Chapter 9

Blood Runs Thicker...

Erthos gripped the reins of his mount tightly as he did his best to keep up with Rastuazi, failing miserably at the task. Overhead, dark clouds gathered, throwing the Barrens into pitch black. Erthos almost jumped out of his skin as a loud crash echoed all around him, the ringing of thunder.

"Rastuazi, wait!" he tried to call out as he spurred his horse onwards, the Death Knight starting to get smaller and smaller as she moved further away. Soon, the thunder was joined by flashes of lightning that illuminated everything for a couple of seconds, the only source of light now, as well as a heavy down pour of warm rain.

It wasn't long before Erthos could barely see a few feet in front of him, let alone far in the distance where Rastuazi was. Another flash of lightning and rumble of thunder provided Erthos a brief insight into what was ahead of him, but it was information that came too late.

A loud crack rang out as Erthos face connected with a thick, low hanging branch. As his mount carried on, Erthos' grip on the reins slipped and he fell backwards, landing on the floor with a loud groan, his head spinning. As the rain poured down on his face in the pitch black, Erthos' mind started to slowly slip into darkness.

"Zyathri…" he managed to whisper before completely falling into an unconscious state.

Far ahead, Rastuazi rode into the darkness, the crashing of thunder and bolts of lightning not fazing the Blood Elf as her hair was plastered to her face by the rain. Instead, she was deep in thought, her mind at war with itself. Had she said the wrong thing to Erthos, or was she within her right to say what she did? The look of hurt that had briefly flashed across the younger Blood Elf's face was still fresh in Rastuazi's mind.

It was then, whilst lost deep in her thoughts, that Rastuazi became aware that something was wrong. Bringing her mount to a stop, she looked around, her eyes seeing in the dark much better than any normal persons would. Erthos was no where to be seen.

"Erthos...?" Rastuazi said quietly as the warm rain rushed down around her. Her eyes darted around as she felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach. The feelings of anger and hate that had tried to take shape inside here were rapidly replaced with concern and worry for her young friend. Friend…the word took shape in Rastuazi's mind as she sat atop her mount, the concept seeming strange and absurd for reasons she wasn't suite sure of. One thing she was sure of, though, was that she needed to find Erthos.

Taking a firm hold of Nightmares reins, Rastuazi turned her mount around before sending him surging forwards, back along the path they had just gone. As Nightmares hooves connected with the ground at lightning speed, Rastuazi's eyes scanned quickly all around. It didn't take her long to make out the shape of Erthos' own mount standing still in the rain. As they got closer, she then made out the shape of Erthos lying on the floor.

"Erthos!" Rastuazi called out as she leapt from the back of Nightmare mid sprint, hitting the floor running as she came up to the injured Blood Elf. Coming to a stop, she crouched down over him, looking over him. Blood was flowing slowly, but steadily, from a gash on his forehead, as well as from his nose. Looking around, Rastuazi spotted the low hanging branch, a branch she had easily ducked under thanks to her improved vision, but apparently a branch that Erthos hadn't been so lucky with.

"Erthos, can you hear me?" Rastuazi said quietly, leaning in close to Erthos. The only response she got was a slight groan from him, prompting more worry to wash through Rastuazi. Reaching down, she slid her arms underneath the warlock, slowly picking him up off the ground.

As she held onto Erthos, Rastuazi became aware of another noise in the night, mixing in with the heavy rain and thunder. Looking around, a flash of lightning lit up the area to reveal a ring of scourge advancing towards them, most likely attracted by the smell of blood. Scourge…out here? But why? Rastuazi thought to herself as she held Erthos closer to her.

"Come closer…I dare you…" she called out to the advancing Scourge, her unholy aura spreading outwards. Looking to Erthos, Rastuazi shook him slightly. "Come on…wake up" she whispered to him, slight amounts of worry present in her voice. Sure, she could most likely take the Scourge on in a fight by herself, but whilst holding onto Erthos? Not likely.

Erthos, however, seemed to stir slightly at the sound of Rastuazi's voice. His brow furrowed and his hands clenched into fists as he lay in Rastuazi's arms, almost to the point of waking up, but he looked to be failing just short. Around them both, the Scourge seemed to have stopped advancing momentarily, as if unsure attacking would be a good idea.

It was thanks to a deep guttural scream that the worry vanished. From the branches of a near by tree, one of the Scourge lunged, letting out its cry of battle. As fast as she could, Rastuazi freed one of her hands, still gripping Erthos with the other, and raised it towards the oncoming Scourge zombie. A blast of unholy energy, a Death Coil, erupted from her hand and collided with the zombie, sending it sprawling backwards, but not killing it.

"Don't say you haven't been warned!" Rastuazi said to the other Scourge zombies around them. Listening to the groans and creaking bones of the zombies, Rastuazi focused intently, a ring of red runes splashing out underneath her. The area that the Death and Decay effect touched lit up with an unearthly red glow, providing some light around them. "Erthos, wake up…"

Slowly, and with a lot of groans of pain, Erthos opened his eyes. Rastuazi looked at him, looking into his unfocused eyes. The gash on his forehead was still bleeding, but the blood from his nose had stopped. As Erthos slowly came to, Rastuazi threw a look to the zombies who were now circling the Death and Decay area, hissing and growling, waiting.

"What happened…" Erthos said slowly and weakly. Closing his eyes, he reached up and placed his hand against his forehead in a bid to stop the throbbing that he felt. When he felt the moistness that was present, he pulled his hand back, looking at the blood that was on it. "That's not too good…" he said before wincing as pain shot through his head and nose.

"Erthos, I'm sorry I left you behind" Rastuazi whispered quietly as she helped Erthos to stand on his own two feet, the young Blood Elf swaying slightly as his head swam. "I won't do it again…" Erthos looked at Rastuazi and simply smiled gently as he tried to focus on her, to straighten out his unfocused brain. Around the two of them, the Death and Decay aura started to fade away, its red glow fading away, throwing the two of them into darkness again, the groans of the undead surrounding them mixing in with the heavy rain.

Reaching behind himself in the darkness, Erthos wrapped his hand around his staff, pulling it from its holder. Beside him, Rastuazi took out her own sword, the runes etched into its surface emitting a dull glow. At the same time, Erthos reached into his bag, pulling out a soul gen, charging it with energy.

"You ready?" Erthos asked, looking to the Death Knight, using his staff to support himself as his body slowly sorted itself out. In the darkness, Erthos could make out a slight smirk on the partially illuminated face of Rastuazi as she knelt down on the ground, placing her hand flat on the wet surface.

"Almost" she said, letting out a chuckle as the ground decayed beneath her touch. Standing back up again, Rastuazi took a slight step back as a rotten hand and arm burst from the decaying ground, grasping at the open space around it before digging its fingers into the ground. With a lot of groaning, a zombie pulled itself out of the ground, mud and flesh dripping from its rotten body as it looked over to Rastuazi, waiting for orders. "Now I'm ready" the Death Knight said with a smile, commanding the zombie to move towards their foes.

Erthos couldn't help but arch an eyebrow as he watched the lumbering shadow move into the darkness. Leaning on his staff more, the young Warlock gripped the soul gem in his hand and threw it with all his strength into where he judged the middle of the attacking group to be. After a few seconds, that felt more like hours to Erthos, there was a bright purple flash, followed by the emergence of his Voidwalker minion.

"…I don't like this place…" it hissed in the darkness, its eyes glowing fiercely in the night. "…send me back…" Without a second thought, the undead launched their attack. Several of them begun attacking the larger Voidwalker, trying to wrestle the demon to the ground as it swung at them. A small batch attacked the oncoming zombie, the deceased attacked groaning out what sounded like the word "Brains", but Erthos couldn't be sure over the other noises around them. The rest of the undead, however, started to move towards to the two Blood Elves.

Rastuazi watched them come closer with a large grin on her face as she jammed her sword into the ground, holding out her hand in front of her. A sickly green coloured stream of energy erupted from her hand, colliding with the closest attacker before travelling through all those around it, infecting them all with a rotting disease. Erthos, for his part, moved so his back was towards Rastuazi. Steadying himself using his staff, he held out his hand towards the undead on the other side, focusing intently, trying to push past the throbbing in his head.

Curling his hand into a fist, Erthos yanked his hand down. Above the attacking undead there was a rumble, a sound unlike the thunder that was already present, causing some of them to stop and look above them. Rapidly the clouds started to glow red before fireballs erupted from their billowing surface, raining fire down on the undead, setting them alight. Fear and panic quickly set itself inside the undead enemy's simple minds, causing them to run about wildly, running into their allies and setting them alight as well.

Turning her head to watch the burning undead with a smirk, Rastuazi pulled her sword from the ground, no longer content to stay where she was and instead join in with the fray. Charging forwards, Rastuazi swung her sword round over her head and down, letting out a cry at the same time, her blade easily carving into the flesh of the attacking undead. It wasn't long before the Scourge realised their mistake in attacking the two Blood Elves, those that managed to avoid the reach of the Voidwalker, or Rastuazi and her zombie minion, instead found themselves being caught in the incinerating effect of Erthos' firestorm.

As Rastuazi started to finish off the Scourge that remained in a bid to fight till the end, Erthos stopped concentrating on keeping the firestorm going, instead watching the Death Knight. As the female Blood Elf fought, one of the undead finally managed to get closer to her, reaching out and clawing at her face slightly. Wincing at the sudden cut, Rastuazi pushed the undead back with her boot before calling on her strength again to place down another Death and Decay aura on the ground around her, instantly killing the remaining attackers.

As the last one died, Rastuazi fell to her knees, panting slightly, more energy being used than she had first planned. Underneath her, the red glow from the Death and Decay faded away quickly, and her summoned minion fell apart. Stumbling slightly, due to lack of energy on his own part, and due to his throbbing head, Erthos made his way to Rastuazi, smiling slightly as he did so.

Rastuazi looked up to Erthos, offering a smile of her own before standing up. She was happy to see that he was doing fine, more or less, her previous anger and sorrow towards him now all but gone. The smile quickly faded though as her superior vision caught sight of a rider baring down on them. Gripping her sword tightly, Rastuazi brought the blade around just in time to block a Shadow Bolt that was flung towards her, causing her to stumble backwards and fall onto her back.

"Get away from that young warlock, Scourge fiend!" came a voice from in the darkness, from the oncoming unknown. Erthos spun around to look at the figure as they approached, bringing their steed to a stop just in front of them. In the darkness, all that Erthos could make out was a hooded shape wearing a long robe. Beyond that, he had no idea who they were dealing with. All the same, he gripped his staff, his Voidwalker moving in closer to him, to protect him.

"You wounded boy?" came the voice again, a hint of concern showing as they spoke. Erthos quickly picked up that it was a female voice, as did Rastuazi as she pushed herself up onto her elbows. Even before the figure reached up and pulled back her hood, her brown hair falling down over her shoulders, Rastuazi knew who it was.

"Zhantara…?" Erthos said, with a slightly puzzled look, one eyebrow raised as he looked at the female warlock in the darkness, sitting atop her mount. "What are you doing here? Why did you attack Rastuazi?" Erthos gripped his staff even tighter as he looked over to his Voidwalker, only just making his shape out in the darkness. Zhantara looked over to where Rastuazi was now slowly getting up onto her feet before looking to Erthos again.

"You aren't under some Scourge spell are you, boy? That there…person…is a Death Knight, one of them damned pieces of Undeath! Don't go trusting her…" As Zhantara spoke, Erthos could almost feel the venom and hatred that was present, as could Zyathri who flinched with almost every bad word. Zhantara…You don't recognise your own sister… She thought to herself. Maybe I am just a Scourge Fiend…

"Zhantara, don't you recognise me?" Rastuazi said slowly, taking a cautious step towards the angered female warlock. A clap of thunder rung out as Zhantara raised her hand towards Rastuazi, a glowing ball of energy forming, waiting to be launched at its target. Rastuazi got the hint and stopped in her tracks, looking from the ball of energy to Rastuazi.

"Don't call me by name, fiend!" Zhantara spat, her other hand reaching inside her robes. Erthos' eyes only just picked up the movements in the dark as the older warlock pulled a soul gem from some pocket that was hidden away, the small gem giving off a powerful glow. "I don't talk to the dead." Without another thought, Zhantara tossed the soul gem towards Rastuazi, who watched it collide with the ground before emitting a large flash. As soon as Rastuazi's eyes had adjusted, she caught sight of what Zhantara had summoned, a rather vicious looking Fellhound.

"Now then, boy, where is my sister?" Zhantara said as she climbed down from the back of her mount, moving towards Erthos as the Felhound growled deeply at Rastuazi. "Why has she let you come under the spell of such a creature?"

Erthos' mind started to panic as he looked in the darkness from Zhantara to the Felhound. Throwing another look to his Voidwalker, Erthos nodded slightly, the summoned demon understanding his master's thoughts and commands, quickly moving in between Rastuazi and the Felhound. As Zhantara watched the minion with a raised eyebrow, Erthos reached into his pouch, his hand grabbing hold of the amulet which he quickly placed around his neck, feeling the surge of new energy run through his body.

"I assure you…" Erthos said, gripping his staff and moving to stand behind his Voidwalker. "I am under no spell." Erthos looked sternly at Zhantara, managing to catch the rather surprised look on her face as she stared at the young warlock before her. Letting out a sound of disgust, Zhantara reached behind her, taking hold of her staff before pointing it at Rastuazi.

"Then why are you guarding a Scourge Death Knight, boy?" she asked, glaring at Rastuazi who couldn't help but turn her head away slightly. Erthos could tell from the sound of Zhantara's voice that she was trying to keep herself calm, to understand the situation. The Felhound before them, however, wasn't attempting any such thing, instead choosing to growl and snarl at Erthos and his Voidwalker.

"You really don't recognise her, do you?" Erthos said slowly as he looked at the staff pointed at Rastuazi before looking to Zhantara, his voice filled with sorrow. He looked over his shoulder to Rastuazi, who was looking at the other female Blood Elf again, before looking back to Zhantara himself. He knew he had to try and keep her calm, else she do something drastic.

"Are you implying that I speak with Scourge, boy?" Zhantara asked in an angered tone, her staff now pointed firmly at Erthos as she frowned at him in the darkness. So much for keeping her calm… Erthos thought to himself as he now looked down the length of the staff.

"No…" came Rastuazi's voice as she suddenly stood in front of Erthos, Zhantara's staff almost pressed against her chest plate. Rastuazi's hands clenched tightly into fists as she studied her sister's face, her mouth opening slightly as she tried to find the words to explain. Letting out a sigh, shaking her head slightly as she did, Rastuazi focused intently on Zhantara. "Sister, it's me…"

Zhantara seemed to pause for a moment as her brain processed this new information, the staff lowering slightly. For a moment, both Erthos and Rastuazi saw Zhantara's face soften, some of the rage fade away, but the moment soon passed. Taking a step forwards, Zhantara raised her hand, a shadow bolt forming, illuminating the Death Knights face.

"You are no sister of mine, fiend" she said slowly and quietly, as if struggling to get the words out. "My sister is no…Death Knight Fiend!" Rastuazi tried to retain a stone faced expression as she felt the shadow bolt close to her skin, her eyes locked intently with Zhantara's. The two of them were so immersed, that both were surprised at the sudden outburst from Erthos.

"Your sister died, Zhantara!" he shouted angrily at her, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his staff tightly. "She died protecting me, saving me!" Erthos looked to Rastuazi quickly, the weight of her death falling on his shoulders again, the anger inside him quickly cooling off as he looked back to Zhantara. "She died over a month ago…" he continued quietly, pausing for a moment. "She was buried in Lights Hope Chapel, and her body was taken by cultists and brought back as a Death Knight, as Rastuazi…"

Zhantara's mouth opened slowly as she stared at Erthos. "Wh-what…" she managed to say as she took a step away from Rastuazi, the shadow bolt fading away, her staff dropping to the floor. Slowly, she turned her head to look at Rastuazi again, as if studying her face intently. "No…No!" Zhantara suddenly shouted. "My sister is not a Death Knight!"

"Zhantara, please…" Rastuazi said, taking a step towards her sister, easily picking up on the struggle she was having accepting the truth. "I'm still here…" Rastuazi's advancement was quickly stopped by the Felhound who snarled at the Death Knight, threatening to attack.

"You are no sister of mine, Death Knight" Zhantara said in a cold, cruel voice. "If my sister died, so be it. But I will not accept that she has been turned into the undead!" Zhantara seemed to seethe as she stood in the rain, staring at Rastuazi. Slowly, she turned her head and looked at Erthos, her brow furrowing deeply as she reached down and picked up her staff.

"You…" she said slowly, taking a step towards Erthos, who watched Zhantara with caution. "You got my sister killed….How dare you!" With a wave of her hand, the Felhound suddenly leapt away from Rastuazi, making a charge for Erthos, baring its teeth at the young Blood Elf.

Erthos blinked in surprise at the sudden attack, his body quickly reacting on auto-pilot, his mind drawing on the lessons he had learnt from the Argent. His hand raised quickly, a shadow bolt erupting forth and colliding with the lunging Felhound, striking it in the jaw and causing it to fly backwards. At the same time, the amulet let out a bright glow, a slight aura extending around Erthos. Gripping his staff tightly, he raised it above his head before swinging it down and round, aiming for Zhantara's legs as she begun to channel her own attack, the Voidwalker making his own advance.

"No!" Rastuazi suddenly cried out, rushing forwards, Erthos' attack instead colliding with her, causing her to fall over. As quick as she could, Rastuazi got herself up off the floor, standing between Erthos and Zhantara with her arms outstretched. "Don't hurt my sister! Call back your demon….or else…"

Rastuazi looked at Erthos, opening his mouth to offer protest, but stopping, simply nodding and lowering his staff, the Voidwalker returning to his side. Rastuazi smiles faintly, as if saying thank you, before turning her head to look at Zhantara, deep sorrow in her eyes.

"Please, sister…just leave…" Rastuazi said quietly, looking at the female Blood Elf. Zhantara glared at Rastuazi for a moment, before turning her attention to Erthos. Erthos couldn't help but take a step back as he was glared at, the end of Zhantara's staff glowing intently.

"You…I will make sure you pay for what you have done to my sister" she said slowly, her voice cold and harsh. "Whether by my hands, or someone else's, I will see you incinerated. Mark my words." After taking one last look at Rastuazi, Zhantara span on the spot, quickly moving to her mount and climbing on. With a tug on the reigns, the Warlock sped away into the darkness, Felhound in tow, leaving Rastuazi and Erthos to stand in silence.

"I'm sorry, Rastuazi…" Erthos finally said, breaking the silence between the two of them. "I can't begin to imagine how bad that must have been for you…" Erthos looked over to the shadowy figure that was Rastuazi, the rain around them starting to lessen, but the dark clouds remaining over head.

"Yeah…" Rastuazi responded, letting out a heavy sigh. Moving slowly, Rastuazi picked up her sword from the muddy floor, sliding it back into its holder on her back before looking over to Erthos, her eyes glowing brightly in the darkness. "…I've just been disowned by my sister…"

"Well…" Erthos paused for a moment, watching as Rastuazi moved over to where Nightmare had waited patiently, standing next to Erthos' own mount. "What if we found a way to cure the Scourge infection?" Rastuazi stopped where she was, her back towards Erthos, who now found himself wondering if he had said the right thing. His knowledge of Scourge infections wasn't very vast, beyond that it was dangerous and highly deadly if you were infected.

"…Cure…the infection…" Rastuazi said quietly, not turning to look at Erthos. "No…" she carried on, shaking her head. "There is no cure for what has happened to me. I am what I am. It is something that I have to come to terms with."

Erthos felt his heart drop slightly as he heard Rastuazi. There must be a cure somewhere… he thought to himself. Looking at the Death Knight, he moved forwards, reaching out to offer comfort to his friend but quickly stopped his hand short as he remembered the amulet hanging around his neck.

Reaching up, Erthos pulled the amulet up and over his head, the glow of the amulet fading away as a small smile played on Erthos' lips. Making sure the amulet was securely in the pouch attached to his belt, Erthos took a step forwards, promptly letting out a slight yelp as he did so. With a grunt, Erthos fell forwards onto his knees as the extra energy from the amulet quickly left his body. As his hands collided with the muddy ground, the Voidwalker near by vanished as the magical energies keeping him bound to the world also faded.

"I…I feel so weak" Erthos said slowly, shaking his head slightly as he jammed his staff into the ground, using it as a support to help himself up. Rastuazi soon appeared at his side, placing a gentle arm around the young Blood Elf, supporting him.

"Come on…" she said quietly as she led Erthos over to Nightmare. "You don't have the strength to ride a horse properly. At least if you ride with me, I can make sure you are ok." Rastuazi smiled faintly as Erthos looked at her with a smile of his own. "Besides…" she continued, chuckling slightly. "I can't have you knocking yourself out again."

Erthos let out his own, slightly embarrassed, laugh and nodded in agreement. Using Rastuazi as his means of support, Erthos put his staff in its holder before leaning against Nightmare. Before she climbed up onto her steed, Rastuazi removed her sword from her back, sliding it onto the holder that was hanging from Nightmares side. Once in position, Rastuazi turned and offered a hand to Erthos, helping him climb up onto Nightmare.

"Thanks" Erthos said with an appreciative smile, putting an arm around Rastuazi. Catching a quick look of Erthos' face, Rastuazi could tell her companion was on the edge of passing out from lack of energy, so it came as no surprise to her when he slumped forwards against her back, eyes closed with a faint snore. Looking down at the arm wrapped around her waist, Rastuazi smiled slightly, placing a hand on Erthos arm, taking hold of Nightmare's reins with the other.

"Come on, Nightmare" she whispered to her horse, giving the reins a slight tug. "Let's get going." With a shake of his head, Nightmare moved forwards, his owner and rider keeping him at a steady walking pace as they made way through the Barrens, heading towards the forests of Ashenvale.