Day 8: Where are we and WHY AM I A PONY?
I have slaughtered thousands. Hundreds of thousands. Only a mere hundred of them were done not out of my own will, but as a tool of the Lich King. Granted, it was the Scarlet Crusade who are more or less a waste of life. I have worked in the shadows to ensure my worlds future, even its past. I am an artist on the battlefield, my ability to drain my enemies of their vitality leaves me needing no rest, no sleep. No compassion. I have mastered the Runeblade, it is a natural part of me. My Arvenrarth. I am a Death Knight.
And here I am writing with my mouth. Because I am now a small horse.
My brother is an idiot.
Yet I'm not certain which of us is the bigger one, considering I agreed to his little "experiment". "Come on, let's see what happens if you smack the immovable object with the unstoppable force!" he said, "It will be a good idea!" he said.
WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS AGAIN?
Anyway, so here I was in the mountains north of Orgrimmar, where Lorn suggested we try it out. Xia was there as well, apparently there were no records of the results of this. Just something about "never seen again" which I gave no further thought.
Although looking at my current state, I feel kinda dumb now. Dumb Rorn. And no, you're not getting anything more detailed about what my real name is, you piece of mutilated tree corpse. Actually scratch that, I'd rather not have the entire Ancient population chasing me. Whoever decided to create walking trees clearly didn't think their plan through.
So there we were, Lorn standing with his The Immovable Object shield, while I held a mace called The Unstoppable Force. Xia was going to count down, and seemed to enjoy this more than she should. Scribes and their lust for knowledge.
On the count of three I smacked Lorn's shield as hard as I could, imagining it being made out of squirrels. I hate squirrels. Since that day all those years ago when I was a kid and one of them stole my chocolate covered hazelnut, when I swore vengeance upon all of its fellow squirrels in crime, I have killed any I could find. I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM, YOU DO.
Right, back to the small event. Nothing happened. When I hit his shield, all it did was go "CLANK". We stood there for about a minute before I let it go, doing nothing to hide my disappointment. Then a black hole opened in the middle of us and dragged all three of us through, and we ended up in some gray void. Luckily Lorn grabbed hold of me and Xia, he has good reflexes I'll give him that. We might have been separated otherwise, ending up in completely different worlds. Before long another hole opened and we ended up in this forest.
Trees. Why does it always have to be trees. So much... PLANT LIFE. At least you are dead you... book. Fine I can't come up with anything else, you try writing something better wait no you can't you're a TOME. I sure showed you. Actually now I feel bad, can you forgive me? If it's any consolation I'm not the one who chopped down the trees that were horribly mangled to create you oh no I did it again forget what I said. Wrote. Whatever.
I don't recall much from while we were blacked out, obviously, but I do remember our reactions when we woke up. Somehow we had turned into small horses with rather large heads, with our gear transformed to fit our new forms. Needless to say, I remained completely calm while the other two freaked out.
... FINE! Actually Lorn was his usual calm self, Xia was fascinated and me? I was shouting profanities that would cause Tirion's body to swallow his head to hide it in shame. I'm no fan of paladins, and Tirion's speeches honestly bore me. All this jazz about "honor" and "by the Light!" he shouts everywhere, pointless if you ask me. All I need is a target, and a list of who should not die. Why muddy the issue with fancy ideals? While you're out there shouting about morale, I'm subtracting candidates from the "Employee of the month list". MATHEMATICS SOLVE EVERYTHING. Except squirrels, no matter how much you try you don't get rid of the bloody things. Soon. Soon you will be gone, by the power of math! It will be fancy! I SHALL SMITE THEE WITH MATH AND ALL SHALL- damnit I'm wasting ink again. They must not know of the plan.
When I finally calmed down, we had a look at our current forms. Xia is a unicorn, horn and everything. Her skin is pale white like her undead self, her hair/mane and tail black with two stripes of grey running through. Eye sockets empty and black, with the yellow orbs of magic the Forsaken call their eyes.
I'm grey and my mane/tail grayish blue as usual. I've yet to find a mirror or a reflection, but the others tell me my eyes are still the same, only... ponified, as Lorn called it. Venera is never going to let me live this down. At least my hair is still the way it should be. Quiet, I'm a blood elf, we're allowed to care for our hair. And my eyes glow blue, it's part of the whole death knight deal.
No I didn't forget Lorn. Damn it, he managed to look fabulous and heroic at the same time even as a pony. His coat is yellow, his hair/tail black with a yellow tint. His battle armour has two holes, one on each side, allowing his wings free movement. Yes, he's a pegasus, lucky twit. His eyes are still green, pulsing with the demonic taint our race got after the whole deal with the Sunwell. How ironic it is that he's a paladin.
... No, I'm not a pegasus. Or a unicorn. Just a simple wingless and non-horned (that is a word!) pony. Buck me.
... Wait what? "Buck me"?
Of course, Xia was quick to figure out what she can do with that horn of hers. She made our camp the first night, while Lorn was busy trying out flying. Much to my amusement, he spent it crashing into different trees. And I was trying to write on you. Turns out writing with your mouth is stupidly difficult until you get the hang of it. It took me seven nights to get it right, which is why I write this the eighth day. Eight days we've been here now, and we've met no wildlife. Might have something to do with my aura of death, I'll have to turn that down soon. According to Lorn we should be out of these woods tomorrow, seems he saw something resembling a small town outside the forest on one of his test flights. Hopefully its residents won't be too hostile. Unless they're squirrel people- STOP IT.
Back to wildlife, yes we haven't met any but signs of shadows have been around us during our small trip. I'm certain I saw one resembling a wyvern, but this one seemed like its wings were detached from its arms. There's also some odd plantlife in here, just before this we passed a patch of odd blue coloured flowers. We didn't go near it, as Xia mentioned there being an odd magical aura surrounding the plants. I'm not the one to doubt her, most mages - wait, a few mages - no, very few mages know their way around magic, and she's one of them. Her having herbalism as a hobby also helped.
Regardless, the sun should be coming back up soon. I think I'll spend some time looking at the sky, the clouds are less present this close to the end of the forest.
The moon is especially beautiful today.
Day 9: There is a lack of things to kill here. This place sucks.
I like blood. Especially the act of liberating it from its owner. Depending on its former owner, it can taste like anything from sweet, delicious murder to bitter sweet despair. Family blood however, tastes absolutely horrible. Nine days without killing anything has done nothing good for my mental health, and I'm not sure which one of us is most disgusted. Lorn was always good at hiding his emotions. At least when he's not around his mate. I'll never understand how the two of them ended up together. And the way he calls her "kitten", I swear if I wasn't already dead I would've died of diabetes long ago. Urgh, people and their love, such a pointless emotion.
I am so very alone.
As for the whole blood topic, I had to drink some of Lorns blood to suppress my crave for death. Whichever moron decided that was a good idea to add to our abilities should be stabbed. Probably a San'layn, dumb vampires. This is the second time I've had to do that and I'd rather not do it again, WHY WON'T SOMETHING ATTACK ME?!
At this moment I've suppressed my aura to stop discouraging creatures from approaching, I need to drain vitality, cause pain, inflict despair. And I have an odd craving for fruit. Which is odd because I don't eat plants. Plants are boring as food, can't even hear them scream if you decide to eat fresh.
We set up camp at the edge of the forest and we'll be heading into town tomorrow, hopefully with no further delays. My little rage induced fight with Lorn earlier today left us both tired, him even more so. It's times like these where it sucks to be a death knight. Not many people know this, but we NEED to cause pain, drain life. It's what's keeping us, well, alive. Sane. There's a reason why we are all bloodthirsty to some degree. I still remember the first time I snapped.
Back when I was still on the path of learning, I was captured by vrykul. A simple mission, get in, kindly detach Ingvars head from the rest of his rather unpleasant twice-the-size-of-a-human body, and out again. He didn't cooperate. Instead he threw a wagon on me.
Fifteen days. That's how long I spend in a cage, my runeblade sealed next to me as an act of mockery. So close, yet so far... Then IT showed up. One of those accursed beasts, creatures of darkness, embodiment of fatality, a blasted SQUIRREL. Next thing I know I'm standing over Ingvars head, with other parts of his body scattered everywhere and a trail of blood behind me. And I was in the middle, quietly laughing. The fact that the body of the squirrel I had seen earlier was now going into one of Ingvars eye sockets and out the other one didn't help. Oh the despair, so delicious.
Arvenrarth was nowhere to be found, so I went to look for her. Which proved easy as all I had to do was follow the crimson road. As for Ingvar, I couldn't care any less at that moment. A few days later I heard about some "brave group" who "liberated Howling Fjord from Ingvar the Plunderer". That's when I met Draic.
A warlock. An undead warlock. A mage unsatisfied by the arcane arts to such a degree they tap into the raw, chaotic form of magic. Demonic energy. Lazy bastards using shortcuts. And each one of them claimed to be uncorrupted. Well let me tell you something, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NON-CORRUPT WARLOCK. What's next, death knight pacifists? Innocent squirrels? MADNESS.
Draic was horribly corrupt to begin with, so he didn't even care.
He offered me a spot in a group he called "Judgement of Fire", which later turned out to be merely a cover for what we really are. We work in the dark, shrouded from the spotlight and the fame that so many others crave. Being a celebrity sounds like it sucks, with people judging you for ab-so-lu-te-ly ev-er-y-thing. Let me eat my burger in peace, it's no one you know! Honorable people my flank, Tauren are more like cow people hippies if you ask me.
I still don't regret accepting the offer, so much uninterrupted death. Speaking of death, I have still not been attacked. This is boring, I think I'll stretch my legs.
Day 10: Snakes. Why did it have to be chickens.
I. HATE. COCKATRICES. Even been turned to stone? I have plenty of times, but those usually ran out after a few seconds. These snakechickens cheat. I'm just grateful Fluttershy convinced it to let me go. She's one of the locals, a light butter coloured pegasus with a ridiculously long pink mane and tail. I don't know how she did it, but she looked the cheating bastard right in the eyes and demanded it to release me. Although when I started shouting profanities at it she hid behind Lorn with what has to be the most graceful and quiet squeak I've ever heard. That's just precious.
Then the impossible happened. As I charged towards Snake McChicken of Willnotfoolowrulesington she jumped between us and STOPPED ME.
She stopped me from causing death. And her eyes stared into my soul. I know now that I have one. She then lectured me about how it was sorry and I should accept its apology. I yelled "Easy for you to say, you weren't turned into stone!"
Actually no I didn't, all I could do was look at it while lowering my head in defeat, apologizing. YOU try disobeying her, she IS scary when she gets upset! I'm certain Xia's jaw almost detached, even Lorn was looking at me with surprise. Add that to the list of "Things Venera will remind me of. FOREVER". I have fought against some of the toughest opponents Azeroth has to offer, never backing out without a proper fight. And here I surrendered to a small pony without even throwing a punch, simply because she looked at me angrily.
No one must know.
As I write this Lorn and Xia are currently in her cottage, probably sleeping. She did actually tell me I could stay there as well if I liked, but then Lorn whispered something to her. She nodded, he whispered again and then told me it'd be best if I didn't come in. Something about my presence possibly being lethal to the injured animals she was taking care of, which was fair enough. I suspect there is something more I'm not being told, but I'm tired. Being made of rock isn't fun, no wonder dwarves broke off their earthen rock form and became flesh like some prehistoric rebellious teenagers. Yeah yeah, old gods and the curse of flesh and all that, my version is better.
I have an idea.
I had an idea.
Apparently I cannot summon an army of undead, as there are no dead bodies buried in the nearby area. And here I was hoping I could advance my progress in creating zombie volleyball. I am bored. Luckily morning's here, we'll be heading into town next.
This better be interesting.
Day 11: Naked introductions are the best introductions.
Today has been... interesting. And I'm more or less naked.
I'm ok with this.
Earlier today when the others finally decided to join me, they were wearing practically nothing. Turns out ponies don't usually wear clothes, so they decided to stuff their armour in their bags. Lorn's still wearing his shield and sword, while Xia's keeping her scythe a quick summon away. I want a scythe like hers, but SOMEONE decided we death knights are not allowed to use scythes. We're bringers of death, and we're not allowed to use scythes! Arthas was a moron. And so is Mograine. Actually all death knights are morons, except me. I'm an idiot. It's a family trait amongst twins, me and Lorn included.
Xia did something terrible with her eyes. She put an illusion on them to look "normal", showing off her blue eye color from before the whole killed-and-raised-into-undeath incident in Lordaeron. At least that's the colour she said they were. Seems the knees were a tad difficult to hide, so she covered all four in bandages.
Lorn was wearing his Lordaeron shield and some sword called Quel'Serrar or something, both nicely sheathed on his back. I AM NOT JEALOUS. Also Xia did the same thing for his eyes, and surprise, surprise, they are... GREEN!
As we walked towards the nearby town, Lorn kept in front with Fluttershy leading the way, while I was stuck with Xia. She kept trying to convince me to hide my eyes as well. I think I made my point about how much against it I am quite clear. And by that I mean I said NO. I am a death knight and I shall look like one even if it kills me. Not to mention I look awesome. I did put away my armour though, but Arvenrarth is still holstered on my back. It still puzzles me how these small bags can hold so much stuff and weight next to nothing. "'Tis magic, I ain't gotta explain nothin'," Xia told me. Mages. And I'm pretty sure that's a double negative.
Regardless, as we walked into town I was met with a "few" stares. One pink-purple pony pulled a similar looking child inside their house and slammed the door shut at the mere sight of me. I'm not THAT scary! Maybe I should've listened to Xia- NO I LOOK AWESOME AND THAT'S FINAL. I'm sure leaving my eyes like this will cause no problems whatsoever.
One thing I noticed tho was that almost every pony apart from some of the small ones had a tattoo on their flank with different designs. I figured it was probably some sort of fashion statement, until I noticed the other three of my group had their own. Fluttershy had three butterflies, while Xia had what looked like a frozen book behind a quill. She must've noticed me looking, as she smacked me in the face with her tail with a lighthearted "No touchy" and a sly smile. WOMEN.
Looking at my own, I figured out why most were staring. It was a picture of a humanoid skull, frozen and covered in cracks. Thin streams of red colour flowing from the eyes and between some of the teeth. It looked absolutely AWESOME.
... Lorn had some boring shield with two swords sheathed behind it in a cross. And yellow stuff everywhere, obviously representing "The Light". Mine's better, HAH!
We arrived shortly at a tree. With a door. And windows. It looked like a the result of what would happen if a tree and a house got horribly drunk and woke up next to each other the day after. I was half expecting a night elf to greet us, but it was a purple unicorn that opened the door. Same skin colour, I was right! Partially. I'm sure she'd be one if we were in Azeroth! FINE I WAS WRONG YOU STUPID BOOK!
Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is the library she lives in. I think my eye twitched at the "Twilight" part, which might have something to do with what the word is associated with back home. Stupid end-of-the-world cult, their combat skills are about as good as their plans are effective. "My life sucks, better end the world!" and "Join us, we offer free stuff!" Bleh, what a boring bunch of morons.
Twilight however, is not a moron. In fact if I didn't know better, I'd say she and Xia were separated at birth. Both love books and both love magic. She must've noticed me staring at her tattoo, and seemed surprised that I didn't know what it was. Apparently they're called "Cutie Marks" (BLEURGH) and appear when somepony discovers their special talent. Her mark is a pink-purple star with six white stars surrounding it, symbolizing magic.
She's a bloody mage. Elune damnit.
I'm currently sitting in one of her rooms, as we wait for her assistant to return. He's out digging for gems with a friend of the two mares, and should return shortly. Wait, I can hear the voice of a young boy right now, that must be him.
BUCK.
BUCK ME.
Alright, everything's alright, NO IT'S NOT ALRIGHT DAMMIT!
Alright, I'm calm. I have learned a few things.
One: Twilight's assistant is a baby dragon. Purple scales, green fins. Name's Spike.
Two: He's afraid of zombie ponies. I am one, and my eyes kinda points that out.
Three: His fire is green and sends letters to Twilight's mentor.
Four: You are made of paper and can thus be sent, which is exactly what happened.
Five: Twilight's mentor is their leader. She's the goddess of THE SUN. And she's quick to address issues where she's needed.
Six: I ATTACKED THEIR LEADER
So Spike came in, saw me, screamed "ZOMBIE PONY!" and blew green fire at me in panic. He ran, and I followed while being just a little bit angry. Which might've been amplified by the whole "I'm a death knight" thing, because Lorn stopped me. I was slightly roasted, and thought he had destroyed you. The book. I'LL ADDRESS YOU HOWEVER I WANT TO.
I would've preferred if that was actually the case, but Twilight informed me that it was most likely sent to her mentor. Who happens to be one of the princesses, and the goddess of the sun.
According to the others I froze with my mouth open when she told me that, and didn't move until a radiant light appeared in the middle of the library. It was her, Princess Celestia. Her coat is completely white, with a gravity defying mane coloured with the classical "cold" colours. I barely noticed Lorn bowing down before her, he probably sees her as an embodiment of The Light. All I know is she has an incredible life force.
So I attacked her. I'm lucky Lorn was there to stop me, having a shield slammed in your face tends to knock you back to your senses. Then I dropped on my knees and asked her to forgive me. NO I DON'T KNOW WHY! Actually I do know why, but I won't tell you. HAH! I care little for the so called "leaders" of both the Horde and the Alliance, but Celestia is something... different. I stood before a living god. But I was not prepared for what followed.
She forgave me. I directly assaulted not only a leader, but a god. And I'm let off just like that.
Now I have this odd desire to live here. First thing I'm doing after this is sneaking out and returning to that forest, from Xia and Twilight's conversation earlier it seems they have a "manticore" problem. Lions with bat wings and scorpion tails sounds like the wyverns back home, and no stupid chicken snake will surprise me THIS TIME!
I'm going to continue writing this, but I'm keeping you away from Spike. You're not even old enough to travel alone. And it's not like I have a whole lot of other things to do during the night. Yes, I know this is a library with books, but I don't read very often. Their fighting scenes are boring.
The princess left shortly after giving my journal (you) back to me, and I'm certain she read it. I doubt she'd come out all the way here just to deliver someponys journal. Wherever she came from. I'll ask Twilight when I get back, the others are asleep now. Sneaky time, stay put. Wouldn't want you to blow my cover.