Warcraft Fan Fiction ❯ Bloodstained Shadows - Chronicles of a Lost Soul ❯ Scarlet Dawn - Prologue ( Prologue )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The young Marc Fipps trys to step up to his renowned deceased father in becoming a apprentise of the Scarlet Crusade, which ultimately lets him discover the dark secrets of the Crusade and leading him down the path of the dark arts.

Non Anime: Warcraft Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Drama / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.21.2010 | Updated On: 06.27.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.6K | Visits: 198 | Status: Completed

Scarlet Dawn

Prologue

I will never forget this day.

I will never forget his voice, as cold as ice.

I will never forget the sight, my companions in pain.

I will never forget the feeling, my limbs growing numb.

I will never forget the screams, my friends dying from my own hands.

"Frostmourne! Feast on their flesh! Devour their souls! For they shall become part of my Army!"

Those are the only words I can clearly remember from that day. Only seconds later a blade pierced my body through my back. It felt as if the sword was completely made of ice.

All the shouting - gone. All the screams - gone. Even his voice - gone. Although I could still see it all. See his lips moving. Witness how the others died. The image of him flickered, it seemed as if he was not present personally, leaving the image on the hill a mere illusion.

The pain brought me to my knees. Blood was pouring out of the hole in my chest. I felt dizzy, the loss of blood was too big. The wind was sweeping through the trees near Tyr's Hand. The flags of the Scarlet Crusade were raised high up in the air. So near... but yet, so far. I looked up into the gloomy sky. Not a single cloud, yet everything was dark in these parts of the plaguelands.

I fell over onto the ground. My legs were not capable of carrying me anymore. A chill was going through me as if I'd been sucked into the ice cold blade just by looking at it. Everything went black. Then there were only two things left, the darkness around me and the cold. The only thing I could do was lie there and wait, wait until it had consumed every little bit of me.

It felt as if I was falling into an abyss.

I felt hollow.

My legs became stiff. My arms wouldn't follow my commands anymore. Little did I know that these would be the last feelings I'd ever have. Had I known, I'd probably tried to remember them better.

I tried to remember the prayers I've been taught as an apprentice at the Crusade.

It was sad.

All I could remember were the stories of the Ashbringer and the battle cries against the Scourge.

Seconds passed as ages. I'd lost the last bit of sense of time. I wondered what Corren and Keira would be doing in this situation. But... Keira was far away and Corren stood by my side, only seconds ago. I was sure somebody would patch me up before it was too late. Corren was a paladin of the Silver Hand. He saw everything. He would eventually come and pick me up.

The pain was gone. My wound stopped bleeding. What in the name of the Holy Light? Have I been saved or am I dead already? I can't recall whether I lay there for only moments or many hours.

It's true, the pain had completely vanished. But I still could not move. Slowly, very slowly other feelings crept up into my mind.

I was hungry.

This was the moment when I first imagined I heard his voice inside my head. He whispered to me, calmly and gently. That I am strong. That he could make me even stronger. He said I'd be his child. He'd take care of me. That I'd never have to feel lonely again because he'd stay with me forever. And he also said that the others were only trying to hold me back from becoming truly happy.

It was true. I have never been extremely popular. I have never had anyone looking after me, due to the death of my father and my mother who was formerly studying in Dalaran. I had good friends. But at that moment, they were dying right by my side, or probably... they were dead already. I'd been one of the first to fall. Strong the voice said... what a lie. I wasn't even able to protect myself, not to mention my friends.

I did not believe him.

Then the voice whispered once again. I should not worry, he would grant me powers beyond my wildest imagination. I was still in doubt. I knew the holy arts. Healing magic utmost, one or two spells that could actually do damage against a foe. I was just a priest.

I rejected him.

The voice spoke up for a third time. But this time... it wasn't the gentle voice from before anymore. It was wild and angry. Shouting at me as if it wanted to rip me apart. I should open my eyes and get up to my feet! For I would be a servant of the Lich King from now on.

Indeed I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry at first. I seized the first person in my view with my eyes. From this point onwards I knew there would be no turning back. Still I also knew, I had never had a choice to make.

My mind was flooded by a feeling of hunger. The urge to eat. I fell into a rage consuming everything in my brain and in my soul. I felt no pain. Only hunger, nothing else, not the wind on my face nor the ground below my feet.

The battle between the Scourge and the troop of the Scarlet Crusade had just started. It seemed I only had laid there for about half a minute although it had seemed endless to me.

My movements were slow, and it did not seem as if I was able to control my body, it moved from its own.

I heard the voice in my head again, but I did not listen. My surroundings became clear more and more. I started to hear again. I heard the members of my former troop yelling. I heard bones break and screams of the defeated while the ghouls ate their flesh.

I moved forward into the fight, slowly but consistently. I did not know where I was going but something was drawing me towards it.

One of my former fellows suddenly stood in front of me, not any older than myself. His brown eyes staring at me wide open. A cleric like myself. He tried to speak to me. He seized my shoulders, shook me around. I can't recall what he said or yelled at me. I was just glaring through him. The voice in my head arose out of nowhere. Yelled at me I should kill. That I should kill an unworthy bastard like him. Again I disobeyed his orders. I shook the man off and walked on towards my unknown target. He rushed up besides me and grabbed my left arm, again yelling something at me. I turned to him and with one swift strike of my left arm I hit him on the head before I even noticed what happened. I thought I heard bones break and he fell backwards. I had not known that I was able to do such things. The voice in my head laughed, a fierce, evil laughter.

I strode on to my unknown destination.

There it was again. The hunger! It's taking over my thoughts. I gathered my last senses once again and fell on my knees screaming out loud. Suddenly the pain was back for just a short moment. It felt as if my body was falling into its parts one by one, slowly and painfully. Then it came up again, the voice in my mind. Once again kindly and gently. He told me that I would have to eat to avoid the pain. I'd just have to eat, nothing more and nothing less. He also told me that it was my own fault that I had to suffer this right now.

I rejected him once again.

Then the other voice came again, yelling at me, shouting at me.

My body moved on its own again. I got up to my feet and went on forward.

In a short distance I suddenly spotted him, Corren, fighting with a ghoul. He easily kept the creature at bay. It was clearly visible that he'd fought against many undead already. He did not notice me at first.

I drew nearer, when he took a glance in my direction and recognized me.

He hit the ghoul in front of him once more so it was taken down and then he let his guard down. He came rushing towards me immediately.

His mace in his hand, he was running in my direction. I still draw nearer slowly.

He jumped, his hammer rushed through the air. He stood to my right side. A ghoul wincing underneath the mighty weapon. The creature fell over backwards with its head squashed.

Corren turned to me. The expression on his face was full of joy. He said various things, about how glad he was that I was still alive, that he could have never forgiven himself if I would have died. Little did he know. The voice in my head reacted according to the things he said. Told me that he would have eventually forgotten about me to save himself, that he was the one suppressing my real strength.

I rejected the voice again, one final time.

It yelled back at me in my head. I couldn't hear anything of Corren anymore. Corren then suddenly embraced myself, I was pressed to his chest. The voice in my head screamed louder and louder.

"Ease the pain!"

My mind was overcome with rage, with hatred, with the urge to kill. He yelled at me one more time, one final word. It was the last thing I heard or imagined as a human:

“EAT!!!”

I felt how I opened my mouth right to Correns neck. I yelled one last thing. I didn't realize what I was saying, I had already become a puppet of the Lich King. I yelled:

“HUNGER!!!”

Corren was somehow paralyzed, like he was realizing what was just happening. But it was too late.

I bit into his throat.

I tasted blood, the red fluid was running wildly. The pain went away. Then everything blacked out.

This was the day I died.