//------------------------------// // Justifications of Insanity // Story: The Crystal Vizier // by Lich-Lord Krosis //------------------------------// As the door closed softly behind Kel'Thuzad, he turned slowly to the room that his... king, had given him. He still couldn't believe that a unicorn was his king. Was this a trick? An elaborate magical illusion? Had the gods seen it fit to punish him for his wrongdoings? NO. He would stay loyal to his king. He had to... he HAD to. Kel'Thuzad snorted in annoyance, and gently threw the small chest on his back unto the bed. After this, he paused slightly, a small sense of fear shooting through his dormant nervous system. Shuddering, he craned his neck to look into the haunting gaze of the Helm of Domination once more. It was just as chilling as he remembered it, albeit more elongated in the front, presumably to accommodate a snout. A single crystal was inlaid above the eye-slits, still pulsing with necromantic energies. The chilling spires of the helm glinted lightly in the fire that seemed to burn magically in the hearth across the room, bathing the helm in a spectral glow. Snorting once more, Kel'Thuzad tore his gaze away from the helm that had ruined his life... NO! I chose to go to him. I did.... no one else... Shaking his head in thought, he hoisted himself unto the bed, his weight lightly compressing the soft covers. He turned his head to the box that sat on the end of the bed, waving his hoof to send the Helm off to a desk in the corner of the room, where it lightly plopped down unto the wood. With another wave of his hoof, the lich's safe box opened, and the items within were once again revealed. Wow. This is it? Is this seriously all his followers could smuggle out of Naxxramas?! This... was hardly anything. All that was given to him were the bare essentials for basic necromantic rituals. He hadn't taken a good look when he had shown his king his Phylactery. A few robes, which were useless to him in his current form, as he no longer floated or had a human like torso. Several jars of bone meal for construction of simple skeletal servants. A few dozen shards of saronite, seemingly outfitted with wards for energy storage, as they pulsed with magic. Several small shards of bone, stylized and carved into the shape of chess pieces (even a dead guy needs hobbies). His spellblade, Bloodsurge, which would be used for special or powerful resurrections and ceremonial purposes. And finally, his unliving eyes fixed themselves on the last object in the chest. The royal burial urn of King Terenas Menethil II. His phylactery. Carefully, he lifted the urn from the chest, placing it in front of him. While quite dusty, his Phylactery was in pristine condition, the Lordaeron Royal Seal glinting lightly through the layer of brownish grey. He carefully lifted the urn once more, levitating it gently over to the desk, placing it beside the helm... His eyes caught the Helm's again. A whispered phrase rifled though his head... Frostmourne... HUNGERS... Gasping for meaningless breath as the runeblade flashed through his vision, the lich recoiled back, and slammed his head on the headboard, sending him to the floor in a heap. He was quivering uncontrollably. For a split second, he felt fear. He felt anxiety. He felt... confusion. And by the splitting jabbing in his head, he could feel pain, though whether from the helm or the headboard, he could not tell. There must still be some of Ner'Zhul's corruption over the helmet, then... Ignoring the now dull ringing in his head, the lich hoisted himself to his hooves, and slowly approached the helm. As he did, a section of blanket, unknowingly caught around his back left forehoof, tripped him and sent him back to the loving embrace of the floor once more. Groaning as he snapped his neck to the right, he stood up, unleashing a hellfire of cracks and sickening crunches as his vertebrae realigned themselves. I never thought I would say it, but I miss being a disembodied floating torso... Chuckling angrily at his current dilemma, he attempted to reach out for the bedside with his hoof, only to miss and land on his face once more. Sighing as he snapped his now quite dislocated jaw back into its rightful place, the lich grabbed himself with a bout of arcane magic, and launched himself up slightly, landing on all fours without incident. Knock, knock, knock. "Is everything okay in there, sir?" Damn. Housekeeping. "Yes, madam, everything is fine, just tripped." Kel'Thuzad cursed himself after that. He REALLY needed to work on sounding convincing. The maid did not answer, so he assumed her gone, and turned to remake the bed. "Would you like something? Some food or drink perhaps?" Kel'Thuzad sighed, and rubbed his forehoof against his head. This maid could obviously not take a hint. "No thank you, madam." Kel'Thuzad responded, a speck of aggravation evident in his voice. Again, there was no answer. "A cigar or brandy?" Kel'Thuzad was never a man to anger quickly. He did, however, have limits. One of those limits was persistence after denial. "I said... NO!" Kel'Thuzad roared, a bit of arcane power weaving into the puff of dust exiting his mouth, amplifying it considerably. The walls and floor shook slightly, and there was silence for another few moments. Kel'Thuzad listened carefully as he stood in silence. The clip-clopping of hooves quickly scurrying away told him that he was now alone once again. Turning once more to face the bed, his eyes trace the outline of a small, solid rectangle, hidden beneath a pile of his robes and sheets. Carefully removing and folding his clothes and bed away from the object, he was pleasantly surprised to see that his loyal followers actually did manage to smuggle something useful. The Book of Medivh. Laughing lightly, he reached for the book, and felt the power almost instantly hit him, surging through his lifeless veins like electricity. The lich shuddered, and quickly retracted his hoof from the tome, the power almost fizzling across the book's surface as he did. Not yet. He needed to look... normal, if he were to get anything done in this world. After all, being an abnormally tall, emaciated and deathly stallion is not exactly the smartest move in a world of creatures half your size. Being a horrific, colossal skeleton with a blizzard following you everywhere was even worse. Knock, knock, knock. "What is it you want now, worm?!" Kel'Thuzad growled through his teeth, the air around his frail body dropping a few dozen degrees. He whipped around, and marched as regally as he could up to the door... And quite literally blew it off it's hinges, the shattered remains of the hindrance to entry blasting into a thick layer of splinters and ice. The lich snarled, and approached the shape of the rather tall maid shrouded in mist and dust. "Kel'Thuzad?" ......... Oh gods... "Y-yes... m-m-master?" Kel'Thuzad whimpered, his magical aura fading as fury was replaced with fear once more. "Can I come in?" Shining asked, brushing a few shards of frosted wood out of his mane. "O-of course, m-master..." "Thank you." Shining replied. The prince entered the room, and quite quickly noticed Kel'Thuzad's eagerness to apologize. The lich bowed slightly, spewing forth another burst of apologies, as Shining entered his vision. Sighing, Shining Armor turned for a moment, and threw up a ward around the destroyed door. "Master, I apologize sincerely, I expected... someone else..." Kel'Thuzad said, his eyes not leaving the crystalline floor as he did. Shining chuckled, trotting slowly over to the hearth, igniting somewhat brighter with magic as he stoked it. He turned to the lich, who was still muttering apologies in earnest, and gestured to the sitting pillow next to his. Kel'Thuzad's onslaught of worried speech stopped, and he looked questioningly at his king. "My lord... you... are not upset?" Kel'Thuzad said, slowly standing up straight once more. Shining shook his head, and smiled at the lich, patting his forehoof on the pillow once more. Kel'Thuzad crept cautiously towards the pillow, and plopped unto the plush object, folding his hind and forelegs inwards towards his stomach, so he could be at eye level with Shining. "Kel'Thuzad... what exactly did you do to get a sentence of nearly a millennia in the void?" Shining asked, his horn igniting as a cup of Germanian lager fizzled into existence next to him, the brownish fluid still foaming lightly. "I... I imagine you know of my... murderous background?" Kel'Thuzad said, watching as Shining downed the entire glass. Shining smacked his lips as he set the glass down on the small table between them. The lich cocked his head slightly, confused... Can he still taste? "Kel'Thuzad?" Shining asked, his eyes on the stallion who had been staring at him for some time. "Y-yes master?" Kel'Thuzad snapped, breaking free of the conundrum of thought he was trapped in. "Yes, I do... but I also know that all you ever wanted, was to learn. You... you didn't choose... this, did you?" Shining asked, his face showing a slight tinge of sorrow for the undead stallion. Kel'Thuzad shuddered, once again reminded of the deal he had taken. The eternal damnation of undeath that was forever tied to his soul. "No... I did not." Kel'Thuzad hung his head low, his muzzle just inches form the floor. He hadn't ever talked about this to anyone that had cared before. Was this what friendly interactions felt like? He couldn't remember. He was... 'friends' with Arthas, but he had not had a stable friend or companion in nearly a millennia. "You did not want to kill all those people, then?" Shining asked. Kel'Thuzad looked at Shining for a moment, and grunted uncomfortably. "Forgive me for assuming, master, but you are former military, yes?" Kel'Thuzad asked, his gaze wavering back to the fire once more. "I am currently commander of the Royal Guard of Canterlot, yes." Shining said, a hint of pride poisoning his voice. Ignoring it, the lich looked back to him. "And how much would you give to help your country, master? Your people?" Kel'Thuzad said, his voice cracking slightly on the last few words. "How much would you sacrifice to keep everything you love safe?" Shining stopped for a moment as his mouth opened. He closed it, and looked back to the fire. "I... I don't know." Shining said, finally. "Master... I would have given anything. For my people... my king... my FAMILY." Kel'Thuzad proclaimed, steadfast loyalty painting his muzzle. "My king asked me to kill, so I did. I did not need to like it. It HAD to be done." Kel'Thuzad said, glancing back at the Helm of Domination, a faint whisper once again shooting across his eardrums once again. Destroy them, Kel'Thuzad! Naxxramas MUST NOT FALL... "Kel'Thuzad, what did your king need thousands upon thousands of innocent people dead for?" Shining said, another glass of alcohol fizzling into existence in his magical grasp. Kel'Thuzad looked into the fire once more, tearing his vision away from the helm. "He... WE, needed them dead. My people needed them dead..." Kel'Thuzad said, invisible uncertainty plaguing his voice. Shining shivered, unused to the shear brutality of the stallions mind. How could anypony want that many dead? Did his old master control him? "Kel'Thuzad... are you remorseful for what crimes you have committed?" Shining asked, ready for another sociopathic answer to spew forth from the stallion. Kel'Thuzad stuttered for a few moments. He's testing the mental chains of my position. Clever. "I... am not sure." Kel'Thuzad said, feigning uncertainty. He new exactly what he felt from murdering his former friends. Nothing. Being stripped of clean of remorse and guilt made a Scourge lich's mind more focused for magical and strategic applications, yet destroyed most avenues for meaningful conversation. "You... are not sure?" Shining asked, taking another long sip from his glass before setting it next to the first on the table between them. Kel'Thuzad took a deep, unnecessary breath, and turned to the stallion. "My king, you have control over the Scourge. They are my, and now your people." Kel'Thuzad cocked his head to the Helm, nodding at it. "That... is your crown." Kel'Thuzad rose, and bowed low before the stallion. "I am your servant." "I feel no remorse." "I feel no guilt." "I feel no pain." "Unless YOU tell me I can." Silence pervaded the room as both stallion's minds raced with emotion. Kel'Thuzad's face statue-like and stony, and Shining's betraying deep thought. ......... Finally, Shining Armor rose from his cushion, and turned to the undead stallion. "Kel'Thuzad..." "I release you from your shackles to the Scourge." ......... "W-W-What?"