Obsidian Dragonflight.
Part II: Elements.
"Brothers of Twilight! The Hammer calls to you! (Fire water earth air). Leave your mortal shell behind. (Fire water earth air)." Cho'gall called, as they reached a chamber containing four large, vaguely humanoid monstrosities. "Embrace your new forms for here and everafter! (Burn and drown and crush and suffocate). And use your gifts to destroy the unbelieivers. (Burn and drown and crush and suffocate)!"
"Friendly fellow, aint he," Falstad laughed.
"All smiles and butterflies it seems, but more importantly, what on earth are those?" Uther asked, pointing at the four figures.
"Who cares, lets just kill them!" Arthas said impatiently, charging toward one of the four creatures.
Arthas charged toward one of them, with Uther, Muradin, and Falstad each taking one of the other elemental abominations, who rushed to meet the heroes. Uther quickly realised that they each controlled one of the four elements, and he had unfortunately engaged the fire elemental.
Just as it seemed that they were getting the upper hand, the four elementals barged the heroes aside and standing together in the middle of the platform.
"An impressive display…"
"To have made it this far."
"But now witness true power…"
"The fury of the elements!"
They chanted as they began to summon something together, despite the heroes continuing to attack them.
"BEHOLD YOUR DOOM!" the combined elemental monstrosity roared, swatting them away, before attacking Muradin.
The monstrosity roared and charged at Uther, who sidestepped it and cleaved into its leg. It retaliated and picked Uther up, attempting to strangle him.
'-Don't you dare die!-' the voice roared.
Uther stabbed Frostlight into the monstrosity's arm, causing it to roar in pain and drop him.
"We'll handle this bastard, you kill its master!" Muradin roared, as Falstad moved to assist him.
"For Khaz Modan!" the two dwarves yelled, before charging the monstrosity.
Uther ushered the other heroes through the next doorway, despite Arthas' clear interest in staying to fight with the dwarves.
"Foolish mortals – (Usurper's children!)" Cho'gall yelled as they rounded the corner and came face to face with the Twilight's Hammer leader. "Nothing you have done – (SPAWN OF A LESSER GOD!) I am trying to speak here! (Words, words, words! The Master wants MURDER!) All falls to chaos. ALL will be destroyed. (Chaos, chaos!) Your work here today changes nothing! (Chaos, chaos, all things END!) No mortal may see what you have and live. Your end has come."
"It is not our end, but yours Ogre!" Arthas yelled. "The people of Azeroth will not bow to your masters, and the Old Gods shall never threaten them with chaos and death!"
"Since when did you get so preachy?" Sylvanas chuckled.
Arthas did not reply. Uther, however, was more concerned by the form of Cho'gall before him, as it was clear that he was warped by foul magic.
'-Old gods!-' the Lich whispered. '-You face their greatest puppet Lightbringer; will your faith stand against their corruption?-'
"I will not back down!" Uther said through gritted teeth, unsheathing his swords and leading the charge.
"Enough! (To His will all flesh succumbs. From His kingdom, chaos comes!)" Cho'gall roared, charging at them with a large, two-headed axe. "Yes – what he said."
He swung at Uther and Arthas, forcing them to separate, and the ogre focused on Arthas. He swung his axe at the prince, who tried to shield himself with the Light, but failed to deflect the swing. The bladed edge narrowly missed his chest, as he managed to swing his mace and deflect the swing at the last moment.
"Do not doubt yourself Arthas!" Uther yelled, slashing at Cho'gall's leg and gaining the twisted abomination's attention, as arrows and spells hit its torso.
"Don't lecture me old man!" Arthas snapped back.
"Behold the destiny of your fragile world!" Cho'gall roared as more elemental creations appeared and attacked them.
"Ladies! Deal with them!" Uther commanded, as he blocked Cho'gall's powerful blows and took swipes at the numerous eyes covering the ogre's chest and arms.
"With pleasure" the two Windrunners called, quickly focusing the adjutants on them, not Uther and Arthas who were still battling Cho'gall.
"More, More! (More! They need more!)" The ogre laughed, summoning more adjutants, along with fire elementals, who swarmed the heroes.
"We've got yer backs!" the dwarves yelled, scurrying in and covering the two paladin's backs as they duelled the Hammer's leader.
"Brother, it cannot be… (Destiny has come!) My… strength… (Too proud! He speaks in blood! Listen!)" Cho'gall's heads yelled. "What… is happening… ?! (Gone is the dawn! Come shades of Twilight. Come madness. Come havoc! Come Infinite Night!)"
Cho'gall smashed Uther aside, and immediately cut him off from Arthas with a wall of shadowy spikes. Arthas summoned the Light to protect him, but once again it failed to stop Cho'gall's unholy magic. Before he could rush to Arthas' aid he was beset by elementals and adherants, while the prince was forced into a corner by Cho'gall.
"Princeling! Die" Cho'gall roared, as he knocked Arthas to the ground, and raised his axe up over his head.
"The Light has betrayed me!" Arthas cried as the axe swung down.
He closed his eyes and awaited the inevitable, hearing Cho'gall's anger-filled roar when he felt the moment was upon him. He opened his eyes and saw a golden bubble around him, which was deflecting Cho'gall's repeated axe strikes.
"You won't kill one of us so easily monster!" Sylvanas yelled, standing between Arthas and the ogre, her arms held out wide, casting the protective shield around them.
Uther stabbed Ashmourne through Cho'gall's right shoulder, causing him to roar and wheel around to face the Lightbringer, with the blade impaled through him.
"I can't take much more…" one of its heads groaned, swinging at Uther with his right arm, while the left moved to cradle the wound, before the other intervened. "(Brother, it merely begins!)"
More elementals and strange shadowy creations spawned and attacked the heroes, while Cho'gall's right arm hung limply at its side, forcing the ogre to use his left. It flailed the axe wildly, and summoned fire and shadows to aid it, but it had seen it was losing, and the madness kept it fighting. Sylvanas helped Arthas to his feet, and channelled the Light into him, giving him the courage to fight on.
"For Lordaeron!" Arthas yelled, leaping up behind Cho'gall and slamming his mace down on to the ogre's spine.
Cho'gall roared in pain and flailed the axe with his only working arm, before stumbling toward his throne. The elementals and adjutants slowly faded away or were cut down by the heroes, and they watched as Cho'gall collapsed against his throne.
"Brother… we are shattered… let her… finish them…" Cho-gall said weakly, collapsing on to its knees. "(The Master… does not want them near her… Brother… The Master seethes…)"
With his last ounce of strength, he slammed his axe's pommel into the ground, cracking it, before slumping dead over his throne.
"Thank you," Arthas said slowly, approaching Sylvanas to talk with her face to face, while Uther moved to free Ashmourne from the dead ogre's corpse. "That thing…"
"The Light was with me." she smiled. "You should not doubt yourself…"
"I don't need to hear his teachings coming from your lips!" He snarled, destroying the tender moment, as the floor continued to crack beneath them.
"Master… What did it mean by 'her'?" Onyxia asked, though quickly tensing up and looking around wildly, her nostrils flaring. "No!"
"I do not know, I…" Uther began, before the floor broke, and they fell into a large underground chamber beneath the Bastion.
As Uther and the other heroes got to his feet, he noticed that Onyxia was hovering way above him, by the door that led out of Cho'gall's chamber.
"Master… I'm sorry… I…" she called, sounding completely terrified as something stirred behind them.
"Intruders!" a female roar bellowed. "We were fools to entrust an imbecile like Cho'gall with such a sacred duty. I will deal with you intruders myself!"
Uther turned his head and saw a vast black dragon towering over them, her eyes flowing with primal hatred.
"Sintharia!" He breathed.
"Mother!" Onyxia said in unison.