Marrowfrost was a good servant.
His master had told him on multiple occasions.
Nothing ever had filled his nonexistent heart with more joy than pleasing his lord. When the Archlich had asked him to create the rune circle, the former high elf was more than ecstatic. It had been his first assignment in centuries, and he was determined to complete it without fail. When he had finished the circle, and the master gave his praise, he had never felt more proud.
He felt useful again.
Wanted.
Needed.
NO!
Not needed... the master was a far better mage than he would ever hope to be. He was there for the sole purpose of convenience. While his master had more than once expressed his thankfulness for the revenant's simple-minded advice and conversation, he could not help but feel... obsolete.
That all changed when his rune circle was used by his master. And not just his master, his king and queen as well.
"Master! Are you alright?" Marrowfrost asked, jumping up from his prone position before a book upon the floor. His master whipped around, spitting a gout of arcane fire form his right hand, igniting the hearth instantly. He carefully shepherded the barely conscious Shining Armor and near-tears Cadence to a hastily constructed bed of pillows by the fire. Realizing to late that the room was still far too cold, even for an alicorn, Kel'Thuzad almost had a metaphorical heart attack when Cadence fell to the ground, her breathing somewhat irregular, presumably from stress on her lungs. He reacted on instinct, reaching for the bed before realizing that the covers were in tatters, a product of his transformation the night before. Growling, he tore a large section of his robe off, heated it to a cozy temperature, and smothered the two royals in it, their limp forms being settled by his magic inside of their little pillow fortress by the fire.
Breathing a superfluous sigh of relief, the lich floated hurriedly to his desk. He grabbed the Helm of Domination, before violently slamming it inside the chest upon the desk, locking it and pushing it underneath the bed, far out of view. The further his master was from that accursed thing, the better.
"Shiny..." Cadence whispered, her hooves curling around her husband's now unconscious form. Kel'Thuzad lowered his torso to the ground, sprawling his arms out, taking up a large portion of the empty floor in the process. He turned his skull to the two royals, comfortable with their current position. He noticed with an alarmed growl that his robes were now ruined, the vibrant violet frostweave flap he used as a shroud for his rulers now torn horribly.
"Lady Cadence..." Kel'Thuzad asked carefully, not wanting to anger his brooding mistress. The pink alicorn snuggled further into the robe-blanket and sighed, the side of her face firmly planted under her husband's chin.
"Yes?" She groaned, her strength sapped from exposure to the cold and the scare that her husband had given her.
"Do you like tea?" Kel'Thuzad asked, his form rising once more, the lich's hands folding behind his back.
"Yes." She said.
"Would you like some?"
"Please."
.........
COLD.
DARKNESS.
That was all Shining saw and felt.
He heard voices, distant at first, but becoming more clear the longer he listened.
A heavily distorted, horrifying voice, matched with a voice that sounded... familiar...
The endless darkness gained light, and he looked down at a prone... figure. He did not know what it was. Slowly but surely, he realized that this... creature, was in pain. He was bleeding from his knees and hands, and his face was gashed in several locations, red blood oozing slowly from the cuts. He heard the figure...
Beg.
Plead.
"Please... PLEASE..." The creature groaned, his face being pushed into the hard stone floor of the platform they were standing upon, creating more gashes in his skin.
'As my lieutenant, you will gain knowledge and magic to surpass your most ambitious dreams. But in return, living or dead, you will serve me for the rest of your days. If you betray me, I shall make you into one of my mindless ones, and you will serve me still.'
"I am yours... I swear it!" Kel'Thuzad sobbed, his ragged hair hanging down past his face.
The scene changed quickly, to a now robed Kel'Thuzad, prostrated before him, a knife slowly lowering itself to the aged... human's hands.
'Bloodsurge. The spellblade of a master necromancer. Use it well.'
"Thank you, my king. I will make use of it."
'Good. Now go. Rid Lordaeron of the living.'
"Of course, master, I will depart immediately."
Kel'Thuzad raised himself slowly, and turned, walking into the darkness at the edge of the vision.
The scene changed quickly once again. Shining was now in a room. A large... throne room, from the looks of it. In the center, the colossal form of Kel'Thuzad was unmistakable. He was busy reading, from the looks of it.
"We are nearly ready to strike back at your enemies... my liege." Kel'Thuzad said, his eyes averting from his reading to stare at...
Him...
The scene jumped quickly to a room in disarray. Corpses of... humans, littered the frozen ground of the room. Surrounding them, hundreds of bones.
"YOUR PETTY MAGICS ARE NO CHALLENGE TO THE MIGHT OF THE SCOURGE!" Kel'Thuzad roared, a volley of razor sharp icicles imbedding themselves into a human mage, who's limp body was devoid of life before it hit the floor in a pool of his own blood. A particularly brave or foolish human decided to attack Kel'Thuzad from behind as the lich was focused on another across the room, who was loosing arrow after arrow at the undead mage. Not even breaking his concentration on his wards, the lich reached backwards, grabbing the now quite terrified human in his frigid grasp. He snarled as he turned his head to him, the bearded man desperately trying to pry himself from the skeletal hand holding him.
"SCREAM YOUR DYING BREATH!" he shouted, the cold of his breath literally solidifying parts of the human's facial skin. The man screamed, before his face finally was shattered from the intensity of the cold, and a violent spray of slush-like blood exploded from his head. Dropping the now lifeless corpse, Kel'Thuzad reverted his attention to the remaining attackers, who were either frantically trying to hide amongst their fallen comrades, or bravely continuing to fight. He raised his hands slowly, a sickly bright red orb appearing between them in midair, before disappearing.
"Hehehehe... HAHAHAHAHAH!" The lich cackled. The ground slowly... decayed. Tiles ripped themselves apart, as if aging rapidly. Corpses rotted quickly, leaving behind meager scraps of flesh and bone. The remaining force of humans screamed in agony and horror as they... melted. Their skin fell from their frail forms, their strength leaving them quickly. Blood poured from ever pore in their bodies, and more pores were made each passing second, the accelerated rot destroying their tan skin, ripping and tearing it apart.
Finally, the last of the writhing stopped. Everything was dead. Except the barely scratched form of the Archlich, who surveyed the woefully unprepared group of attackers with disgust.
"The dark void... awaits you..." He whispered.
Horror.
Sickness.
Nausea.
Shining screamed.
He wept.
He flailed.
Kel'Thuzad... was a MONSTER.
Darkness.
.........
"I must admit, you make a very delightful pot of tea, Marrowfrost." Cadence sighed, snuggling further into her pillow, a crystalline cup of enchanted ice resting before her, a decent amount of mint-leaf tea still steaming within. The revenant bowed slightly, his bones creaking slightly as he did.
"Thank you, my lady. It is a favorite were I come from." He said, his nonexistent face beaming with pride.
"My lady, are you feeling better?" Kel'Thuzad inquired, now donning a traditional blue robe of frostweave. The pink alicorn nodded, ruffling her wings before taking another sip of tea.
"Yes, Kel'Thuzad, I'm alright. I just hope Shining wakes up soon. He's been shaking horribly this entire time..."