“Stars! What is that?” Jairius glanced over his shoulder where Lorena Steele sat on her own gryphon. Her presence was becoming habitual, and it was easy to forget she was there. Just as it was easy to forget she’d never seen Kalimdor before.
Jairius’s voice held a strange note, at once coldly furious but also envious. “The ruins of Teldrassil and Darnassus, the night elves’ capital and home. The Banshee Queen ordered it destroyed shortly before we came to Kul Tiras. A lot of very old, very powerful night elves lost their lives there.” He sounded wistful as he looked out towards the smoldering tree. Such waste. If it were up to him, there would be necromancers combing the ruins for usable bodies. Ah well. He nodded at the smoldering village below them. “That, however, was not the Horde’s work. Auberdine was destroyed by Deathwing before he was finally killed. There’s new fighting down there, mostly Forsaken forces.” Jairius sneered, spitting out the name like a curse. “But most of the inhabitants were already gone.”
Lorena nodded slowly. “So, that’s the reason there are so many night elves in Stormwind.”
Jairius nodded. “King Wrynn offered them sanctuary.” He looked back at their encampment. A portal flared to life. Jairius patted Ghostmaw’s neck and said to Lorena, “Come, we need to head back to camp. I’m expecting a visitor with important news from the north.” The frostwyrm turned and headed back toward their camp at a leisurely enough pace that the smaller gryphon could keep up with her. Not, however, slow enough to keep the gryphon from straining. Ghostmaw’s amusement touched Jairius’s mind, and he told her silently, Be good. She’s a fantastic student. I may take her on as a pupil, if I can pry her away from her Kul Tiran bear of a commander.
I simply enjoy reminding that feathered morsel its place, Ghostmaw’s answer wasn’t entirely in words, but it was clear enough for Jairius to translate. Her mind wasn’t entirely intact, thanks to her death and the method of her resurrection, but she was aware enough to enjoy tormenting others on occasion. The conversation was over, though, as they arrived and Ghostmaw landed a respectful distance from the night elves’ bows. While they were aware that Ghostmaw belonged to Jairius, neither elves nor frostwyrm trusted the others’ company. She curled up, watching the night elves and their saber cats warily.
Jairius and Lorena entered the camp on foot. Jairius caught several unfriendly glares tossed his direction, but ignored them. The elves may not like him, may even threaten to remove his head on occasion, but his results against the Horde could not be denied. He said softly to Lorena, “The visitor I’m expecting is a living ally of Acherus, a...former priest who’s dabbled in other magical pursuits since she left Elune’s service.” That was, perhaps, the most diplomatic way he could think of to describe Adahlissa, former necromancer of the Cult of the Damned.
She surprised him, though, with how she was dressed. If Jairius didn’t know better, he might have even thought Adahlissa was there to tend to the wounded of the Darkshore campaign. It didn’t escape his notice that, despite how pious her robes appeared, they were also in the red, blue, and black of Bane’s armor. Jairius’s deathcharger, Bane, stood beside her, nibbling on a carrot he didn’t need and looking content. Adahlissa, a pale-skinned night elf with Cult of the Damned tattoos on her face, smiled at Jairius and tossed the hood of her robe back so she could lean forward to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Good to see you, too.” Then, she saw Lorena, and her smile turned knowing. “You brought a friend?”
Perhaps a pupil, she’s more talented than she looks, Jairius said silently, knowing that the connection the Lich King maintained, or tried to maintain, with all of his servants, would serve to convey his words to Adahlissa. Her raised eyebrow and slight nod was his only response. Jairius said, out loud, “Lorena Steele, meet Priestess Adahlissa Frostsworn, my wife and a staunch ally of the undead. Adahlissa, Lorena Steele is a recruit in the Kul Tiran guard and has been tasked with watching me and aiding me in work with the Alliance military.”
Adahlissa gave Lorena a friendly nod. “Good to meet you, Lorena. I’ve heard about what’s happening on Kul Tiras. I’ve been trying to get away to lend my aid, but,” the night elf sighed softly. “Duty in the Broken Isles and Northrend has been a bit long and tedious of late.”
Lorena looked a bit overwhelmed, but gave the night elf a shy smile and a nod. “Thank you, ma’am. I’m sure once you can get to Boralus, no one will turn down your help.” The words were said with genuine warmth. Despite her feelings about the Scourge, Lorena was remarkably naive about them and Jairius was taking full advantage to win her loyalty. Despite his firm loyalty to the Scourge, Jairius was a good commander and it showed. Lorena was always surprised that people usually reacted negatively towards him anyway. His reputation was, perhaps, not the best, and the Alliance military commander he worked under was one of the few who saw past the butchery he’d committed in the past and recognized that he could be an asset on the field. The same could not be said of Lorena’s commander in the Kul Tiran Guard, who fought in the Third War against the Scourge and regarded him with the kind of suspicion that made Jairius wonder if they’d crossed blades before.
“I’m sure I’ll be able to get away soon.” Adahlissa gave her a smile and turned to Jairius. “There’s been a new development...”
Jairius nodded and cut her off. “I know. I heard His call while we were on patrol. Foolish Vrykul have infiltrated Icecrown. They dig among old bones for power.”
Lorena squinted at him, trying to figure out what he was saying. There hadn’t been any audible call while they were in the air, and they’d received no messages, either. “What...?”
Adahlissa didn’t give her time to finish her question. “There’s only one punishment for mortals who enter Icecrown.”
Jairius gave a smile of pure pleasure, one that made Lorena pale slightly and step back. “Of course." He turned to Lorena. Perhaps this was an opportunity to test his potential pupil. See just how curious she was about the power he wielded. “You were curious, earlier, about how I fight. Would you like to see? Truly? We must respond to a threat in Icecrown. A lot of dangerous secrets lay buried there. Too many. And they could be more dangerous in foolish hands.”
Lorena looked uncertain. She glanced between him and Adahlissa, then around them at the night elves who were just close enough to eavesdrop but pretending not to notice, anyway. The glares they shot at Jairius and Adahlissa...particularly at Adahlissa, were confusing and made her wonder about who she was dealing with. Was she in danger? A gut feeling she tried not to ignore said yes, yes she was. But then again, she’d seen Jairius in action, seen him leap to the rescue of people in Kul Tiras, seen him treat the people of Drustvar, in particular, with what appeared to be compassion. Surely he was safe? She nodded slowly. “I...yes. Yes, I’ll accompany you. We should make sure they haven’t broken in to anything they shouldn’t. The last thing any of us needs is a new Plague.” She shivered.
Jairius smiled indulgently and nodded. “Tempting as it would be to unleash in the middle of Orgrimmar...yes, you are correct.” He turned to Adahlissa. “Care to do the honors? I would, but my portals tend to have unfortunate side effects on the living.”
“I remember. That was a most uncomfortable weekend, Jai. Once I finished attempting to expel all of my guts, I think I saw Elune a few times. I think Lorena and I would prefer to avoid that.” She turned and cast a quick spell. The portal that appeared showed the icy cliffs of Northrend beyond it. “This should be bit closer to our objective, anyway.”
On the other side of the portal, the wind howled and drove ice like shards of glass into any exposed skin. Lorena hurriedly pulled her heavy fur cloak closer around herself while Adahlissa pulled up the hood of her robes and muttered a spell. Jairius alone seemed unbothered, and he looked out across the heavy saronite reinforced Gate.
The bones of fallen frostwyrms littered the area. Vrykul worked quickly, using some magic he didn’t recognize to raise them and bind them into service. Jairius squinted, but he couldn’t make out an identifying emblem. They were either desperate or they belonged to the Vrykul band that pledged itself to the Lich King years ago. Either way, their intrusion and theft would be paid for. Jairius could feel his blades crying out for blood, and he gave a soft, impatient growl. “Stay back here with Adahlissa. Guard her and cut down any who try to escape past you. This is the only way out. This is a Gate of Icecrown Citadel, and on the other side of this walkway, they will find only death.” Carried away by the promise of bloodshed, he seemed almost unaware of his own words, or else they weren’t entirely his own. Lorena couldn’t tell for sure, but she swore she almost heard another, deeper, stranger voice echoing those words. It made her blood run cold, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Jairius raised his twin runeblades to the sky and cried out. It was a spell, and dark energy flowed from him, no...flowed through him, towards the frostwyrms the Vrykul were trying to raise. Fetid flesh thawed, bones stirred, and all at once, Vrykul started shouting and running for weapons. A frostwyrm lifted its head to watch them with empty sockets, before bright blue flames lit deep inside them.
Jairius took full advantage of the confusion. He ran forward, killing a guard before the Vrykul could register where the most immediate danger was. He called out, “Death to the living!” The answer was a chorus of growls as the frostwyrms lashed out at Vrykul. Jairius spun, hacking and slashing at any who tried to evade the undead dragons.
When the last Vrykul fell, Jairius turned back to Adahlissa and Lorena, licking cooling blood from his lips. Unlike some of his other battles in Kul Tiras, he seemed like he’d almost bathed in the stuff. He gave them a pleased smile. “One less band of idiots to deal with. Stars, but I love it when they give me a good fight.” The frostwyrms, six in total, finished their deadly work and Jairius called out over his shoulder, “Protect the Master’s Citadel. You know where to go. Except for you.” He pointed to one in particular, one larger than the others. “Stay.”
Jairius knelt, channeling more power than before, and again when he spoke the spell, Lorena had the sense that the words weren’t his, that there was another, deeper, more terrifying voice speaking the spell instead. Shadow arced from him, engulfing the fallen bodies of the Vrykul, who began slowly to lift their heads and push themselves to their feet.
Lorena gasped softly. Even in death, they wouldn’t be spared. She looked away, conflicted. On one hand, she knew that’s what the Scourge did and they could have inflicted this on more than just themselves if they’d succeeded. On the other...having grown up around the superstitious Kul Tirans, she couldn’t help but think that this was wrong. She caught Adahlissa watching her and put on a brave face, turning back to watch the undead shamble across the Gate, where the shadow of a huge, undead giant lurked. A giant. Dear Light. Did anyone know? The Scourge didn’t seem as defeated as she’d been told. It seemed more like they were waiting.
Jairius returned, giving them a fierce grin. “That felt good. Stars, I haven’t been able to do that in years. Adah, love, if you’ll be so kind, I have a new friend to drop off at Acherus. They’ve been needing air support, and, well...” He nodded at the larger frostwyrm. “I think he should do nicely, don’t you?”
Adahlissa nodded. “I think so. Give me a moment to prepare. A dragon-sized portal is no easy task.” She glanced meaningfully at Lorena. “When that’s done, I’ll make a portal back to Darkshore for you. I’m sure you need to get back to your duties.”
Jairius bowed. “Ever thoughtful. Thank you, love, but I think Boralus Harbor would be better. We were about to leave Darkshore anyway” He grinned at Lorena. “Come on, I think we both deserve a drink and a hot bath.”
She allowed herself to be cajoled by the friendly words and the tempting offer. She definitely did need a drink. Then? She wasn’t sure.
