Warcraft Fan Fiction ❯ Bloodstained Shadows - Chronicles of a Lost Soul ❯ The Kiss of Nightfall - Chapter 1 ( Chapter 31 )

Chapter 1:

 

 

My mind is like a blank sheet of parchment.

I don't know where I am, nor why I'm here. I don't even know my name.

Yet something in my head tells me that everything will be fine. That everything is alright. That I don't have to worry at all. That I am in the black fortress of Acherus, high above the plaguelands.

I woke up only minutes ago, lying on a wooden cart. The moment I got up three ghouls came rushing towards me. Usually I would have had to be frightened, but somehow I knew they wouldn't harm me at all. They were handing me different parts of a dark grey armour. A skull with bright blue eyes was shining forth from the chest piece. The only thing they didn't give to me was a weapon.

The ghouls were blabbering the whole time, I didn't understand them, yet it seemed they were talking to each other.

Now I stand here wearing a full suit of armour, two spiked pads adorn my shoulders. The bones of my undead body are clearly visible at the arms. As I touched my face I noticed that even there were a few small circular places where the flesh was completely missing.

The room I am standing in is circular with four small vaults, each of them offering space to something else that seems of utter importance for this structure. In one of the vaults I find an alchemical laboratory as I walk around the hall for the first time. In another one I find several black anvils. In the third one there stands the cart I was lying on only moments ago and in the last vault I see a pile of ghoul bodies. In between each of these vaults there is something that looks like a forge. It resembles a large skull with a strange blue fire inside of it.

A muscular man in a ice-blue suit of armour is making his rounds at the back of the hall. He is much taller than any human I have ever seen. I know that this man must be of incredible strength, I can't tell why but it somehow seems obvious to me.

'Step forth my future champion...', a voice says to me in my mind. Its tone is calm, even somewhat gentle. My body started moving on its own. Between the vaults with the anvils and the laboratory there is an open space leading to a kind of balcony. I take the eleven steps up on the stone staircase and stand in front of two Val'kyrs, angels of demise flying high up in the air. They may look like beautiful maidens, yet their soul is consumed by hatred and darkness. Their presence is astonishing, they are a terrifying sight in their black armour although they shine completely in white.

The air around me grows colder with every step I take. A tall man is standing at the end of the balcony looking down on the lands below. It seems as if we are flying above this area.

The cape of the armour he is wearing already was ripped apart at its end.

He slowly turns around to me, holding his claymore in his right hand.

His black armour is decorated with several skulls on the shoulders and the waist, the back of the gloves resemble the claws of a dragon. From his elbows to the shoulders the mail is similar to dragon scales. The plates along his legs look like bones, ribs to be more precise.

The helmet he is wearing is spiked, a crown for an unholy king, underneath it you can see long white hair. Something about this armour looks orcish. A blue glow is coming from the eyes of the man, almost as if they had turned into flames.

My eyes are now fixed to the sword. Something is terrifying about it, then again it is remarkably beautiful in my opinion. Above the handle there is the skull of a ram of some sort, its eyes are also glowing in a bright blue too. The blade itself is jagged on one side and glowing in a cold blue with runes shining upon it.

I hear quiet screams, it seems as if they are coming from the weapon itself.

Something is drawing me to the sword. I want to posses it. I want to reach out and grab it. I want it to be mine!

The man speaks up, this voice sounds as if he is miles away and then again just like he is standing right in front of me. I kneel down.

“All that I am: anger, cruelty, vengeance - I bestow upon you, my chosen knight. I have granted you immortality so that you herald in a new, dark age for the Scourge.”

His eyes are looking right into my mind.

“Gaze upon the lands below us. The Scarlet Crusade scurries to undo my work, while Light's Hope stands defiantly against us - a blemish upon these plaguelands. They must all be shown the price for their defiance.”

I stand up and take a look over the edge, down into the green parts of the land. So we actually are flying.

“You will become my force of retribution. Where you tread, doom will follow. Go now and claim your destiny, death knight.”

I bow and back off slowly. Now the voice in my head starts talking again.

`You will become one of my champions, go forth now. The instructor Razuvious is already waiting for you.'

I know I have to talk to the tall man in the ice-blue suit of armour all of a sudden.

As I stand in front of him I feel terribly small.

“You have heard the call of your new master, now the time has come to answer it!”, he says with a clear and strong voice.

“First of, you need a weapon. Take whatever sword you want to use from the weapon racks and talk to one of our skeletal blacksmiths at the rune forges. They will teach you how to carve the runes into the weapon of your choice.”

I follow his orders and turn to the racks standing in almost every part of the hall. Quickly I find a sword that I want to use. Its blade is jagged and the handle looks like the wings of bats. It almost looks as if an blue eye is staring at you from the blade. I guess this was the reason why nobody wanted to use this weapon before. There are more engravings on the blade that are toned in a dark red, making it look like blood. The longer I look at the weapon the more I wonder if it might even actually be blood.

I take the blade to one of the skeletal blacksmiths, just as I was ordered to. The undead takes the weapon into his hands and nods to me. The creature is unable to talk, so I guess this means he or well, ... it approves of it.

The skeleton takes me to one of the rune forges. There it puts the blade into the blue flames for a short moment. In the meantime the undead takes some kind of strange tools into his bony hands which I suppose he needs to carve the runes into the weapon. After taking the weapon out of the fire again it seems that everything is fairly easy to carve into it. Yet again, only moments later the runes shine in a light blue and the blade is as hard as ever before. This looks actually fairly easy, I guess I won't need any help the next time I get a weapon.

The moment I take the sword into my hands I feel strength rising in me.

With the runes shining on the blade I return to the instructor.

"Fine, now you have a weapon suitable for yourself. Yet you still have a different problem - hunger. You are a former Forsaken so you had to deal with this issue before. Yet as a part of the Scourge I can give you a 'cure' for the hunger, so you will never have to worry about this again." Razuvious looks into the middle of the room.

"This will be a first test for you... This key will offer you salvation." Without hesitation the instructor takes a small key with a skull handle out of his pockets and hands it to me.

"Initiates that prove unworthy for our dark brotherhood are enchained here in the core of Acherus. Take the key and set one of them free. Let him take his armour and weapon and tell him that you will fight him and if he wins he will be granted a second chance." A grim smile comes to Razuvious' face.

"Now go! If you kill him, your pain will end and you will feel no hunger ever again. If you lose... Let me tell you, I'm sure you will still be a fine ghoul in our legions."

Without a single word I bow once before the instructor and then back off.

`Your touch will freeze the blood in the veins of every enemy and your blade will deliver blows tearing flesh apart and spreading my diseases.'

Once again I hear the whispers in my mind.

Seven steps lead down to the circle inside the hall with the enchained ones. A dark violet light comes from the chains holding them. So all of them are unworthy for the brotherhood.

I look around and see several bloodelves and gnomes. People of those races are usually weak, so I have no concern beating one of them. I look around and see a troll, an orc, a human, a few Forsaken and a draenei. I wonder why the orc is here, everybody else is quite clear to me. They all lack strength. Usually I would not have doubt in the Forsaken here, yet I could see it in their eyes. There is no fire in them, they would all fail..., sooner or later.

It is hard to decide which one I want to fight. I never was in combat yet I am fairly confident that I would be the strongest person now standing in this part of the room.

After a while I step up to a Forsaken kneeling approximately in the middle of the room. He raises his head as he sees me.

“Are you the executioner?” he asks with a low voice. I shortly shake my head in response.

“I am your last chance, you fool.”, my voice is emotionless. “Fight me... If you are able to overcome me, you will be set free from your chains and get a second chance in the dark brotherhood. If not... you may rot with the ghouls.”

Razuvious looks down on us as I tell this to the Forsaken.

The key fits perfectly into the key hole. As I turn it in the lock, the chains vanish in an instant. Slowly the Forsaken gets to his feet.

“GET GOING! This is your last chance!” I yell at the undead. He hurries and puts his armour on and takes his sword from the rack. As he stands in front of me now I can see the fear in his eyes.

`KILL HIM!' the voice in my head screams at me, `KILL HIM AND YOU ARE WORTHY TO BECOME MY UNHOLY CHAMPION!'

The Forsaken is shacking, what a miserable sight.

He lifts his blade and tries to attack me. Before he can even conduct a first blow, the tip of my blade has already pierced his chest. The light in the eyes of the Forsaken fades. With a powerful jerk to the side I pull my sword to out cutting through his chest. The blade of my opponent drops to the floor. Motionless the body now lies there .

Come to think of it..., he was wearing the same armour as I do. I guess I'll have to be careful looking at how easily my blade ripped it apart.

I leave the lower area and make my way back to Razuvious. A necromancer passes me on my way. I wonder if this ghoul would still be of any use for them.

“You did fine, just as I've expected from a knight that was chosen by myself. Your strength is remarkable.”

He chose me? What...?

“The Lich King is calling for you. Now go forth. Do not let him wait. Suffer well, brother...”

My body again moves on his own. The voice in my head is now calm once again.

`My unholy knight, I expect great things of you and I know you will be able to become a champion of the Scourge! Your path will lead you to strength and immortality by my side.'

I kneel down in front of the Lich King.

“The time for bloodshed draws nearer, my champion. I know that you are eager to get into the fight, yet first you have to understand what we want to destroy. I will offer you my sight. A sight that is beyond `normal' seeing. I will show you what we are aiming for. Now close your eyes!”

I do as he orders me to. In my mind I see pictures of four buildings of the Crusade. Their banners are hanging everywhere. The first thing I see is definitely a forge.

`We have to cut off their supplies and all possibilities to reinforce themselves.'

Seconds later I see a large human fortress and a town hall.

`We will strike at the heart of the city and bring down their leaders as well as the military force.'

The last thing I see is a little chapel next to a apple plantation.

`If we take out their religious head too, the crusaders will be helpless. They will lose faith and are ready for taking. Once we manage to take out these four buildings, the Scarlet Crusade will be no more and we will focus our attention on Light's Hope Chapel.'

The longer I hear his voice talking to me, the colder my surrounding gets, it feels as if I was kneeling on solid ice by now.

“Open your eyes now, my knight. You will get further instructions from Highlord Mograine on the lower area of Acherus. Go to him! May the fight begin and your thirst for blood never end.”

I get to my feet and bow deeply before I head off to the teleporter to the lower area. Something in my mind tells me that I have to go this way, I can't explain how I know all this.

The teleporter itself is a circular stone glowing in a bright violet. The vertical slot on it almost looks like an eye of some sort.

I step onto it without hesitation.