The blue dragon Cyan groaned as he slowly sunk down to the ground. His wings were tired, and it wasn't that much farther until he was home... but he couldn't face Malygos until he came up with a good excuse. So now he was crouching in the middle of a frozen valley in the middle of Northrend, trying to come up with a good apology.
"Umm... 'I'm sorry, your Greatness, but the Dimensional Seal was dropped in a deep chasm... by a bunch of Kobolds'." He shook his head. "Nonono, not even I would be so stupid as to believe such a silly excuse... well, what else... maybe... 'I wasn't able to bring the Dimensional Seal back home, because a group of gnomes were using it... to empower their newest anti-gravitation device for sheep.' Gah, that's even worse than the first one!" He gave his huge, scaly head a few hard taps with his paw. "Think, you stupid dragon, think! Malygos is the Dragon Aspect of Magic... one of the most intelligent beings on Azeroth! He won't fall for stupid excuses like that!" Cyan sighed deeply. "Maybe I really should just tell him the truth... all he's going to do is to make me eat my tail, nothing to worry about... Well, but... I really like my tail..."
Cyan felt like a young whelp who was caught being naughty by one of the elder drakes... but this was much worse than just having dropped a small, harmless artifact into a volcano crater... he managed to lose the Dimensional Seal, one of the most powerful and dangerous objects that Malygos had ever created. And he lost it to a ragtag group of outlaw Blood Elves... not only that, but he lost track of them, and only because he had to stop and chat with that cute little red dragon he met on Kalimdor...
He knew he was in trouble, and there was no way he could escape Malygos' wrath this time. The only thing he could hope for was that he was in a forgiving mood today...
"That would be the first time in 200 years..." Cyan grumbled. "I can't really blame him, though... because of my incompetence, all those humans from the foreign world have managed to come to Azeroth..."
While Cyan was lamenting his fate, he didn't notice that he was slowly being surrounded. And, to be honest, if he hadn't been in such a depressive mood lately, he would have remembered that this part of Northrend was currently controlled by the Lich King and his minions...
When Cyan noticed the undead Nerubian warriors, it was too late. Nets made of sticky spider web were flying through the air and entangled his majestic wings. Cyn let out a mighty roar and tried taking off from the ground, but it was no use, the Nerubian nets were glued all over his wings, making flight impossible for the proud dragon.
"Hold him down!" one of the Nerubians hissed in their ancient tongue. "The master will be pleased when we offer him this little present!"
Cyan angrily opened his mouth and spat a cloud of icy mist at the spider-beings. One Crypt Fiend got engulfed in the cold cloud, and his body froze solid. The others, however, quickly shot more spider web at his muzzle, tying it shut.
"Time to tuck this icy lizard in bed," one of the Crypt Fiends hissed with glee as he shot a tiny spike at Cyan's neck - a spike that was filled with sleep venom.
"N-nooo..." Cyan murmured as he felt the effects of the venom. They were making his movements sluggish and his eyelids heavy. "My lord Malygos... I failed you..."
With one last desperate move, he tried to pull away from the undead Nerubians, but it was to no avail. His heavy body collapsed on the frozen floor as the venom made him fall asleep.
Cackling maliciously, the Crypt Fiends proceeded to tie his whole body up with their webs, and afterwards, they pulled him through the frozen tundra of Northrend, to the citadel where their master was waiting for them.
When Cyan opened his eyes, he wasn't in the wilderness of Northrend anymore. He was in a circular arena, surrounded with hundreds of seats. The whole building he was in looked like a huge colosseum, made of black marble and volcanic glass. He saw tall spires on which grotesque gargoyles were sitting. The seats were occupied by all the intelligent creatures the Lich King had in his army: Banshees, Lichs, human Necromancers, Crypt Fiends and Crypt Lords, Shades, Wraiths and Death Knights. They were howling and laughing at the blue dragon that was crouching to their feet.
Cyan quickly realized that his wings were still tied up, and the Nerubian venom was still running through his veins, slowing down all of his movements. He knew that if all these monstrosities wanted his death, then he was doomed. He had heard enough about the arenas of the Scourge to know that no blue dragon who was brought to them had ever returned alive.
"Well, what are you waiting for, you monsters?" he grumbled. "Finish it already!"
He then noticed how someone else had entered the arena, through a huge archway that was directly in front of him. Compared to himself, that creature seemed tiny... but he knew that size didn't always match with the powers an individual on Azeroth had. And he could feel the dark energies that were flowing through this creature's body. She was dead, but it wasn't a natural death she died... she made a pact with the Lich King. Cyan was standing in front of one of the feared Death Knights. The only unusual thing about her was that instead of the usual runeblade, she was carrying a huge war hammer.
"So, this is the beast I'm supposed to slay?" she asked. "A dragon? Meh, he can't be worse than Herb..."
"Lady Akane," a booming voice shouted from up above. "Kill this dragon, and you will prove your powers and your right to fight at my side, as my personal bodyguard and new general of my army! And that's not all... kill this beast with the powers I offered you, and upon his defeat, bring him back so he can serve you!"
"I will never serve the Scourge!" Cyan roared.
Akane grinned when she saw how the weakened dragon tried to swipe at her. "We'll see..." she said as she raised her hammer.
The blue dragon let out one last, strangled gasp when the rune-covered war hammer of the Death Knight hit its mark for the last time. Then he fell down into the snow-covered arena floor, as dead as everything around him.
Akane came closer and put her armored foot down on the limp dragon snout. "Heh... even Herb would have put up a fight... this was just boring."
Triumphantly, she raised her hammer up into the sky, as the undead spectators cheered on the newest champion of the Lich King.
When the cheering was over, a dead silence hung upon the arena. Everyone stared down at the female Death Knight and the dark, armored figure that had come up behind her.
Akane turned around... and looked into the face of her king. She knelt down. "My lord..."
"Rise, Lady Akane!" the Lich King said in his two voices. "Today, you have proven your worth as a true general for the Scourge... and as my personal champion.
He spread his arms as he looked around the assembled undead. "Hear me, my minions and servants! From this day on, the word of the Lady Akane will be my word. Whenever she gives you an order, it will be as if I have given you the order myself. And when she is leading my dark troops all over Azeroth... it will be only in my name! Hear me now! Look upon this woman and tremble with fear! For she is the Lady Akane, the newest Death Knight and my champion!"
Akane couldn't help but grin when the crowd erupted in another bout of cheers. 'This... is what I always wanted. Accepted, respected... feared by everyone who looks at me! Back in Nerima, I was nobody... I never was as strong as Ranma, or my rivals... but now... now I have the power of the Lich King, the power to control the undead... and the power of a Death Knight! Now nobody will ever stop us! Oh yes, and as soon as Azeroth is ours... I will lead my troops into my own world, so that everyone will see that the Lady Akane is immortal! Yes... and they will join me in glorious undeath... my old friends... my father... and my sisters, too...'
A few hours later...
Akane and Arthas were standing next to a deep pit. Huge bones were sticking out of the deep, dark abyss, and the huge skull of a dragon was lying directly next to them. Ghouls and Shades were scrambling all around the pit, and Necromancers were standing at the edge, controlling the dark energies that were swirling around them.
"What is this place?" Akane wondered.
"This is a boneyard," the Lich King explained. "This is where I turn our most dangerous enemies into loyal servants..."
"So? And why bring me here?" Akane asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "Don't we have anything better to do than sightseeing?"
Arthas smiled behind his helmet. He knew that if anyone besides Akane had said these words, he would have destroyed that individual on the spot. "I brought you here... because I have a present for you."
"A present? For me?" Akane grinned. "Aww, you shouldn't have..."
"The dragon we captured today was killed by you in battle," Arthas said. "It is only fitting that this dragon will serve you from now on... be your mount and your personal pet. He will do whatever you tell him... the dark magic of my necromancers will bind his will to yours."
A horrible screech echoed forth from the dark abyss, a roar that would have made everyone else tremble with fear. Akane, however, could feel how the undead creature down below was calling out for her. "My very own, personal undead dragon..." she muttered. "I like that."
For Cyan, it was like waking from a nightmare... only to see that the nightmare had become reality. Gone were the azure scales that had once covered his body. Gone were his brilliant eyes, replaced by empty sockets that were burning with the cold magic that was his undead essence. The skeletal dragon came slowly crawling out of the Boneyard, revealing his unholy glory to Arthas, Akane and all the minions of the Scourge that were present.
"A new Frost Wyrm is born," Arthas shouted. "And he belongs only to you, Akane! The once proud blue drake called Cyan is now an undead servant of the Lich King's champion."
Akane smiled with satisfaction as she stepped in front of the skeletal creature. Cyan's eyes radiated the cold power he was now filled with. He felt his will crumble away as he stood in front of his new rider, the person that his will was bounded to by the dark magics of the necromancers.
He couldn't help but bow his giant skull in front of his new mistress. "What is your order... my lady?"
"My very own pet wyrm..." Akane smiled as she stroked the side of his skull. "I think I'm going to call you... W-chan!"
"As you wish, my mistress," the Frost Wyrm grumbled.
With one swift move, Akane was sitting on the undead dragon's back, just behind his skull, in front of his skeletal wings. "I think I'm going to take W-chan for a little flight," she told Arthas. "Don't wait with dinner..."
And with one powerful flap of his wings, the Frost Wyrm and his evil mistress were in the air, leaving the Lich King and Icecrown Citadel.
'She is an untamed individual...' Arthas thought to himself. 'And she will always be rebellious... but as long as she stays on my side, that's fine with me. She is my most powerful creation yet... and in the end, she will crush all my enemies. Oh yes, they will tremble whenever the name of Lady Akane is mentioned... no matter if they are part of the Alliance... or the Horde... and yes, even my dear old friend Sylvanas will have to pay for her treason... and the city of Lordaeron will belong to its one and rightful king!'
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(Posted Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:49)
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