//------------------------------// // The Wrathgate Incident // Story: Seekers of the Epitaph: Frozen Wastes // by Xarmar13 //------------------------------// Following the defeat of the san’layn, Prince Valanar, Talia and her group returned to the taunka village to inform them that the enemy was now in disarray with the leadership defeated. This filled the bison people with hope that they may yet make it to a safe haven in their capital city of Icemist. Preparations were underway as the taunka hurriedly grabbed their supplies and everything they could carry without becoming encumbered. Time was against them and there was no telling how much the group bought them. This also meant that their job was not done yet since the villagers were now asking them to guard their caravan as they headed east toward Icemist. It took about an hour for the taunka to gather their young and old as well as whatever they could carry for their journey. Once they made their final goodbyes to their beloved village, that had stood for generations, they were off. It wasn’t long before they reached the road that would take them to their destination. As they traveled, the group had their conversations with the taunka and learned some things about them, such as their traditions. Of course, none of that mattered to them. It was simply things for them to hear about while they traveled. Along the way, the blighted animals attacked the caravan which were quickly dispatched by the group. There were also the anguished spirits of taunka ancestors, roused by necromancy, who tried to harry the evacuees. Farra’jin’s elementals quickly dealt with them. The journey on foot took hours and they had to be careful when crossing several rope bridges along the way. Aside from the few enemies, the attacks were minimal, to the relief of the taunka. However, that relief soon turned to shock as smoke rose from a fire in the distance. The taunka used smoke signals as long distance communication so many of them could read the signals. The shock soon turned to dread which soon turned into despair as the smoke readers translated and relayed the message to the members of the caravan. Icemist had fallen to the Scourge. The caravan continued on the road to reach the refugee camp where ambassadors of the Horde provided aid for the now homeless tauren subspecies. Once the caravan arrived, the group was put to work dealing with the local threat of nerubian spiders crawling around as well as retrieving their supply crates containing food and weapons. Talia dealt with the nerubians like a pyromaniac with her fire spells while the others focused on gathering crates. Once they had enough, they returned to the camp where the ambassador had them go around with scrolls to swear in the taunka into the ranks of the Horde. The promise of vengeance against those who destroyed their homes lit a fire in the taunka. In turn they swore their allegiance to the Horde and armed themselves with the weapons and armor from the crates. The group was then sent to the Horde settlement, Agmar’s Hammer, to provide further aid for the campaign. Along the way, Talia and the others spotted Bella and Mena entering the large pit that appeared to be crawling with nerubians. However, they decided to ignore them and proceed to the settlement. Agmar’s Hammer had a similar design to Warsong Hold in that the walls were thick metal with spikes for walls and the buildings were well fortified. It appeared that the Horde was beginning to embrace this new style of architecture that was an improvement over the stone, wood and hide architecture. The craftsmen were seen making weapons for the soldiers but the group also spotted a forsaken plague scientist working on some strange and ominous concoction. They also spotted who appeared to be a blood elf with very pale skin and wearing dark plate mail armor while carrying a sword with runes on it. They figured that he was one of those death knights that had joined the Horde recently. The main building was where they found the leader of the settlement, Overlord Agmar. He sat on what appeared to be a throne as a sign of leadership to those who reside in the settlement. He was flanked by two rather large wolves. After reporting in, Agmar had the group assist the taunka further by helping them to defeat the Scourge occupying Icemist. This led to a series of missions that involved gathering intel as well as dealing with the major threats defending the city. This culminated in the liberation of the High Chieftain of the Taunka, Roanauk Icemist, and the defeat of a powerful nerubian crypt lord, Anub’et’kan. Roanauk’s assistance was much needed in the defeat of the giant scarab beetle nerubian. Once they returned to Agmar’s Hammer, the high chieftain was sworn in as a member of the Horde and representative of his people. There were other tasks to complete before the Horde made a move on Icecrown Citadel, but Agmar had other adventurers handle them. Some adventurers even bragged about having met the queen of the dragons, Alexstrasza. Talia’s group was tasked by the plague doctor to fly over to the forsaken settlement in eastern Dragonblight, Venomspite, and help them to complete their latest strain of plague. None of the group were too thrilled with helping the forsaken engineer a deadly bio weapon and the Horde command was also reluctant to allow this to happen as well. On the other hand, they also felt that the weapon might give them an edge against the Lich King. They borrowed a number of wyverns and flew east to Venomspite, taking in the landscape around them. They arrived at the settlement where they noticed someone testing their plague on a captured human in scarlet armor. To their surprise, they found that the weapon had no effect on them. From what the group gathered, there was a nearby town of humans bearing the armor and insignia of the Scarlet Crusade, though they were verbally calling themselves the Scarlet Onslaught as part of their newfound determination to bring an end to every unliving being in the world, which would have included every living person who wasn’t wearing their uniform as well thanks to their blind zealotry. “If people like this existed in Equestria, even I would cheer if Celestia glassed fools like these.” Talia thought. They soon learned that the source of their immunity came from some special spell that was being placed on all of them that protected them from the disease. The retrieval of the high general’s diary revealed that something was influencing her which drove her to sailing to Northrend. Further reading of the diary also revealed that the admiral accompanying her was behaving suspiciously. However, the Onslaught forces needed to be dealt with since their zeal could ruin everything for the Horde. This led to the deaths of many members of the leadership, including the high general and her trusted bishops. However, the admiral escaped while protecting himself with a powerful barrier of dark magic which only made him more suspicious. In past reports, it was said that the Scarlet Crusade was being manipulated from the shadows by nathrezim which ultimately deemed the entire organization compromised when the one who led them was revealed as one in disguise. It seemed possible that the Onslaught was being led by such demons. Regardless, the final strain of the plague, which they named the Forsaken Blight, was ready for delivery. Talia made Farra’jin carry it since there was no way she was going to be the mule in this and she wasn’t about to carry around something that could turn her into a pile of green goo. A few hours later, they were back in Agmar’s Hammer where they handed the plague strain to the plague doctor who made preparations for it to be ready in time for the attack on the Wrathgate. With the preparations for the attack on Angrathar, the Wrathgate underway, the forces of the Alliance and Horde were marshaling their forces for the attack. Leading the Alliance was the expedition commander, Bolvar Fordragon, who was overseeing preparations. Sophia observed the scene with him. As they watched, the commander had a confused look on his face pertaining to something she said. “You want me to do what?” “Trust me on this, you don’t want to confront the Lich King directly,” Sophia explained. “In the years he has spent planning his attack on us, his own powers have grown considerably. If anyone can handle him one on one, it would be me or Thanatas. When that gate opens, he will send out his stronger minions which I can leave you and the Horde to take care of. After that, I need you and the Horde to withdraw to your bases to assume defensive positions.” “You want me to pull back after defeating a bunch of minions? There has to be a good reason for this.” “There is. Dealing with the Lich King here will not do us much good though. That helm of his is what keeps the vast undead hordes from turning into a mindless tide of destruction that will consume all in its wake. If nobody is in control of it, the undead will wash over the world and butcher anyone with a spark of life in them. Arthas has a reason for not doing so at this point because he wants to test the heroes of the Alliance and Horde to see if they are worth becoming his generals.” “You say that if he dies here, then nothing will keep the Scourge in check? How are we supposed to stop him then?” “From what Thanatas told me, someone has to make the ultimate sacrifice. She has a plan, but we must confront him at his seat of power.” “I see,” Bolvar mused. “So the plan is to drive him back and help the Argent Crusade push into Icecrown for a frontal assault on the citadel?” “I know that the plan seems very risky, but defeating him means that someone needs to take his place for Azeroth’s sake. To that end, the Helm of Domination and the Frozen Throne need to be in the same place while the wearer’s mind battles the will of the Helm.” Bolvar sighed, “Alright, I trust that you and Thanatas know what you are doing.” Sophia gave a light smile, “Don’t worry, things will work out in the end.” At the Horde camp near Angrathar, the forces were being led by a brown-skinned orc named Dranosh Saurfang, son of Varok Saurfang. The mag’har orc stared at the death knight in disbelief as he heard what she suggested. “You actually expect me to just stand back and let you personally handle the Lich King? Do you intend to steal my honor?” “Do you want to die two deaths and make your father extra sad?” Thanatas countered. “Two deaths?” “One from the Lich King who will destroy you with one strike and the other for after he turns you into a death knight and the champions of the Horde and Alliance will have to put you down again. I’m sure your father would like to be a grandfather before you have your glorious death in battle. I’m also pretty sure he would prefer to die before you do. “Besides, you could just interpret this as me issuing a mak’gora to the Lich King if this is about preserving your honor.” Dranosh thought about it for a few moments. While this would mean that he wouldn’t get his shot at the Lich King, having a member of the Horde challenge him could be seen as the death knight bringing honor to the Horde as a whole. “Very well, my forces will crush the undead under our heels while you have your fun with the Lich King.” Thanatas nodded, “Good, it looks like we are nearly ready to begin. Once we are certain that we will not be flanked by enemy reinforcements.” Once everything was ready on their end, Thanatas opened a link to her cousin. “So, I take it that you managed to convince him?” Thanatas asked. “He was a bit of a hard sell, but I managed to get through to him,” Sophia responded. “Good, now all that remains is to rewrite history. I want to be sure that this doesn’t turn into a political incident and set Varian on the warpath against the Horde. I have a squad of undead ready to move in once you make your move.” “They will never know what hit ‘em,” Sophia said while making her voice sound like it was coming through a breathing apparatus. After dealing with a matter of the Scourge trying to raise the bones of a colossal ancient dragon, Talia’s group remained behind at the Horde fortress near Angrathar while Bolvar and Dranosh advanced on the ominous gateway. The Alliance soldiers cheered Bolvar’s name as he moved forward with his fellow paladins. With one command, the paladin leader ordered his soldiers forward, assaulting a number of ghouls, skeletons and geists who were taken by surprise. One ghoul ended up with his jaw shattered by Bolvar’s shield. The Alliance rush quickly overwhelmed the undead hanging around the entrance. “Back, you mindless wretches!” Bolvar shouted. With the undead in retreat, the gates opened. However, Bolvar’s forces paused as they heard a battlecry in a language they had never heard before. That was when a large group of vrykul emerged from the gate. The half-giants had blue skin and icy blue beards and carried axes and maces. Bolvar encouraged his forces to keep fighting to reach the gate. However, the vrykul proved formidable and began tearing through Bolvar’s forces. However, a battlecry was heard from the Horde base as Dranosh called his forces to battle. The Horde forces rushed in on wolfback to engage the undead proto-humans. “I was wondering if you’d show up,” Bolvar playfully said. “I couldn’t let the Alliance have all the fun today,” Dranosh replied. He then took out three vrykul with one wide swing of his battle ax. With the Horde joining the battle, the vrykul had been routed quickly. “Alright, hold here!” Bolvar ordered his men. The soldiers looked at their leader in confusion. “Hold position, warriors!” Dranosh ordered. “Someone we know wishes to have their first shot at the enemy.” A death gate emerged in front of the two forces. Thanatas emerged from it a moment later with her sword drawn. A wicked smirk graced her face as she pointed her sword toward the Wrathgate. “Come out and play, Arthas,” Thanatas taunted in a singsong tone. “Or do you need me to embarrass you even further? Remember how I stole the soul you coveted? Remember the troll I annihilated in front of you that you wanted to turn into a commander? That was only the beginning. Are you planning on giving me a response, puppet?” The gates soon opened to reveal Arthas. The Lich King walked through silently with Frostmourne in hand. Thanatas could barely make out gritting teeth through the mouth hole of his helm. “So, you wish to confront me in front of an audience,” Arthas said. “I will show you the difference between us and you shall serve me for eternity!” Within seconds, Thanatas and Arthas closed the distance before they swung their blades at each other. Neither Frostmourne nor Evermourne showed any sign of relenting as the two warriors fought for dominance on the battlefield. Both attacked and both defended from each other though Thanatas still had her grin while Arthas wondered why, with all the power at his disposal, his adversary was beginning to push him back. The Lich King’s attention was further drawn away by a large explosion that happened on an overlook on the opposite side of the Wrathgate from Bolvar’s fortress. Everyone else looked as well and saw a number of ghouls making grunts and groans that soon turned into gurgles as their bodies dissolved into green goo. “What is this?! That was the Forsaken’s position!” Dranosh shouted in surprise. “How did those Scourge fiends overtake their position?!” Earlier… Grand Apothecary Putress observed the battle going on below. He saw the Alliance and Horde battling hard against the vrykul and crushing the giant proto-humans. However, it wouldn’t matter in the end. Once the Lich King revealed himself, he would bring his master’s plan into action. He was so glad that Varimathras had let him in on the plan so that once the Alliance and Horde were destroyed here, both forces would be in disarray and Sylvanas would be vulnerable. Once she was dead, he could take his place as the true leader of the Forsaken and bring about his war against the Scourge and all who live. While it was strange to see the two forces hanging back and Thanatas taking the lead, it didn’t matter since the gates were opening and Arthas was making his debut for the last time. “Ahem!” came a female voice behind him. Putress turned around and stared in shock as his fellow conspirators were lying on the ground in pieces. Standing in the center of the encampment was a humanoid blue rabbit in azure uniform and an innocent smile on her face. Of course, the high energy beams coming from her palms in the shape of swords contradicted the innocent facade. “Who are you?!” Putress demanded. “Does it matter? You’re about to be ash in the wind!” Sophia declared. Before Putress could react, he felt his body quickly pulled toward Sophia. One of her palms retracted its energy blade in exchange for crackling with intense psionic power. Upon contact, the energy reacted with the forsaken explosively, the sound timed with Thanatas’ first strike against Arthas’ sword to conceal the effect. The energy tore through the undead’s body and set him ablaze. The contact alone ended Putress’ wretched life. As promised, the body soon turned to ash with the winds carrying the remains to parts unknown. “Now, let’s set up the framework,” Sophia said to no one. With a snap of her fingers, Thanatas’ ghouls emerged from the snow and gathered around her. “Tear this place apart with reckless abandon and make sure the Alliance and Horde see you do it.” The plan was to sabotage Putress and his treacherous attack on the armies at the Wrathgate. Thanatas’ part was for her to have a little fun with the Lich King before she forced him to retreat, adding another tally to his record of humiliation. Of course, Sophia really didn’t want to know what the Forsaken Blight would do to her physiology so she hightailed it out of there before the ghouls started tearing into the Blight Tanks and canisters. Seeing the fallout of the Blight and the destruction of the Forsaken on the overlook by the hands of her cousin, Thanatas decided it was time to end this pageantry. Enveloping herself in a blood red aura, Thanatas unleashed her monstrous strength that sent Arthas flying into the gate, slamming into it hard. The aura faded immediately after. The gate opened as Thanatas advanced menacingly and Arthas began to back away into the citadel. The Lich King now fully understood how dangerous Thanatas was and would view her as the greatest threat to his plans from now on. “Mark my words, Thanatas, you will suffer atrocities unimaginable for this day. When next we meet, your eternal damnation shall begin.” With those parting words, the Wrathgate closed. Silence gripped the battlefield as the armies stood dumbfounded for several minutes. One dwarf soon broke the silence with a loud cheer which spread like a plague as both Alliance and Horde roared in excitement. Following this incident, Sylvanas reported that her pet dreadlord, Varimathras, had committed treason against her which brought the wrath of the Horde down on the nathrezim who tried to take over the Undercity. The dreadlord’s attempted coup failed miserably with the Horde retaking the city and putting down the nathrezim while leaving the Alliance none the wiser that the Horde nearly lost the Undercity. A major blow had been dealt to the Lich King. But though this was a victory worth celebrating, the war continued and it wouldn’t be over until Arthas faced the justice that had been a long time coming.