//------------------------------// // The Collection // Story: The Crystal Vizier // by Lich-Lord Krosis //------------------------------// "Now, where would we like to begin?" Kel'Thuzad asked, his claws slowly grasping together behind him. Sturdy Splint and Night Light were in absolute awe of the intensely powerful magical artifacts behind the lich. Even through the several, highly resistant wards the archmage had cast, they both could feel the raw arcane energy pouring from the weapons and ornaments. And seeing as Sturdy Splint was an earth pony, that was saying something. "How about that, Kel. Don't think you've shown me that one." Shining broke the ice, pointing to a large, heavily charred two-handed maul, the blunt weapon still smoldering with magical heat from whatever damaged it. "Ahh... a good choice, my king." Kel'Thuzad praised, admittedly forgetting he had such a weapon in his position. It's not every day you receive the weapon of an elemental lord... Even if you took it from the adventurer who claimed it... The lich shook his head, gazing in on the maul. After you killed him... Shut up, Nightmare. With a mighty heave, the maul rested in the claws of the archlich, who offered it to the prince's magical hold. With a sizzling roar, the weapon ignited with runes made from molten elementium, the hammer sucking in tremendous amounts of oxygen to fuel it's reignition after so long. "Gentlemen, I give you Sulfuras, the Hand of Ragnaros the Firelord." Kel'Thuzad proudly proclaimed, Shining giving the weapon a few swings to test it's weight. With each swing, the runes adorning the spiked maul roared with fire, the heat noticeably raising the temperature of the air around them several dozen degrees already. "Forged from elementium, and inscribed with literal magma, and enchanted by the Old Gods themselves, it's master craftsmanship is undeniable." Kel'Thuzad proclaimed, reaching for the hammer tentatively. Shining nodded, relinquishing the ancient weapon to his archmage. With another magically aided heave, the lich retrieved the maul, before brandishing the large weapon with both claws, calling a nearby skeletal minion to his side. "Minion, hold your ground." Kel'Thuzad ordered, the skeletal pegasus obeying without question as the lich lined up his swing. When the archmage delivered the killing blow, it shattered the construct's magically reinforced skull with ease, the bones blackening and collapsing from heat. With a series of pops and crackles, the carbon within the skeleton froze, then solidified. Where the construct once stood, a small pile of volcanic obsidian remained, glinting lightly in the fire that still leaped across the surface of Sulfuras. "Impressive, archmage." Sturdy Splint commented, moving slightly closer to inspect the smoldering volcanic glass. Kel'Thuzad chuckled, propping the maul back upon it's pedastal. "Thank you, doctor." Kel'Thuzad spoke, floating back to the center of the wall, eager to showcase the next weapon. With hesitance almost pitiful, Sturdy Splint pointed to a crooked and gnarled staff propped up against the wall. "How about that one, Lord Kel'Thuzad?" he shivered, the physician obviously not used to just above freezing temperatures. Kel'Thuzad turned, looking with slight hesitance upon the wicked device. With a quick wave of his claw, the staff was within his grasp, little more than a long wand to him. He chuckled, snapping his fingers once at the subtle nod of his king, the alicorn watching closely. "This, Sturdy Splint, is the Undeath Carrier." Kel'Thuzad explained, a large rat fizzling into existence in his opposite claw, already wriggling and squeaking from the cold of the bone. "Created and enchanted by one of my Thuzadin, it is a genius combination of necromantic utility and raw arcane power." "If any of you are squeamish to decomposing bodies, you may want to look away..." the archlich warned, no one but Count Onyx taking his advice, his form turning to face the opposite wall as the mage slowly pushed the rodent into the glistening green ball within the staff's spell receptacle. "While unsightly to look at, the powers that even an untrained necromancer could wield with this staff are truly remarkable..." Kel'Thuzad began, the rat's skin and flesh rotting and peeling back to expose the muscles beneath. "While far more useful in an artisan's hands, the staff's design allows the user to reliably and safely reanimate any reasonably sized creature they wish, creating a basic thrall." As the lich finished his explanation, the desiccated rat turned to the group of stunned onlookers as he put it on the table next to him. "Minion, retrieve the inkwell and quill from the opposite end of the table." Kel'Thuzad sternly commanded, the rat not hesitating in the slightest when it scurried to the opposite side of he table, pushing the inkwell slowly but surely to the archlich with the flat of it's forehead. "How does the staff actually work, archmage?" Count Onyx spoke up, seemingly intrigued by the undead rat. Kel'Thuzad chuckled, his form turning to place the staff back upon its pedastal. "That, Count Onyx..." Kel'Thuzad sneered, looking into the curious stallion's eyes. He knew the Imperial Mages Guild sent him now. "Is confidential." the lich sneered. Not that you would even know the first thing about necromantic reanimation... With a scoff, the stallion turned to the prince to his left to object to the barring of knowledge, but was quickly persuaded not to, what with said alicorn giving him a very stern look indeed. Before the noble could interject once more, Night Light spoke up. "What about that urn, archmage?" As the lich whirled around, he had to silence himself, both physically and magically, the mere mention of his anchor to the mortal plane sending his racing mind into overdrive. "I... That is my phylactery, Lord Night Light." Kel'Thuzad explained, gazing at the burial urn, frozen behind runed and warded ice, which was behind the impressive wards guarding the collection to begin with. "Forgive me for my lack of knowledge, but what exactly is a 'Phylactery'?" Night Light asked, his eyes fixed on the silver inlays of the Lordaeron Seal upon the urn. "Well... It is an essential part of lichdom, to start with. It is what a lich would use to... 'bind' his soul to the mortal plane." the archlich explained, floating slightly closer to the urn, subconscious worry lacing through his body. "So... your soul is in that?" Sturdy Splint asked, Kel'Thuzad nodding lightly in response. Count Onyx, obviously wishing to interject, scoffs once more. "So you cheat death my being dead... clever..." the unicorn stated, gazing longingly at the small urn. At the mere mention of death, Shining was whirled around, staring daggers through Count Onyx, the noble recoiling as the eight foot alicorn leered down at him. "He doesn't 'cheat' Death, Onyx." Shining growled, obviously starting to get irritated with the noble as well. "Death cheated him..." the stallion grimly stated, looking to the lich. "A-as I was saying..." Night Light nervously chuckled, his son's behaviour... unnerving him. With a snort, Shining withdrew from the stallion, his head snapping to the Helm of Domination once more, the whispers becoming louder. "So... What exactly does putting your soul in a jar... do?" Night Light asked, his eyes meeting the archmage's once more. Kel'Thuzad thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to easily explain this to someone... somepony that has never practiced necromancy before. "Lord Night Light, what do you know of necromancy?" Kel'Thuzad asked, his form relaxing as he waited for the typical response. Night thought for a moment, then responded, sounding very unsure of himself. "Necromancy, from what I know, is an ancient and dark form of conjuration, originally created by the unicorn race, back when it was still made up of nomads and barbarians from the North." Night Light paused, looking to Kel'Thuzad for approval, but receiving only a blank stare as the undead mage waited for him to continue. "It focuses primarily on resurrecting and controlling the dead, and is almost unanimously frowned upon in modern Equestrian society, seeing as it defaces corpses of the dead, and mocks life as we know it." ......... "Spoken like a true scholar, Night Light." Kel'Thuzad admitted, his own expectations... exceeded. While his master's father had labeled his craft as a form of 'dark magic', and was generally negative about the whole idea, he still provided a well thought out answer that illustrated the wrongful use of the magic perfectly. Besides, he could not blame the Equestrian people for their views. Especially since every Equestrian necromancer he could find in books and folklore was usually evil... Regardless, the unicorn was just going off of what he knew, and what the public was allowed to learn about necromancy, and by some extent, conjuration in general, was limited. Very limited. "Thank you, Kel'Thuzad." Night Light spoke, turning back to gaze lightly at the urn. At that point, Count Onyx spoke up once again. "What about that one?" he smugly asked, pointing to his right... ......... Directly at Frostmourne, neatly impaled into a block of runed and warded ice in the corner. While in his laboratory, the lich had requested his master keep the two pieces of the Lich King's arsenal away from each other. He did not want nearly a full month's work to be for nothing due to some unforeseen complication. "I... I... my prince?" Kel'Thuzad stammered, the worm's forward attempt to see his king's runeblade admittedly catching him off guard. Shining jumped, his gaze once again jerking from the Helm of Domination, the whispers clinging to his mind quieting themselves once more. "It's alright, Kel." Shining confirmed, his gaze now fixated on the runeblade as he called out for it. With glee, the runeblade lit up, it's azure runes glowing brightly, nearly humming with necromantic power as it's master retrieved the bastard sword from it's icy prison. "This, Count Onyx, is not part of MY collection, but my prince has given me permission to discuss it's... properties." Kel'Thuzad stated. With interest seemingly pouring from the unicorn's form, Count Onyx waited, gazing at the sword as it levitated gently in it's master's grip. He seems awfully... fixated with Frostmourne, Kel... I noticed too, Nightmare. Perhaps this is the true reason he was sent to the Empire, then... "This, gentlemen, is Frostmourne." the archlich explained, the prince flipping the blade to stand upright, the tip of the saronite blade cracking and shattering the cobblestone floor for several inches around it. "Forged by the Burning Legion, and the first of the runeblades, Frosmourne blows every other weapon or artifact in this room out of the water in terms of sheer power." "What makes it so powerful, archmage?" Night Light asked, his form starting to shiver from the cold pouring from the runeblade. Kel'Thuzad sighed, the stallion's question... provoking memories. Memories of what this blade, at it's full power, could do. Memories he may well have forgotten, they were so long past. "Lord Night Light... I... there are no words to describe the horrors this blade can inflict. I have seen this blade rip the souls of living things apart." Kel'Thuzad stated, his logical response leaving him, his true thoughts on what the sword was capable of. "I've seen it turn a kingdom spanning nearly half a continent, nearly by itself, into a wasteland. A wasteland where the dead walked the earth. Where the very air is poisonous to breathe for too long." "I've seen it fell hundreds... nay... THOUSANDS of men, women, and children..." Kel'Thuzad shuddered, reliving the infant Scourge's conquest of the Northeast Kingdoms all at once. "No one save the Lich King can wield it." Kel'Thuzad sighed, his memories starting to flood back, remembering the moment he was introduced to a young Prince Arthas, playing with Jaina and Prince Varian Wrynn in the Dalaran gardens. In hindsight, it was nearly impossible to fathom had he not known what the future held that this young man would become the most feared and deadly figure in Azeroth's history. "Kel'Thuzad?" Night Light asked, the lich's silence starting to unnerve him. The archlich recoiled violently out of his daydream, the chains around his body swirling ever so slightly faster, clanking together. "I... I apologize for my mind drifting. It has been a long time since I've thought about these things." Kel'Thuzad sheepishly admitted, returning to his previous thought train. "Anyway... those other than the Lich King that attempt to wield the blade are... lost to it. Their souls are devoured by the blade, trapped within a void worse than Tartarus." Kel'Thuzad finished, his body relaxing as he finished his explanation. For a moment, there was silence, the only sounds the echoing clacking of bones banging together from the servants wandering the room. "That's all well and good... but what is so special about the sw-" Count Onyx was interrupted by the darkening of the room, and an echoing hum as the blade still held upright before them roared to life, the entirety of the runeblade igniting with azure energy. The ram skull adorning the hilt seemingly bellowed in outrage at the insolence of the worm's insults, it's eye sockets exploding with blue flames. With a snap like a whip, the darkness around Onyx... grew? "You meddle with powers you cannot possibly understand, mortal..." Count Onyx jumped, the cold air around him suddenly feeling... tighter, more constricting. With shaky breaths, he looked up to the muzzle of the prince before him, the alicorn's frosted breath pushing gently from his nostrils. "You seek power, yes? Influence, maybe?" "You will recieve nothing but suffering, Onyx..." With a panicked gaze, the noble turned to his comrades, the unicorn nearly crying out in fright as he saw that his colleagues and the archmage had vanished. They were swallowed by the darkness now gripping him tighter, the air surrounding him almost painfull to breath now. An impossibly low chuckle brought him back to the alicorn's gaze, the Lich King removing Frostmourne from it's upright position, pointing the tip of the blade at the count's face. Tears of fear were starting to flow from the unicorn's eyes, their surfaces crystallizing from the cold of the runeblade before him. "Tell your superiors that there is nothing for them here..." the ivory stallion spoke, slowly moving towards the count, his eyes sparking brighter as azure waves of necromantic energy pulsed from his sockets. "Tell them they seek death..." With a whimper far more than pitiful, the unicorn collapsed to the cobblestone floor, darkness finally taking him. ......... Kel'Thuzad shook his ruler heavily, the alicorn and unicorn across from him having been locked in a staring contest for nearly two minutes. "My king?!" he tried once more, his friend's father helping him in shaking the stallion this time. "Shining!" Night Light exclaimed. At that, Shining recoiled out of his trance violently, Frostmourne clattering to the floor below as he did. "Kel? Dad?" Shining asked, looking from one to the other, obviously confused by their rough treatment. "Ugh..." Count Onyx uttered in a low, wheezing groan. Without another sound, he fell like a ton of bricks to the floor below, the archlich turning slightly to view the motionless noble. With shaky breaths, the lich turned to his ruler once more, who's muzzle was contorted into one of fear as he remembered his warning to the count. "Tomorrow?" Kel'Thuzad asked, his mind racing with possibilities, nearly every one of them bad. "Tomorrow..." Shining confirmed, his muzzle even more pale than usual. With that, the alicorn was once again drawn to the Helm's soothing whispers, his gaze floating to the corner. Tomorrow...