at all.
After becoming part of the Forsaken again, I was also allowed to travel again freely to Orgrimmar, Thunderbluff and Silvermoon. I guess most of the guards of those cities assumed I'm a member of the Horde, not questioning my whereabouts. Knowing I would get in trouble if I tried to take that illusion away from them, I just let them believe what they wanted to. Although I have to say the orcs were those that gave me the hardest time not to kill one or another of them. It's their insolence paired with stupidity that drives me insane, not forgetting they are the ones that had the most distrust still left, keeping the closest watch over me by far.
And although not all of the people I met were as stupid as the grunts of Orgrimmar but I kept to myself for the longest time and stayed the loner I wanted to be. Even now I consider myself more of a lone wolf than a member of this 'guild' that I joined after a while. Still I have to admit I began liking at least some of them by now. I don't know if this is a sign of growing weakness or not. But still, I can't fully trust any of them and should come down to that – not even myself.
I met the first few of them during the time when the Horde and Alliance started their counterattack on Naxxramas.
I can't recall how many people we were exactly as we entered the necropolis, but one thing is for sure, there were far too many weaklings among us that were only to get in my way. I'm sure blade a few of them down along the way by accident just because they were dumb enough to run up straight in front of me in a fight.
The roughly twenty people that reached Kel'Thuzad would have been enough to clear the whole of Naxxramas easily. At least this way we had been a lot faster.
But well, our group was the first that was sent in there. None of the 'great leaders' thought that we would manage to fulfill the task they had burdened us with, let alone surviving longer than an hour in there or even clearing a single of the four wings.
Either this little part of our group had a considerable strength to it or the troops of the former necromancer had turned weak over the years.
Still seven people that survived in the end aren't that many. I remember how we had to kill a few of these former companions in the fight against the Lich. He struck them down with his shadow magic and revived them instantly as ghouls, tearing their soul out as an offering to his master.
Right from the start of our impossible assignment I noticed her, a female bloodelf with a strong emerald glow in her eyes, the ebony hair reaching to her shoulders. During our venture through Naxxramas I found out eventually that her name was Cassiopheia. The nagging little creature by her side, an imp, gave away that she was a warlock from the very first minute. A person I could relate to.
"Shut up, Yaztip." She hissed at the perky little demon that strangely reminded me of Pipfip.
There were also other warlocks around, but none of them survived until the very end. Each and every one of them was eventually crushed, split open or even devoured by his or her own spells if the person was pathetic enough.
As we entered the necropolis the group quickly divided itself into a Horde and an Alliance side, whilst the voluntary leaders of each part were the only ones willing to talking to their counterpart. After a long stretched out argument where we should be heading first, the group finally split up. The number of Alliance members was a good bit larger than the one of the Horde so they decided to first go into the abomination wing as the leaders had called it. The Horde on the other hand blindly entered an area that was covered with spider webs of various different sizes.
For the longest time I had my fun by just standing there watching how both groups slowly departed to the wing of their choice thinking about what I should do. Whether I should take a wing on my own or just follow one of their parties, but before I could come to a decision what I would do, one of the Horde members dragged me back into line. He was a strong grown tauren warrior, angrily mumbling something incomprehensible. I didn't understand what he was saying and I can only assume that it was better for his health. But then again... I'm also partially guilty, mainly for letting myself been dragged off like that.
Being forced into group didn't hold my fighting spirit back though and we quickly made our way through this part of Naxxramas. After we had killed a few more of the surprisingly larger spiders in the first room we turned left into a short hallway which opened up into another larger hall.
From the very start of our journey you could exactly tell who would be able to survive and who not.
Although I'm not sure if my judgment might have been a bit too hastily passed as at first I was a bit irritated by all the bears and lions running around our group and quite frankly it dawned on me only a good bit later as one of the many animals began to talk. I had never fought alongside a druid before that day.
Yet all of my thoughts up to this point had been instantly rendered asunder the moment the large doorway had parted. The room it revealed was nothing much but a large circle with green ooze typically found in the Undercity in a moat going around it, yet to my utmost delight there was something else in there with us: a giant bug sitting at the other side of the room listening to the name Anub'Rekhan, the crypt lord that had stabbed me and thus ended my life as a warlock.
Not a single clear thought left under the sea of raging emotions paired with the anticipation of bittersweet kiss offered by revenge in my mind I charged at it without a single moment of hesitation, knowing that if I couldn't even manage to kill a giant insect like him, I would not last nearly five seconds against Arthas himself.
Unfortunately this was also the moment when the first members of our group died. You can think of it as my fault if you so desire but I will reject any such claims. It was their own decision to follow me and rush blindly into their demise!
The few poor fools that came rushing after me, attacking the creature head on just like I did without knowing who their enemy was to begin with were lost the second they set foot into the dark halls of Kel'Thuzad's homestead anyhow. Now that they followed me so eagerly into their not-so-sudden doom, without even questioning once why the rest of our group had remained at the entrance of the room, all that was left for them was to speak some prayers for our forlorn souls.
Easily the biggest mistake was of them to treat me as equal, sealing their own fates in the process.
To no surprise the attacks of the nerubian came quick and the strikes of his claw missed me only by a few inches impaling one of the idiots who came with me. The creature was indeed just as fast as I had remembered it to be.
But on the other hand, thanks to the huge body of his once you were on its back, it was almost completely helpless. The only thing it could do at all to fend you off was sending out a swarm of locusts that seemed to live under the huge chitin plates of its back.
Fortunately it seemed they didn't like dead meat.
In the end they turned out to be not much more than a nuisance for me... but for the others? From the corner of my eye I saw how they flew over to the next best orcs or blood elves and nibbled the flesh right off them.
Filled with a distinct satisfaction I drove my sword into the back of the giant insect. Damn, that chitin was tough to crack, though worth every bit of effort invested. I could hear the sound of his body bursting open for days to come.
Anub'Rekhan collapsed the moment half of my sword had vanished inside of him and a dark violet, almost black liquid emerged out of the open wound from under his carapace.
During those joyous seconds sadly also the first bothersome people around me began to really notice me and my fighting capabilities. Of course was it inevitable but this way the peace and quiet for me ended a lot sooner.
Well... it had to happen at some point.
As we continued onwards through the rest of this wing there were little to no real challenges awaiting us. We faced a strange witch apprentice some rooms later was always yelling around but in the end she collapsed without even putting up a decent fight and the spider at the end was only a nuisance if you'd ask me, spraying its webs here, there... everywhere throughout the room.
At that time we still didn't know what had happened to the Alliance part of the original group, but we assumed that they were still busy with the abominations, had run off in fear of their lives or were dead already, either of the three sounded convincing to me.
So... our group leader pressed, said something about not wanting to waste precious time. I still wonder up to this day why he insisted in rushing into his own end so enduringly. But at least he did not fail to reach my expectations and just as he lay dead only few minutes later, in a different wing of Naxxramas chewed apart by bunch of ghouls, we a whole were already standing in front of Noth the Plaguebringer. How nice of all these fiends to be so neatly bunched up, close together.
The moment I first met him on the field in Havenshire, I didn't know his name, at that time he was only a loud insulting old necromancer for me. He yelled so many things, called me so many names and issued so many threats but never ever showed even a small part of his pretentious power.
The corners of the room we had been lead into were filled with piles of bones as tall as a tauren. Noth continued to raise a little army of skeletons as a welcoming party for us, though carefully watching to only revive one undead at a time.
As I found it to be typical for him he offered many-a idle threats over the whole duration of this 'fight', if you even consider calling it that. His grand powers turned out to be just another disappointment amongst the ranks of Kel'Thuzad. No kind of magical barrier could help him and so he fell to our blades and spells within one or two minutes after the skeletons had all been struck down.
Nevertheless even this time a few idiots managed to die! Questioning myself instead of those in charge where the Kor'kron had managed to find this many useless fools we ventured deeper into this quarter of Naxxramas. Another quick idea I had on that day would be that we had not been sent here to fight against the lich's forces at all, but instead to quietly die off and increase their numbers as a kind of appeasement.
Yet even though I could not think of a single orc that was supposed to be intelligent enough to arrange something as sinister but also daft to core to think one was able to negotiate with a being created from the malice of generations upon generations before us, still the faint taste of betrayal remained with me to see this day through and it decided to linger ever since.
Unfortunately for our host, the rest of the wing which was infested with vermin like huge maggots and other strange insects did not prove in any way entertaining for us or for him. But more importantly as we fought our way through these open halls I noticed how some of the other members of our group kept strangely looking out for me, most of these random people I would get to know later on as members of my 'guild'.
At that on time though I only had eyes for Cassiopheia. I couldn't name it and quite frankly still can't, her whole appearance was just... thrilling. The smooth ebony hair, her merciless emerald eyes, paired with the pristine skin. She was just annoyed as I was whilst we fought our way through the dark hallways waiting for challenger worthy enough to face our true strength. The expression on her face as we hunted down elusive shadows and rotten ghouls was never changing cold and kissed by the cruelty of this world.
Something about her fascinated me. She was so much alike the one part of my soul that I so willingly fed to the shadows that it immediately took me in and never let me go. But as in the back of my head reality was falling apart and rebuilding itself it also already began catching up to me, forming one paradox after the other. Framed by the faces haunting me from my past, I tried to dispel everything I was thinking and not thinking about, concerning any possibility of her and me.
I know it's laughable.., a Forsaken and a blood elf, but neither my senses nor I didn't know any better. Should it have even been that particular kind of affection that continued to influence my perception at the time... Without doubt it helped me that my mind cleared itself of anything except for the blind rage, anger and a thriving thirst for revenge every time we approached something remotely close to a 'real enemy' inside the necropolis.
Whatever they were supposed to be there was no time left for feelings.
A rather surprising amount of people survived this wing, leaving us with a group of the staggering size of twenty-one. Making our way back over to the entrance hall we also stumbled into the pitiful rest of the Alliance group ... that what was still left of it at least.
Their last five members immediately claimed to have successfully cleared the abomination and the military wing of the necropolis, in both of which they had suffered heavy losses. And the few remaining, four humans and a single dwarf, were all covered with spurts of various different shades of blood and a strange green fluid to lighten up the mix. You couldn't really believe them and their ridiculous claims, but hell, who was I to judge?
Our ranks had been thinned drastically as well thanks to the insane witchdoctor Heigan and his exploding floor as well as that strange mutated fungus in the last room of these corrupted halls. At least we had gotten rid of most of the dead weight we had carried around for the longest time.
And there we were... exhaustion catching up to the living amongst our ranks, the horror of what they had faced creeping into the minds of those without enough resolve - ever so delightful. The spirit of the group slowly syphoning away, our whole venture came to a sudden stop now that we had cleared out all the lesser minions and were to face the lich in its own quarters. So... the discussion began. What should we do, should we flee like cowards, should we stand our ground and face death, destroyer of worlds on our own or should we call for backup – resting all our hope into this last flicker of chance that the high command may actually send out others to our aid. Those living amongst us were torn and scared to move onwards at first but the fickle glory that might await quickly changed their thoughts and turned the greedy little hearts around.
In the end it was a group of twenty-five people that took the teleporter to the upper level, feeling assured that now the Lich would not be able to call for any backup from his troops. A single troll, in possession of his right mind left the necropolis. He said he would call for back-up but I as well as far too many others lay no faith into his shallow words. And it did matter not...
As we entered the upper level, we found ourselves in a giant hall completely frozen over and covered with a thick layer of snow on top.
The feeling ones began shivering intensely, though I can't say that I have felt anything at all up there and I know the chill of a Lich cares not for your numbed senses.
The bones of a dragon lay scattered throughout the room, baiting the sole dwarf in our midst to rush over to one of them ridden by greed as they seemed flawless in his eyes.
Whatever he said might have been the truth and they were indeed incredibly valuable but what good does it do for you once you are dead? In fact they were so valuable the dwarf had to pay with his own life for only trying to touch them once.
A sharp icicle pierced the chest of the little one only few steps before he could reach out and grab one of the treasured bones. And upon his death a blue mist rose around him hiding away how he died in front of us, as the bones began connecting with each other. A current of air emerged out of nothingness inside the room and as it grazed the outside, growing more intense with each passing second the bones slowly were taken up with it into the air.
It did not take too long until the skeleton of a dragon had reassembled itself right before of our eyes - a frostwyrm without doubt and a fine specimen too.
Ever since the day of the Scarlet Harvest I admired these beings, the majestic and relentless approach, the fearless stare of empty eyes underlined by the brute force of the frost breath turning solid bone into pure ice. Unfortunately this time this creature didn't seem to take as kindly to me as the one in the eastern plaguelands did, though I guess we were on different sides by then. With a loud, shallow roar from the undead dragon's throat it announced its assault on us.
Again, I already knew my enemy and what to expect, giving me the opportunity to charge directly at it, leaving the others behind.
Still this particular frostwyrm emerged to be a lot stronger than the last that I had seen and proved to be far more of an enemy to me than Anub'Rekhan or Noth could have ever dreamed of being.
Sharp shards of ice came raining down upon us, making everything that much more difficult to handle and coordinate. The claws of the undead dragon able to rip apart even the sturdiest armors, leaving only the single option of us dodging his attacks at all cost.
Thinking about it from my point of view now, I think I was more afraid that my armor could get damaged than that I could lose my wretched life. It most certainly wasn't the lust for blood or the urge to kill that had taken over my mind and body but I'm almost sure everything happened on its own. The fight was over so fast for me, blurring the edges of time as Armageddon hit the dragon hard over and over again, shattering its ribs one by one. It was difficult enough to get to them without losing your head, just as a tauren warrior had demonstrated by running blindly up to the side of the creature.
But finally after a long and straining fight, the blue core forming the dragons 'heart' lay wide open for an attack. It resisted the relentless assault for a while, but after giving it time and more of a thrash beating the chaotic flames of our warlocks and the blows of our weapons destroyed the orb of ice and shadow, shattering it into non-existence.
A couple of people had died during the fight, ripped apart by shards of ice or frozen solid due to the breath of the wyrm. A single priest even killed himself... he did not concentrate on his spells and died from his own attack as it went miserably wrong.
The strong will survive and the weak will come to pay the price, the promised blood for the shadows. Now the moment had finally come to fight an opponent weary of this fact and able to bend the very essence of the arcane to his will...
As we cautiously entered his domain he looked eagerly upon us, his beady black eyes filled with the pleasure of the upcoming slaughter. Yet the moment his eyes met mine, he stopped his mad laughter and appeared startled by my presence.
"You...? It can't be..." He whispered these words, leaving me to only guess if he had really spoken them or whether my mind was fooling me. I could not and up to this day I still cannot tell. His hesitation only lasted for a second a brief moment until he focused again and shouted at us like as maniacal as before that this would be our certain end.
"Perish and prepare for eternal servitude to your new master!"
Kel'Thuzad had been a powerful necromancer in life, a fearsome strength which he had taken to multiply now as a lich, but no matter his capabilities his physical body remained to be frail and brittle. A clean hit from my sword would have easily split him in half.
Of course he was aware of this all the time and thus protected by a magic shield, repelling every physical attack we would muster.
The fight against him proved to be as bothersome as I had it suspected. And we did not even get to fight him right from the beginning! As we entered the room we found ourselves gazing upon the six portals leading to the Frozen Wastes of Icecrown. I was such a fool that I didn't remember them...
The lich smiled at us and with the wave of his hand an uncountable swarm of skeletons came through the portals attacking us to defend their master.
They weren't too strong physically but their numbers were intimidating almost overwhelming us.
He laughed out loud every time one of our group died to either his spells or minions, raising him as a ghoul to his side immediately.
But even worse..: Once the cannon fodder had been dealt with, Kel'Thuzad summoned four huge Crypt Lords to his side, all looking pretty much alike Anub'Rekhan. They were also equally fast to this other nerubian we had met before, which caused quite the trouble and cost more lives.
Yet as it all came down to the wire when we were on the brink of being defeated, I and two other people charged the lich head on in a do-or-die move.
As I had rightfully predicted, the body of the lich was fragile, protected only by his magic shield. Leaving me the more surprised as his barrier was shattered with ease. Perhaps he had overstrained himself with the creatures he had summoned, which would be the only rational explanation for us having this much trouble with such a glass cannon.
Our swords and mighty warhammers hit the magic shield hard, pounding down on the outer shell as one of the two others with me was instantly trapped in a large block of ice as a ring of frost emerged from the Lich's wake. The poor bastard froze to death in only a couple of seconds.
Yet this was also the moment when we took the upper hand in this fight. The magic barrier broke with the next strike of Armageddon, breaking through the invisible shell.
A single swing of a sword later the so-called mighty lich and servant of the Lich King, Kel'Thuzad 'Lord over Frost and Shadow', had been reduced to a pile of dust and idle bones. The remaining nerubians wisely fled in fear of their lives as they saw what had happened to their master.
It was a day of victory and losses, but more importantly for me... it was a day of sweet revenge and baleful defeat alike. I started questioning myself and my beliefs from long ago after defeating Kel'Thuzad. Had my vision been so clouded as a warlock or why had he been so... weak that day? I had taken him as incredibly strong, far beyond my own imagination, kissed by immortality and blessed by his king, but once the day had come that I was to fight him and even on his own grounds, he solely relied on his minions. Not able to defend himself properly alone, he died leaving me to assume I had overestimated the former necromancer the whole time.
From the day on after bringing down one of the strongest servants of the Lich King thus far a small group of people, mostly which I had met on this venture referred to me as 'insane' for my ferocious style of fighting. Those that heard my name started to fear me... it was all panning out well.
But in the end, only a few people knew the names of the ones that survived through this day and hardly anybody connected me to those people. Being titled 'the Insane' was more than enough reason for the simple peasant to crumble in fear of my sight.
None of us became famous for what we had done and the swift glory promised to those who had died never existed in the first place, though I was more than glad about it.
Amongst the seven people that had survived the fight against the Lich there were three that I should get to know a lot better not too much later on.
Cassiopheia, the bloodelf warlock and the one I had noticed from the very start, a tauren druid called Zula and an orcish shaman proudly wielding two axes answering to the name Renku.
All three of them are very capable fighters and stout souls to be reckoned with as the time to reshape this world as ours draws closer.
The elven warlock with the emerald eyes was the first of them to approach me after our assignment was officially over. Her voice was astonishingly dark for an elf, but the more it reflected her strong character. I can't tell why I agreed to join forces with them if I try to rethink it now but I would most likely have assumed I would find strength among them, to grow further and find my final foe.
As more time passed I got to know more and more people from this 'guild' as they called it. I don't want to name all of them, but there were a few that I really began to like.
On the other side I was and still am to this very day, a lone wolf prowling my own prey.
Most of those I met turned out to be capable fighters. True, yet quickly a very different feeling emerged. The deepest layers of my mind and souls began yelling at me like the fiendish voice of the Lich King himself: "They are holding you back!"
And I listened to it. I don't want to get too involved with people to begin with, for their sake and for my own, so the calling found a ground to settle on and steadily grow.
"You will become my force of retribution. Where you tread, doom will follow. Go now and claim your destiny, death knight."
The Lich King himself once had filled my ears with these words. And I am still too afraid that this might turn to become sudden reality. But then I also want to become doom! Doom to Arthas, his lieges and the Scourge as a whole. I want to be my own force of retribution!
Though I know I still have a long way in front of me...
This has become my path and that I have to travel alone.