Ranma nervously tapped his foot while the elevator took him, Azusa and Cadavrine up to the surface. Azusa happily hummed a song, while the undead warlock just glared into space.
"So... why did ya build this city underground?" Ranma finally wondered.
"Undercity was meant to be the capital of Arthas' new kingdom," Cadavrine explained. "When Sylvanas and her Banshees rebelled, the construction was already under way, so after he left, she simply took what was there and made it the new capital of the Forsaken."
"Just like that?" Ranma wondered.
"Not at once... at first, she had to take care of a nuisance."
"Um... what kind of nuisance?"
Cadavrine moved her head to look at him. "Dreadlords," she said.
"What's a Dreadlord?" Azusa asked with sudden interest.
"You saw Varimathras, Lady Sylvanas' right hand, right? Well, he's a Dreadlord!"
"Oh, the cutie with the wings and the adorable white face?" Azusa giggled. "I called him Victor!"
Cadavrine would have raised an eybrow, if they weren't already rotten. "What's with you and those weird names?" she asked. "They sound so strange... and those Thalassian names? And who could ever think a Dreadlord cute?"
Ranma sighed. "Azusa thinks that almost everything is cute, and she gives almost everything she sees a French name... and if it's small enough to take away, she'll take it. She's Nerima's most annoying kleptomaniac..."
Azusa smiled. "Why, thank you!"
The undead woman shook her head. "I don't want to know where you two come from, but even though we are undead, and even though the Scourge robbed us of almost everything we had, including our lives, we refuse to give up the last bit of dignity we have."
The elevator came to a stop... and a horrible stench flooded the room as the doors opened. Ranma grimaced when they walked past another pair of grotesque creatures. The Abominations were undead creations that were patched up from several corpses. A cloud of green, stinking mist surrounded them, and three disproportionate arm-like limbs were sticking out of their swollen body, holding wicked cleavers.
Sylvanas had already explained to them of the necessity of these monsters, but Ranma still felt sick whenever he saw them. Walking through a city of walking, dead people was unnerving enough, but whoever came up with these creatures was just sick.
"They are remains of the Scourge troops Arthas had been forced to leave behind when he left for Northrend," Sylvanas had explained. "Without the will of the Lich King controlling them, our necromancers were able to turn them into efficient guards. They aren't very bright, but very loyal, and incredibly strong."
Ranma thought that one well-aimed Moko Takabisha would be enough to cause the different body parts to fall apart, but he kept silent... just as he kept silent about the whole wrongness of this city. He knew Sylvanas and her Forsaken hadn't chosen to be like this. Still... they seemed to embrace their undeath instead of trying to find a cure. Also, wasn't it better to die a natural death instead of extending your undead existance even further?
Something told him that the solution couldn't be that simple, and he pitied the poor souls that were forced to live in Undercity.
A small corridor lead them into a big, ruined hall. Some sort of throne was standing on the far end, and an eerie silence was hanging in the room. Like all of Undercity, this place reeked of death. But... there was also something melancholic and sad about this room.
Cadavrine looked at the empty throne and gave it a short, respectful nod, before she turned around and walked to the exit. "Come on, this way!" she said.
Azusa followed her right away, but Ranma gave the throne one final look. For a moment, he could have sworn he had heard a voice... but the room was as silent as a grave.
He realized that they were inside some sort of castle, and this castle was standing in a huge, ruined city. Still, they didn't have to walk very far before they reached the main gates and the edge of Tirisfal Woods.
"What happened here?" he wondered. "This town... it's abandoned! Where are all the people?"
"Lordaeron was the capital of this kingdom," Cadavrine whispered. "And King Terenas was a wise and just ruler, loved by his people... Lordaeron was one of the biggest human nations, and it was a haven for the refugees from Stormwind during the Second War."
She closed her eyes. "But then... after we thought the nightmare was over, and the menace of the Orcs was nothing more than a passed dream... the next nightmare came, in the shape of the Forsaken. And it was King Terenas' own son, Prince Arthas, who let himself be twisted and corrupted by them, until he became a Death Knight... and when he returned, his first action was to kill his father."
"Arthas..." Ranma murmured. The more he heard about that guy, the less he liked him. He looked around. 'So, this is the city where Akane used to appear when she was a kid... I hope she will never see it... she would be shocked to see it like this.'
Cadavrine took a small wand out of her robe as she looked at the trees that were looming in front of them. The forest looked as if it had once been beautiful, maybe as beautiful as Silverpine Forest in the land of Elves... but something seemed to have sapped the earth's life away. There were still plants growing, but they were dark and disheartening. An unnatural darkness was hanging over the land, and not a single bird was singing.
This image was enough to even wipe the ever-present smile from Azusa's face. "I... don't like this place," she murmured, stepping closer to Ranma. "What happened to the trees?"
"The undead plague..." Cadavrine grumbled, but that was all explanation she gave them. She made a small motion with her left hand. "Klathmon..."
"At your command, mistress..." the Voidwalker hissed as he came floating forth. Ranma jumped in surprise - he almost forgot that the demonic companion of Cadavrine had been behind them all the time. Klathmon was able to move without making any sound.
"The town of Brill is down this road," Cadavrine murmured. "But we shouldn't go there, the residents don't trust any living person that's not part of the Horde..."
"The... Horde?" Ranma wondered.
"Stop asking so many questions!" the Forsaken snapped. "I'm not a tour guide, I was just instructed to help you chase the Gnolls away. So shut up and do your job!"
Ranma crossed his arms. "Hey, you can't tell me what to do! I only do this to do Sylvanas a favor."
Klathmon shoved himself in-between his warlock and the pig-tailed youth. "Mistressss... you want me to teach this impertinent mortal a lesson?"
"Sadly, we have personal order from Lady Sylvanas to bring him back in one piece..." Cadavrine growled. "All right... stay out of my way, let me do my job, and I think we might just be able to get along fine."
Ranma frowned, but he nodded.
Azusa smiled. "Oh, would you look at this? You're almost good friends already!" And she wrapped her arms around the martial artist and the undead warlock in one big hug. Ranma was just annoyed, but Cadavrine looked like she was ready to kill the pink-dressed kleptomaniac.
Tyrande Whisperwind and Ukyo Kuonji were standing on one of the Temple of the Moon's balconys and let their gazes sweep across the city of Darnassus that was lying below them.
The High Priestess offered her visitor a glass of moonberry juice. Ukyo accepted it with a smile. "Thanks."
She took a sip of the refreshing drink, then she looked back at the mysterious Night Elf city. "Whenever I visited Malfurion in the Emerald Dream, he told me of his homeland... but I could have never imagined that it was THIS beautiful. And you're saying that this whole town is on top of a giant tree?"
"Not just Darnassus," Tyrande explained. "Teldrassil - that's the name of the tree - is bigger than a mountain. Darnassus only covers one third of it. There are also the villages Dolanaar, Rut'theran and Starbreeze Village... and Aldrassil, the place where all young, aspiring Night Elf adventurers train. But Teldrassil still isn't as big as the World Tree had been..."
"Yeah, Malfurion told me about it," Ukyo smiled. "It's situated on the mainland of Kalimdor, isn't it?"
Tyrande looked down. "Not anymore..." she said, and a single tear appeared in her eye. "We had to... destroy it."
"Destroy it?" Ukyo gasped. "But... Malfurion always told me that the tree is what gave you Night Elves your immortality."
"So you see why it was such a big sacrifice," Tyrande sighed. "But we had to do it... or else Archimonde and the Burning Legion would have destroyed all of Azeroth."
"Archimonde?" Ukyo wondered.
An expression of hatred appeared on the priestess' beautiful face. "Archimonde, the Defiler..." she whispered. "One of the two last leaders of the Burning Legion, our mortal enemies..."
Ukyo shuddered. Her old friend had told her of the Night Elves' ancient nemesis, the demons, of course... but according to him, the last time they had appeared on Azeroth had been several thousands of years ago. "Is he... still around?" Maybe it wasn't such a good time to visit Azeroth after all...
"No, he was destroyed along with the World Tree," Tyrande said. "Malfurion summoned the Wisps, the ancient guardians of the forest, using the Horn of Cenarius. They gathered around the archdemon, incinerating him in a massive explosion. They knew this would also cause irreversible damage to the World Tree, but they, as well as we, knew they had to make the sacrifice. But the Legion is still present on Azeroth, and we fight every day to keep them at bay..."
"I... I'm sorry to hear that..." Ukyo murmured. It was depressing that this story was the first thing she learned after coming to Azeroth after so many years. She had always looked forward to this day... and now she learned that her old mentor was missing, and that the demons they had fought so long ago were back.
"Well, at least we have loyal and formidable allies now," Tyrande then smiled. "The humans of Stormwind, the Dwarves of Ironforge, the Draenei that crash-landed here with their ship, the Exodar... and even the cunning gnomes of Gnomeregan. Together, we all form the Alliance... and together, we will face the Legion and all their servants and supporters."
"If... if there's anything I can do to help..." Ukyo said.
Tyrande smirked. "Well, I don't know if you could fight any demons... but we always need helpers here on Teldrassil."
"I'll do what I can!" Ukyo said confidently. "Your Sentinels need a good meal? Ucchan will prepare the best okonomiyaki Darnassus has ever seen. You need me to teach someone a lesson? I'll show them that my battle spatula is not just for show. You need a shoulder to cry on? Ucchan's on the job!" And the young chef gave the moon priestess a wink.
Tyrande couldn't help but snicker. It happened rarely, but this young human had just raised her spirits. She could see how her Furion had put high hopes in this girl... still, she would have to find out just what he meant when he had contacted her in her dream and told her that Ukyo's appearance would be the beginning of a big change...
"So, where do I start?" Ukyo asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Any troublemakers to take out?"
"Well, there is one person I would love to see at the receiving end of your weapon," Tyrande chuckled as she looked at Ukyo's big spatula. "But as much as I would like to give him a good slap in the face, there's not too much I can do, since he was appointed the new Archdruid, after Malfurion's disappearance..."
"Awww, to bad... a real jerk, I take it?"
Tyrande smirked. "A first class jerk, indeed!" Oh yes, she would give more than her immortality to see Staghelm being clobbered like a pinata.
"Trust me, sugar, I have dealt with jerks back in my world, too... heck, the father of my fianc... I mean, my childhood buddy stole away my father's cart when I was just a kid. But hey, at least I won't be troubled by Genma Saotome as long as I'm here on Azeroth!" She grinned.
The big panda groaned as he leaned back against the tree. There wasn't too much shadow on the Barrens, so he was glad that he found this tree after having wandered about this hot land, while the searing sun was making his fur smoulder.
It was bad enough that he had found himself in the middle of nowhere after having woken up from his nap... but even worse was the fact that there was no water around him, and he had yet to find some. The warm panda fur was making this heat much harder to endure.
If only he knew where he was right now... he was beginning to think that this was how the Hibiki boy must feel.
Genma blinked when suddenly, a massive mug with a foamy drink inside was being held in front of his face... and, judging from the smell, it was an alcoholic beverage.
The mug also wasn't held by a hand... but by a black, furry paw.
Genma looked up... and looked right into the grinning face of a panda... although the panda in front of him was walking on his hind legs and wore clothing.
Chen Stormstout grinned. "Well, I'll be... I didn't think I would find one of you guys out here, so far away from Pandaria. But, as I'm a noble Pandaren and Brewmaster, I'm always willing to share my drinks with a poor, thirsty guy like you are. Here, take a sip... this'll put hair all over you!" He let out a guttural laugh.
Genma blinked at the mug of beer... and then he accepted it with a thankful growl. This land wasn't so bad if even the pandas were this hospitable...
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(Posted Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:16)
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