Xhav
Legacy Name: Xhav

Origin

"There, she`s moving."

"Where? I didn`t see anything."

Voices were the only thing she could sense clearly. Each breath was torture.

“She`s fading again.”

“No, she`s not.”

Her breathing turned to light, forced gasps, and her failing senses started to dull. Out of desperation, she forced her eyes to open just a crack. She could see the floor slanting sharply upwards, and two sets of cloth-covered feet, partly covered by identical robes.

“She’s fading, you idiot.”

“Give me a chance! Maybe she needs more.”

A burst of unholy power felt like fire in her veins, and she struggled not to cry out. Instinctively, she reached out a hand and took whatever was crouched over her in an iron grip. She felt cloth and... bone in her fist.

“HA!”

“Shut up! Let go, that hurts my arm!”

Something very bony beat at her fist.

“It hurts? You don`t even have nerve endings.”

“It still hurts!”

“What are you doing? Quit wasting the Lich King`s time!”

The beating stopped.

“Instructor, he`s a moron. He can`t raise so much as one knight! Can you demote him to ghouls?”

“She`s coming around, just give her a moment!”

“For hell’s sake, just raise someone else. We have plenty of corpses.”

“But--”

“Silence! We need those thousand soldiers, stat, and you two are the only ones who are wasting around!”

Heavy footsteps. She felt her grip weaken.

“Way to go, moron, you got me in trouble.”

“Go away, then.”

Lighter footsteps, in the same direction as the first.

“Come on, you`ve gotta make it. I can`t fail now, or I`ll lose everything. Please...”

Another spell filled her veins, but this time it didn`t bother her. Breath filled her lungs, and she greedily gasped for another one.

“That`s it...”

Her breathing began to ease once more.

“No...”

“You seem to be trying awfully hard for a Cultist of your ranking.”

“Highlord Mograine, sir!”

The figure she had been grasping slid away from her, out of her limp hand.

“It`s a new spell for me, sir, and I can`t quite seem to grasp it. She--um, they come to life, but fade very rapidly once they do. I-I`m sorry, sir, all I need is a bit more practice--”

“You can`t raise knights? Well, that`s a surprise.”

Metal footsteps came toward her ears.

“She`s alive, you say?”

“Yes, sir.”

A different spell`s sensation washed over her like a wave of snow and ice. She shivered, and began to breathe. Her eyes slid open, and she saw a nervous-looking robed figure that appeared to be just skeleton looming over her, as well as a well-armored one with eyes that were all one color, and glowing with unholy power like blue flames. His gaze was stern.

“Sir--!”

“I`m doing this because we need knights, not because I`m concerned about your position. If you had been working properly, I wouldn`t have needed to do that. That`s why you`re here, Cultist. If you can`t work, then you aren`t useful to our cause.”

“I`m sorry--”

The armored figure with the fiery eyes drew his sword and slashed through the robed figure, who shattered into pieces. He then looked down at the woman he`d resurrected and crouched by her side, leaning heavily on his rune-covered sword. “Do you remember who you are?”

She shook her head slowly.

“Your name is Xhav. Beyond that, who you were does not matter. You are a Death Knight of the Scourge, the undead army under the Lich King, who has declared war upon all the living. You are to serve him until you cease to be, without fear, without hesitation, and without mercy. What you will do now is rise, don your armor, and take one of swords hanging by the forges. You are to then inscribe it with this spell--” he told it to her “--and report to Instructor Razuvious, who will bring back some of your fighting instincts. Go now,” he said, and rose, then walked away.

Tormented by vertigo, Xhav staggered to her feet and stumbled toward the first set of armor she saw. She put it on over her thick cotton clothing, and swayed towards a menacing-looking forge that breathed blue fire instead of red. Lifting a rusty, pitted sword that hardly looked fit for battle, Xhav cast the spell she had been taught upon the fire-engulfed blade and had it looking not only like a proper sword, but almost half as menacing as the one the armored one had wielded. She then staggered her way around the enormous room aimlessly, looking for Instructor Razuvious, whom she just groggily realized she has no way of recognizing. In her stumbling, she mistakenly wandered towards the open gateway, which was cold, windy, and partly covered in snow. Shivering, confused, and disoriented, she blundered on until a heavy hand caught her shoulder. Looking down, she could see a spiked fence, and below that, a chapel that looked about the size of a mouse.

“Watch your step, death knight,” a voice that was both as terrifying as death itself and colder than even the weather said from behind her, tinted lightly with amusement. Xhav turned to find a silver, ice-coated helm with blue pits of icy flame for eyes staring down at her, eyes that she would see in her otherwise empty dreams for years, even long after they had become but part of her past. The heavy hand on her shoulder was gloved in armor, as was the rest of the tall, intimidating figure that had saved her from a very long fall. His black cloak tugged off his side in an uncomfortable way in the wind, and he lifted his hand from her shoulder to fix it. As he did so, Xhav felt an enormous wave of relief, as though he`d been gripping her throat in that hand instead. “I see you are new, so you are forgiven. I assume you have not yet been to Instructor Razuvious--he is by the forges there, in blue armor. See to it that you obey him, and don`t cause any trouble. Any mischief on your part will have severe repercussions. Am I clear?” After her nod, he said, “Go.”

Xhav went, her gaze suddenly clear and her mind suddenly steady. In the back of her consciousness, a whispering seed of that cold, cruel voice, one that commanded ultimate respect and loyalty with the fear it left in others, had been planted through some unforeseeable trick. It spoke to her then, soft and subtle, yet chilling and heartless in tone:

“All that I am: anger, cruelty, vengeance - I bestow upon you, my chosen knight. I have granted you immortality so that you may herald in a new, dark age for the Scourge. You will become my force of retribution. Where you tread, doom will follow. Go now and claim your destiny, death knight.”

The Acherus Deathcharger
(A couple of weeks after Xhav`s unholy rebirth...)
Xhav stepped down from the skeleton gryphon and cautiously led it to its new post. Though the flight down from Acherus had been safe, she was still a bit hesitant to trust something with such wickedly sharp talons. A fellow recruit spotted her nervousness and snorted a laugh from somewhere inside the shadow of his hood.

“Aww, is princess scared of the birdy?” he taunted, and laughed again as he walked away. She felt the gryphon take a slight lurch in his direction, and removed her hand from its side. Not even the beasts of the dead took kindly to insults... Xhav, however, was one of the few that was wholly deprived of emotion, so didn`t at all care. She strode to the San’layn she had been summoned by and made her presence known with a respectful greeting and bow. He turned and peered down at her from over the tall collar of his robe.

“You are Xhav?”

“I am,” she replied, her voice forever hollow and eerily calm.

“Ah, good. You were said to be the promising one, you know. Why don`t you prove it to me by trotting to that village down at the base of the hill and slaying its inhabitants? I was going to do it myself shortly, but I think it would be rather amusing to watch such a valued little recruit such as yourself get picked to pieces by simple villagers before I go. Off with you, now,” he said, and turned back to the skeleton he had been speaking with. Xhav took her runeblade in hand and started off for the village below, determined to at the very least die (again) in honor, but noticed someone beckon in the corner of her eye and stopped. It was the horse master, Salanar, leaning casually against his own personal tent. His deathcharger, Fury, stood close behind, bobbing her head to help catch Xhav`s attention.

“Come here, death knight. Rumor had it the Lich King mentioned your name to his ascendants in conversation about that enemy encampment you and your fellows ravaged. That would be high praise for any fresh recruit. I was skeptical, but Valanar`s jealous raving has proven it to me,” he said with great amusement. After a quick pause to chuckle, he nodded his head toward the human settlement and said, “Do you see those wooden structures in the open field of the village?” Xhav turned her head and looked. There they were. “Those are stables. Bring me one of the horses, and I will give you something with which you can massacre the village. Go now, and hurry. The stable master is due to return, and he`s a raving lunatic.” With that, he motioned for Xhav to be off. Without question, she sheathed her runeblade and moved down to the village, where she clung to the shadows, out of sight.

Xhav calmly exhaled a tiny puff of cold air. The dappled mare beside her shook its head in its feed trough, oblivious to the reaper beside her, and Xhav felt safe to take another peek from around her spotted rump. The stable master, who had returned while Xhav was sneaking around in his pasture, swung his leg up and seated himself firmly into the saddle of a nervous-looking palomino. “HERE`S TO ALL YOU SAVAGE CORPSES! NO ONE ENTERS MY GROUNDS AND LIVES!” he bellowed, waving his wooden rifle, probably the only weapon in the entire village, and not even an impressive one at that. “COME AND TRY ME!” he screamed, kicked his mount, and they were off, galloping in frantic circles around the perimeter of the fence. Xhav pulled her head back and glanced again at the dappled mare beside her. She had stopped eating, alerted by her master`s call, and was now staring back at Xhav with fascination.

“Hush,” Xhav ordered quietly, and glanced around the wooden stable for something to function as a bridle. As she turned to edge around the dappled mare`s massive rump, she saw a stallion. He was black as night, with muscles like an ox`s, and as tall as his breed allowed. He was standing directly next to the open fence Xhav had come through and was pawing the ground, as if beckoning. Xhav glanced for the stable master, and found he was far away, though closing fast. This would be her only chance. She bolted for the stallion, startling the dappled mare, and seized his mane to haul herself up. He waited patiently, and murmured a sound like a chuckle when Xhav discovered how difficult it was to mount a horse in a long dress. Right about when the stable master saw her and charged forth with a feral scream, Xhav seated herself on the stallion`s back and turned him for the scourge encampment. The palomino didn`t stand a chance in speed.

Xhav dismounted and led the stallion toward Salanar, who summoned one of his dark riders to kill the beast and lead it to another realm. “Very good! I watched your escape from up here, death knight, and I have to say, it was very amusing watching that stable master charge after you like a screaming animal. Now, for the real test! I`m going to take you to the same realm I took that fine horse of yours, and you will find many dark riders roaming about. Fight one, kill it, take his steed, and that`s my gift to you. Good luck,” he said, and with a slight wave of his hand, Xhav faded from view.

She woke in another world, it seemed, parallel to this one. Everything was blurred, shadowy. Vision was hard to find, as if the new world knew she didn`t belong there. Moving slowly just outside her line of vision were many dark horses, with white flame for eyes and feet and impenetrable armor over their purplish flesh. They had thick horns curled behind their ears, and white steam or smoke came from their nostrils at every breath. On their backs were dark riders, wicked and demonic beings whose lives revolved around their steeds. Xhav took her runeblade in hand and stepped forward to the nearest dark rider, who merely smiled and shook his head. He watched as she attempted to challenge another, who rudely led his steed away. She stood in the center of what would have been the stable master`s field, looking this way and that for another dark rider, but they were all hiding or out of sight. A snort reached her pointed ears, and a pure black charger came into view. His rider looked a bit confident, as if proud of his unusually large steed, which stopped in front of her and breathed its smoke on her face. Xhav reached around its neck and swung her blade at the rider, who parried it and took a swing himself.

Xhav lifted her runeblade from the dead rider`s chest, who was lying spread-eagled on the ground in front of her. His former deathcharger made a low sound like a chuckle, and Xhav swung her head toward it in disbelief. The demon horse pawed the ground with a hoof, beckoning.

“Oh, you`re back? Very nice. Well done. Off to the village now, I presume? Good luck with you, and if you die, I want that charger,” Salanar said to her as she came back from the shadow realm. Xhav weighted the saddle so she could ride her new stallion side-saddle without falling off, and kicked his side. He made an unearthly wail and reared, pawing the air, then charged down the hill into the human village, ready for war.


Frosty

While destroying the helpless village mentioned above, Xhav found an odd stone jammed quite furiously into a burning mailbox. Curious, she picked up the flaming stone, and it hatched in her hands--a dragon whelpling. No dragon of such a young age could hope to withstand such flames, and it also died in her hands. Using her unholy power, she resurrected it. It was a very uncharacteristic move of her--since her rebirth, she had only acted as a mindless soldier for the Lich King, never showing emotion or swaying from her orders. Yet here she was, somehow, dead infant dragon in hand, breaking law by showing mercy. Once undead, the whelpling struggled to its bony feet for the first time, and though it had no eyes, it raised its skull to meet Xhav`s gaze and lovingly squeaked.

Dubbed `Frosty` for no real reason, it has remained by her side ever since, never growing, never aging, never dipping in childish curiosity or cheer.

A Special Surprise
(Months later...)
“We got here, tore the place apart, and headed toward the prison house. We weren`t expecting what we found in there.”

Xhav stared patiently at the scourge commander, who was rubbing his gloves together in an effort to get air down to his sweaty hands. He glared at the burning chapel behind him, shaking his head. “No, a prison house full of Argent crusaders was not what we had in mind.”

“What is it you expected?” Xhav asked. She wasn`t particularly curious, merely resourceful. She was officially stationed under a rival commander, and anything this man did or said that sounded out of line could earn she and her commander an indirect promotion.

The commander smiled grimly, aware that his purpose here was not exactly what the Lich King would want of him. “Imprisoned death knights. I know they have a few, and I was hoping they`d be here. Apparently they`re keeping them somewhere safer,” he sighed.

`They` referred to, of course, the enemy living faction known as the Scarlet Crusade. The Scarlet Crusade had been at odds with the Scourge for decades, and when word got out that the Lich King had invaded a small farming town, perhaps with intentions of moving west into Lordaeron proper, they had promptly jumped on their boats and come as fast as the wind could carry them, crowing vainly through letters to each other (many of which were found by amused death knight initiates) about being saviors. Ironically, they targeted not just the undead knights, but any living they suspected to be sympathizers on the very slightest notion.

“Strange how alike we both are,” Salanar had commented jokingly to Xhav one day, after they were told of the Crusade`s arrival. “We both love to kill people, only the Crusade pretends to be righteous about it.”

“Pity,” Xhav commented emotionlessly.

The commander nodded, and motioned to a partly scorched wooden building. It had roof tiles blown off, holes in the walls, and a crumbling foundation. “The prisoners are in there,” he said, causing Xhav to raise an eyebrow. “Most of them should be alive still. Get rid of them for me, would you? There`s another draenei in there, too, a rather feisty one. That should be fun for you,” he said, his smile fading when it dawned on him that Xhav didn`t quite grasp the concept of humor. “Hurry it up,” he snapped, and turned to bark orders at the knights fueling the chapel fire.

Xhav turned and strode briskly to the entrance of the dilapidated prison house, catching the attention of Frosty as she went. The dragon whelpling had been sleeping on her charger`s rump until the invasion, hidden under saddle blankets, when the smell of fire awakened him. Excited to see his master, he flapped his thin wings in the air and squeaked. When she ignored him, he flew over, landing softly behind her.

The sobs of the imprisoned reached their ears, and in the dim light they could make out shapes of huddled masses all along the floor. Judging by the smell, most of them were probably dead.

Frosty made a wobbly crying noise. The innocent wyrm wasn`t quite used to death yet, despite being dead himself.

Xhav cast him a glance and drew her runeblade, hovering ominously over a helpless prisoner.

“Stop where you are, fiend.”

Xhav looked up to find the draenei the Commander had mentioned, standing tall in his rags over the crumpled bodies of the other prisoners. Despite being unfed for days, he still had a bit of muscle left in him, and his air of defiance suggested that he was unafraid to use it.

“Here to finish the job, are you?” he growled, raising his fists.

Despite Frosty’s protests, Xhav took a fencing stance and pointed her runeblade in response.

“Come on, monster! I’ll...” His speech faltered and abruptly stopped. Due to her stance, Xhav’s face was now fully illuminated by the light thrown from the chapel fire. “... Xhav...?” he whispered.

“How did you come by my name?” Xhav asked, not lowering her weapon.

“You don`t... know me? Xhav, it`s me! Your brother!” he rasped.

Frosty fell silent. Somewhere behind him, a prisoner gave a dying sob.

“Xhav, it`s me,“ he said, moving to take her shoulders into his hands.

In response, she slashed. He staggered back into the darkness.

“How can you not remember me?” he asked, his voice thick with despair...

...then rage. “Curse the Scourge!” he snarled. “They`ve drained you of everything that made you a draenei, and a righteous force of reckoning! Every...”

Xhav lowered her sword while he sobbed, waiting... and musing over a memory.

Your name is Xhav. Beyond that, who you were does not matter.

“You were a champion of the Argent Dawn once, sister,” said the prisoner as he strode towards her again, and again, Xhav raised her blade. Instead of reaching to touch her, however, he raised his hands in a non-aggressive manner. “This... forsaken, unholy monster... This isn`t you,” he said. “Think, Xhav. Try to remember.”

She stared at him in silence.

“The wars we fought, side by side against the undead...”

She continued to stare.

“The invasion against the Scarlet Crusade dogs at Light`s Hope Chapel... We were unprepared, foolish. All hope had seemed lost, and yet you led us all to victory!”

She still did not move.

“Xhav, you... must at least remember the proud mountains of Argus, th-the place of your birth!” he cried, voice cracking.

Despite his lasting strength, Xhav could see he was approaching death. Perhaps he was infected with a disease of some sort. It would explain why the Scarlet crusaders refused to clean this room of corpses, or give them a better place to stay.

“Xhav,” the draenei said sadly, as though he had anticipated her distraction. “You must fight against the Lich King`s control. He is a monster that wants to see this world - our world - in ruin. Don`t let him use you to accomplish his goals. You were a hero once, and you can be again. Fight him!” he cried, moving toward her. Xhav quickly twirled aside, letting him fall to the floor. “Fight him, darn you!”

Xhav relaxed her runeblade, leaving her eyes locked on her opponent.

Fight the Lich King? The being that whispered into her thoughts, giving her orders from afar--the being that orchestrated her rebirth and the deaths of countless others--the omnipresent death god--her king and master--fight him?

Why?

Frosty cried loudly, causing her brow to knit. What did the little thing want?

“Xhav,” the draenei called to her weakly, kneeling on the same spot of floor. She continued to stare, deceptively off-guard, and the draenei slowly shook his head. “It`s no use, Xhav,” he said, tears sliding down his cheeks. “I can see it in your eyes; you remember nothing. You are not the sister I once knew. Please... Finish me,” he said. Frosty loosed an ear-piercing screech.

“Silence!” Xhav snapped at him, and blinked in mild surprise as Frosty cowered. She had never used such a tone before, to her memory.

After a moment of silence, the draenei spoke again. “Xhav, listen to me,” he said, suddenly rising to his feet.

Xhav tried to step away from him, startled, but tripped over a chuck of roofing and loudly slammed her back against the wall.

“You may yet be saved, dear sister!” the prisoner said.

Even in her flustered state, Xhav analyzed her situation. His voice contained an emotion she had yet to witness.

“Please, listen,” he said, face taking a smile. “Remember Argus. Remember our forefathers` mistake. Don`t let that happen to this world, Xhav.”

“Death Knight!” the scourge commander called, alerted by the crash. “If you don`t appear in the next five minutes, I`m sending a ghoul in there after you!”

“Finish me, Xhav--do it quickly,” the prisoner said, sending nervous, urgent glances at the door. “But when you do, cut it into your memory, and use it to break his control. You were once a noble hero, and you can be one again. Please, now, sister... End my suffering,” he said, kneeling before her.

Xhav staggered to her feet and walked to his side, ignoring Frosty`s whimpers. She raised her sword high over her head, aimed at the draenei`s neck, and brought it straight down with all of her might.

Later, Xhav knelt to clean her blade with a piece of one of the prisoner`s rags, happening to catch Frosty`s gaze as she did so. He stared up at her with his empty sockets quietly, and full of yet another strange emotion. Xhav’s brows knitted together--she did not like things she could not decipher. Frosty started to walk over to her side, but turned and instead trotted over to the open door and squeaked.

“What the hell happened in there?” the commander asked her furiously. “You were gone for almost twenty minutes! You had better have wiped that place clean, or I`ll have a word with you and your supervisor.”

“Everyone is dead,” Xhav replied calmly.

“Good. Did you enjoy killing that draenei?” he asked, tone still furious.

Xhav was silent.

“Well? Was it fun?” the commander asked impatiently, glaring.

“Yes,” she answered, her voice void of emotion, as usual. “It was very fun.”

“Good to hear it. Well, I`m done with you here, so you should head back to your supervisor. And don`t make him wait twenty minutes, either. I have no idea what you were doing back there, but you will not get me in trouble for a late return. Get a move on,” he snapped, and began rounding up his death knights to move elsewhere. Xhav walked back to her charger, mounted, and backed him away from the fence he had been stood by, then waited patiently for Frosty to get a grip on the saddle blankets under her cloak.

Just before the stallion took the three of them galloping faster than the wind across the hills and orchards to their supervisor`s camp, Xhav turned for a second and looked back at the old prison house, now just another chapel fire flowing upward to the sky.

Strings of Humanity
Xhav dismounted and carefully lead her steed through some startlingly healthy orchard trees and behind a smallish two-story barn house, where he was forced into a small gap between hedges and covered with fallen branches left specifically for that purpose. When the amused deathsteed was well-hidden, Xhav crept out of his hiding place and stealthily darted into the barn, where a pair of tense and startled death knight grunts nearly decapitated her. They relaxed, rather irritated, when they saw it was another of the Scourge and not some curious Crusader who had wandered into their hiding place. With a callous toss of his head, one knight motioned for her to be upstairs. Xhav mounted the steps and was nearly mutilated by two scourge commanders--perhaps startled by her sudden entrance as well.

“Xhav, good of you to return. I trust Plaguefist didn`t give you too much work? You`ve been absent for longer than I anticipated; I was starting to think maybe I`d have to send someone out after you,” said her commander as he sheathed his blade, glancing at the other to indicate he needed to move. He then gave Xhav a weak smile and stepped to one side, waiting expectantly for her to join them on the second floor, a remarkably kindly gesture from a commander to a knight. Any other one would have expected her to take orders from the staircase.

Xhav noted his half-smiling face and wondered over his use of the word `someone`. She sincerely doubted he would have sent a fully capable knight out to look for her if she was ever stricken down, meaning he would have to had used `someone` to refer to a ghoul, which were fully replaceable and often dispatched on such unimportant missions. However, rarely, if ever, were ghouls referred to as people. They weren`t half as intelligent, and were only able to complete very basic tasks efficiently. They were higher-ranked than beasts in some cases, but were, for the most part, considered dumb work expendables, and not exactly worthy to be termed `someone`, though they had been while they were alive.

“Are you coming?” the second commander asked coldly. He seemed irritated by the other commander`s treatment of her, and eyed her with acute distaste as she strode past him to reach a more respectful distance between herself and her supervising commander. After she saluted her commander with respect, he nodded and led her to the opposite end of the tiny room, his back to the grumpy commander still standing by the top of the stairs.

“Xhav, I have a special task to ask of you. You might call it a favor. As you should know, breaking through the Scarlet lines was no simple task. We suffered many casualties during the assault and lost one of our best death knights, Koltira Deathweaver. I don`t know whether he`s dead or alive, but we must search for him,” he said in a somewhat low voice, casting quick glances every now and again at the commander now leaning against the wall ten or so feet away, who was eying them heavily with suspicion. He paused and glanced over Xhav`s face to make sure she was still paying attention before moving on. “I last saw him being bound in irons and dragged away to the Scarlet Hold, northeast of here.”

“Commander Plaguefist mentioned searching for imprisoned knights,” Xhav interjected. “He was searching at the chapel for them, though without luck.”

“Has he? These must be the same ones. Next time I see him, I`ll find some covert way to let him know they`ve been scattered,” he said, his pitch taking a lighter tone in interest, and possibly relief. Relief that he wasn`t the only one on the search for them. Relief that he had someone else to blame if things went awry. “Can I ask you to find Koltira, Xhav?” he asked, somewhat relaxing at Xhav`s very slight nod. “Tear that keep asunder, death knight,” he said, and patted her shoulder with a gloved palm in encouragement, a gesture they both knew was wasted on her. She strode to the stairs, trying politely to ignore the second commander`s cold glare as she passed him.

“Why do you care, Thassarian?“

Xhav stopped in her tracks and turned to look back at the man she had just passed. He had his eyes locked on her commander, and stepped away from the wall he had been leaning on. Xhav`s commander--apparently named Thassarian--met the scornful gaze with one of his own.

“His weakness led to his capture. Only the strong should survive. Not to mention... “ he said slowly, his voice trailing away on the last syllable.

Thassarian smirked and asked, “Mention what, Orbaz? That he`s a blood elf?”

Blood Elves were known and acute enemies of the human race, and behind the slight decay of death he suffered, the glowing eyes, and commander`s markings, Thassarian was very much human. He acknowledged this with a nod.

“In life we were hated enemies--this is true. But in death... We are the children of the forsaken. The sons and daughters of the Scourge. In death we are brothers,” he said, his eyes trailing away momentarily as he spoke. Commander Orbaz stared at him blankly for a moment, jaw hanging in disbelief, then shook his head and turned away. He kicked a lump of hay not cleared from the floor and whipped around to face Thassarian, finger pointing accusingly.

“To hell with you, Thassarian,” he said angrily. Thassarian glared soundlessly back. Xhav hovered for a moment, then quickly strode down the stairs and out of the barn, not wanting to be in their presence if and when they lost their tempers. She snuck over to the hedge she had hidden her charger in, only to find him uncovered and facing a new direction, and with the mashed, bloodied corpses of several Crusaders scattered around him.

He made a low sound like a chuckle and bobbed his head at her in greeting.

Xhav led him out and mounted, then rode him to the top of the nearest open and elevated area, no longer having to worry about the Crusader rangers her charger had taken care of. From her vantage point, she could see the hold Thassarian had mentioned, as well as two alert guards, standing tense and ready in front of the hold doors. She would have to kill them both without drawing attention somehow, lest more guards from within came to their rescue.

Or...

Her hand instinctively moved to the hilt of her runeblade.

Perhaps she wanted their attention.

Xhav yanked on her stallion`s bridle, turning him back towards the barn, and took him at full gallop around the back of it and down to the base of the hill, safely behind the Scarlet Hold. Once there, Xhav let her steed stop and rest for a moment while she thought her plan through. The hold was not tall, but still vertically oriented, meaning it would take the guards positioned inside a while to get down to her level if she attacked. It had no windows she could see beyond the stained glass one over the command room, where the ever-powerful Scarlet Crusade commanders were discussing the information they needed from their Scourge prisoner, meaning there would be no attacks from above by archers. There was, however, only one entrance, meaning if she wanted in, everyone on the first floor would have to die. She was alone, meaning she would be the one who would have to do it. One, she needed to think of the fastest way to kill multiple people at once with minimal harm to herself, of which she had several ideas. Two, she needed a way to draw out the guards, and the guards only. Three, she needed to find out where Koltira was being kept, if he had been tortured yet, and, if so, if he was fit enough to help her fight their way out. If he couldn`t, she found it unlikely that she could hold back the commanders long enough to reach her steed and escape. She stared toward the Hold entrance guards as she thought, absorbed. The one tense, anxious guard that she could see from her angle was startled by something--a rat, possibly--and flinched so horribly that Xhav was awakened instantly. The scared man flailed while attempting to recover, tilted, then fell. The whole effect made him look rather like a typical ghoul in Xhav`s mind, and at that moment, a developed plan clicked into place. She had yet to try the spell herself, though it was one of the first things knights learned when they reached her rank, and she supposed now was as good a time as any to start using it. Xhav flicked her steed`s reigns, and he edged toward the opposite side of the Hold, hidden in shadow. Xhav dismounted once his hooves were in hearing range and closed the distance herself.

Neither guard at the doors had noticed her. The nearest one, the only one still capable of being on his guard, was too busy laughing at the one who had fallen. Xhav drew her runeblade and whispered softly to the runes magically printed on its face, which began glowing brightly and changing color from an icy blue to a fuchsia. She then whispered something else, gazing sharply at the laughing guard. Part of the aura shaped itself into a clawed hand, then shot forward with lightning speed to grasp the guard around the head and shoulders. He was yanked forcefully into the shadows where death crept, and she brought her blade down on his unguarded skull before he could scream.

Before his partner could figure out just why it was suddenly so quiet, Xhav bent over the corpse and whispered an incantation to its bloodied face, which began to twitch and change into rotten flesh more befitting of its new ghoul status. As the second guard came running around the corner with a furious cry, the ghoul finished its transformation and rolled to a crouch. The Scarlet guard raised his sword against his former friend, and the ghoul leapt into his unguarded gut with such force that it killed him. Xhav whispered her incantation to this man as well, and there were now two ghouls decked in bloody Scarlet armor. She called to her steed, and the four of them approached the hold entrance gates.

It was far from quiet within--the guards’ bosses were all upstairs, so the little underlings had taken the time to chit chat. Xhav ordered her ghouls forward into the hold, and they ran inside, shrieking and making ghastly moans as they fell upon their former companions. Xhav followed once enough guards had gathered to fight the zombies, and with a sweep of her arms she finished the worst injured with a single blast of an icy spell. In her next breath, she chanted a familiar incantation, and in no amount of time at all the Scarlet guards found themselves overwhelmed by their old friends` fighting corpses.

Though she would have liked to use the ghouls as the distraction she needed, they made too much noise where she needed to be the most silent, so Xhav commanded them to destroy themselves and proceeded inside alone, having left her charger by the gate for a speedy retreat.

It was shockingly easy to find where Koltira was being held, as the only shut door on that floor was made of iron, black, and had rusted spikes around the door frame. It was unlocked, and Xhav proceeded down the flight of stairs with her blade drawn. There were no guards, though Xhav was hesitant to think she had destroyed them all at the gate.

“Oh...”

Xhav turned toward the source of the noise and found a half-naked blood elf, more than likely a Scourge commander because of his glowing facial and chest markings. He was tied to a table, and was staring with mixed remorse and relief that it wasn`t an interrogator that had descended the stairs.

“Thassarian sent you, didn`t he?” he asked, sounding somewhat miserable.

“He did, and plans to aid a search for the remaining death knight prisoners,” Xhav replied, relaxing her blade arm.

Koltira moaned angrily and shook his head. “He was foolish in coming after me. I failed. I should have been left for dead--now we might be killed,” he said, and paused. “We are death knights of the Scourge. This flies in the face of the dark brotherhood`s covenants.” He closed his eyes and bashed the back of his head lightly against the table he was tied to. “Thassarian, you blasted fool!” he growled, and opened his eyes. “You there--untie me. No doubt the commanders have been notified of your entrance, however stealthy it may have been, and you`ll need my help defeating the soldiers they send. They`re powerful magi, unlike the warrior grunts they call guards. Hurry,” he said as Xhav drew her blade and sliced the ropes binding him. Once free, he struggled to his feet and limped to a wooden chest that revealed his armor and blade once opened. “I`ll need to get this on... Just need a little more time,” he mumbled aloud as he rummaged through the chest. Xhav faced the end of the staircase, anticipating an attack. “I`m still weak, but I think I can get an anti-magic barrier up, though it`ll take most of my concentration in this state. Stay inside it or you`ll be destroyed by their spells,” he instructed her as he dressed.

Xhav found herself thinking of her waiting charger, and wondered if he knew enough to run or hide from the magi. Where she left him, he had been more or less in plain sight from above.

“I`m ready,” she heard Koltira say, and turned to see him place a gloved palm on the ground. A fuchsia aura spread from it, rapidly fanning outward and gaining a more solid, though no less transparent, appearance as it expanded. “Don`t fall out of this anti-magic field--they`ll tear you apart the second you step outside,” he warned as the pounding of footsteps came from somewhere overhead. Xhav quickly stepped back into the field as two magi stopped just out of her reach and fired their spells. The field absorbed most of the spell, though she could feel some sting and impact where the weakened blast still went through. Xhav fired back some of her own ice spells until they fell low on energy and ran into her range to steal her blade for use against her, as she had the only weapon between the three of them.

Xhav killed them the second they got close.

“There are more coming. Be on your guard,” Koltira warned, and no sooner had he said that than the pounding footsteps of more magi reached her pointed ears.

“I can`t keep barrier up much longer... Where is that blasted coward?” Koltira complained as Xhav finished off the last of the magi. The man Koltira was referring to was the High Inquisitor, the commander of the Crusade underlings assigned to protect their precious death knight prisoner. He answered to the commanders in the stained-glass room in the Hold, and would no doubt find the slaughter of his subordinates very embarrassing and irritating.

Funny.

“Where is he?” Koltira repeated as his barrier started to flicker. It snapped back to full power at the sound of a tremendous bang--namely, the dungeon door slamming into the wall. Xhav guessed it was because its caster--though she couldn`t see him crouched behind her--had a small heart attack at the sound.

“LIGHT PURGE YOU!” the High Inquisitor bellowed in fury as he charged down the stairs, charging a spell as he went.

“Look out, death knight!” Koltira urged. “This one will knock you back if you`re not careful!”

It was a bit of an understatement. The Inquisitor’s spell hit with such impact that Xhav was thrown off her feet and into a wall, well out of the safety of the anti-magic barrier. She leapt back to her feet and darted into the barrier`s safe clutch before he had the chance to hit her again, and shot an ice spell at his stomach, where he would have a hard time trying to dodge. He grunted as it hit, then fired another blasting spell that threw Xhav into the table Koltira had been tied to with such force that she broke it. She was on her feet and back into the barrier once again before he could swear in frustration.

Though she held the advantage, it was plain that he wasn`t going to run low on magic energy any time soon--and though she knew some distance spells, she had little more than two to effectively bridge the gap between she and him. So, Xhav turned to the second spell she knew, one that would close the distance permanently.

The High Inquisitor expected many things from a death knight, having fought them plenty before in his dark little dungeon room, but he was not expecting the pink claw that plucked him from his safe distance like a little bug and brought him face to face with death itself.

“The death of the High Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade will not go unnoticed,” Koltira said from his seat on the floor, watching as Xhav quietly hacked the head off of the slain man and wrapped it in strips of his own clothes to present to Thassarian. “You need to get out of here. Now, before the rest show up. I know,” he said, “I`ll draw their fire, you make your escape behind me. Let`s go, death knight.” He quickly rose to his feet and lead the way up the darkened stairs. As they burst into the sunlight, Koltira cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, “Your High Inquisitor is nothing more than a pile of meat, Crusaders! There are none beyond the grasp of the Scourge!” Xhav`s charger trotted forward from his hiding place and she mounted him, pausing as she saw Koltira meant to make his escape on foot. “I`ll be fine, death knight, don`t hesitate on my account,” he said, smiling in a way that said he knew his chances were slim. “Tell Thassarian we gave them hell--What`s your name?” he asked suddenly.

“Xhav,” she replied.

“Tell Thassarian... you gave them hell for me, Xhav,” he said, smiling honestly now. “You have my eternal gratitude. Hurry now, before they see you,” he said.

Xhav would`ve liked to see which way he ran from there, in order to find him later, but she had to turn her back to get to the barn where her commander was anxiously waiting.

She never saw them again.

An End To All Things
(Much, Much Later...)
“Kneel, champion.”

Xhav knelt before the Lich King, reaching up and removing the dark hood she had hid her face behind for so long.

“I place this helm upon your head to complete your terrifying visage. Any that dare look upon your dark countenance will know that death comes,” he said, lowering the newly forged Lieutenant Commander`s helm onto her head as he spoke.

Xhav felt it slide into place, and opened her eyes. As though under some spell, her vision felt unnaturally cold and focused.

“Let none stand so boldly against your king so as to face your merciless wrath, Xhav. Now... Rise.”

Xhav stood.

“There remains only one final task for us here...” The Lich king`s voice trailed off, and he turned slowly to face the west. “Light`s Hope Chapel... Their final stand.” He turned to face Xhav once more. “What remains of the Crusade will be dealt with in Northrend, with the better part of our forces at Icecrown. You will be among that number, but that is a later time. Now, we turn all of our efforts to Light`s Hope Chapel. No longer will this affront to your master be allowed to exist!” he said forcefully, the fury in his voice seeming to echo in the frosty air.

“As you wish,” Xhav answered, causing him to relax.

“I have issued my final command,” he said, voice evened. “Highlord Mograine awaits your arrival. Go northwest, and take the path leading out of the glade. The battle will start once you arrive. Do not fail me, Xhav,” he said firmly, and watched as she mounted her charger and galloped away, death knights in tow.

The battle was a mess. The Highlord had been very much relieved when Xhav joined his side, yet they had still lost. They were brought before the chapel and made to kneel before Highlord Tirion Fordring of the Argent Crusade, a new faction made from the remnants of the Argent Dawn.

“Have you learned nothing, boy?” he spat at Mograine. “You have become all that your father fought against! Like that coward, Arthas, you allowed yourself to be consumed by the darkness, the hate... Feeding upon the misery of those you tortured and killed!” He paced as he ranted, veins sticking from his jaw in fury. Arthas was the Lich King’s true name--those of the Death Knights that knew this were enraged at such blatant disrespect. Mograine himself said nothing, humiliated at being lectured like a child. “Your master knows what lies beneath the chapel. It is why he dares not show his face! He`s sent you and your death knights to meet their doom, Darion!”

“Clever little paladin.”

The Lich King, out of nowhere, was standing a ways behind them, chuckling.

“You were right, Fordring,” he said, drawing his blade, “I did send them in to die. Their lives are meaningless, but... yours...” he purred.

“You have forsaken me, monster!” Mograine roared, leaping at his creator. The Lich King merely seized and lifted him by the throat, choked him senseless, then threw him aside like a doll. Several knights darted out of the way, leaving the heavily-armored Highlord to hit the ground with a mighty crash.

“How simple it was to draw the great Tirion Fordring out of hiding,” the Lich King continued, as though nothing had happened. “You`ve left yourself exposed, paladin. Nothing will save you!” He raised his weapon Frostmourne high, a tidal wave of unholy energy swelling around it with great force. Before he could cast this terrible spell, Xhav heard Mograine stir, and turned to find him rolling to his knees.

“Tirion!” he yelled, and threw his sword at the paladin, who caught it and became surrounded with a holy glow, shielding him from the Lich King’s blast. As he made his own attack, it changed shape, becoming pure...

“Impossible...” the Lich King choked in shock and disbelief, clutching his slashed chest. He was now wounded, fighting against his most powerful foe, and, with the purification of Mograine’s mighty Ashbringer, no longer able to harm him on his own. He noticed Xhav, the highest-ranking knight in the area still loyal to him, and ordered her to steal the weapon.

“No, Xhav!” Mograine cried. “He has betrayed us all!”

Xhav merely cast him a glance as she rose. Yes, he certainly did, but what was she to make of that? The Lich King outranked them.

She placed her hand on her hilt to draw her blade and cast an old, favorite spell across its runes, but Mograine placed his hand over hers. Tirion faced them, both wanting to eliminate the clear remaining threat and unwilling to strike through the friend behind her.

“Do not disobey me, Xhav,” the Lich King spat, voice colder than ice, eyes blazing with fury. “I sent the knights to their deaths, but not you. This was a test for you, to see how well you commanded an army. Bring me the sword, Xhav, and we will sail to Icecrown, where your true army awaits.”

“Xhav, he lies. He is helpless here, can`t you see that? He will abandon you the second he is out of harm`s way!” Mograine pleaded as she freed her hand, then drew her sword. Frosty, ever near, dove between her and the paladin from the depths of her cloak and squealed a cry, wings spread, blocking her target. Someone gasped.

Xhav felt as though iron had gripped her. Frosty’s days were at an end now that he had been discovered. The Lich King, though his eyes were tense, did not otherwise have a reaction, and Xhav suddenly guessed why: He was always watching over her. He had been with her in spirit when she adopted the whelp, perhaps even ordered it planted there. It was deliberate. It was to draw out and destroy what little remained of her compassion, an emotion so powerful within her while she lived that even the Lich King, try as he might, could not completely destroy it.

Perhaps Thassarian knew it when he asked her to save his only friend.

Perhaps he had been like her.

None of that truly mattered--since it belonged to her, she could destroy what they could not. And, if she did, she could travel to Icecrown and continue to climb the ranks as the grand champion of the Scourge. Xhav bent down to crush Frosty’s skull in the palm of her hand, but was captured and held by his mysterious eyes. Memories from long ago gripped her.

An egg in a mailbox. The dying gasps of a baby dragon.

A room of the diseased, minutes left to live. Broken sobs.

Finish me.

Frosty’s crying, Frosty’s eyes. Orange fire. Such bright light.

You don`t know me? Xhav, it`s me, your brother!

After a long, introspective pause, she touched her palm to Frosty’s nose, absorbing him. As he faded from view, she could swear that he smiled.

You were once a noble hero... You can be one again.

She turned to face the Lich King, eyes glowing with a new light, and returned her blade to its sheath.

“You will regret this day, Xhav,” he snarled, humiliated at being defeated in such a way, and summoned a portal through which snow breathed. As he passed through it to safety, she glimpsed the unforgiving expanse of cold that was Northrend--but only for a second before it closed. He had left an entire army in Lordaeron to die.

“The Lich King must answer for what he has done and must not be allowed to cause further destruction to our world,” Fordring said, but to his own men. His back was turned to the death knights whose bravery had saved him moments before. “We will take the fight to Arthas and tear down the walls of Icecrown! The Argent Crusade comes for you, Arthas!”

“So too do the Knights of the Ebon Blade,” Mograine said before Fordring could speak again, earning his attention. A growing number of former Scourge began to take their place near him. “Though we may be cursed to walk the earth as monsters,” he said, “We will make amends by destroying the Lich King, the one who has caused us all such pain and suffering.” He turned to meet Xhav’s eyes, wanting her answer. In response, she lifted the helm from her head--the gift so carefully made for her by their former warlord--and threw it to the ground with such force that it shattered.

“He has seen his final conquest,” Xhav declared, her raven hair fluttering gently aside her bare face. Her voice was no longer devoid of what she had once considered lost. Her eyes, now more white than blue, burned with determination.

“This I vow,” she said.