The Crystal Vizier

by Lich-Lord Krosis

Answers and Questions

Almost immediately, the lanky stallion hit the floor, bowing to the royal couple.

"A t-thousand apologies, m-master..." Kel'Thuzad uncharacteristically whimpered, his frail and near skeletal skin and bones body trembling with fear and stress.

Shining was... perplexed, to say the least. One minute this stallion was threatening him and his wife, and the next he was cowering before him, his frail body looking like it would collapse at any moment. Shining frowned. This is not the stallion that Death told him of. It couldn't be. But... who else would name their child Kel'Thuzad?!

"Kel'Thuzad, I will ask once more... are you alright?"

Kel'Thuzad and Shining both snapped their gazes at Cadence, shocked to see her fear gone. She started towards the lich, but Shining stopped her.

"Cadence, what are you doing?" Shining whispered, shielding her once more from the stallion in front of them.

"I do not sense evil from this stallion Shining." Cadence said, her face a portrait of concern and steadfast determination. "Just fear... and hatred." Cadence reached up with a slender hoof, and stroked Shining's cheek lovingly. "He is afraid of you, Shining." The couple glanced over at Kel'Thuzad, who was still rigidly bowing in their direction, not a movement coming from his body.

"Cadence... he is a bad stallion." Shining said, continuing to stare at Kel'Thuzad, a look of impassive contempt on his muzzle. "He's helped kill... hundreds no, THOUSANDS of people on his world." Shining sighed, turning his gaze to his wife. "While I do not fully trust him... Death told me to summon him." Shining continued to stare the stallion down. "And as much as I despise recruiting a mass murderer... he is the only one who knows how to... teach me about..."

Shining turned his head slightly, looking to the devilish looking helm lying on the ground several yards away.

"That..."

So he has not ascended yet... interesting...

"I do however have quite some power over him." Shining chuckled, looking back at his wife, who gave him a stern look. "Okay, fine. Then how do you propose we go about the situation?"

"I propose that you start giving our guest some respect. No one is born evil, Shining!" Cadence exclaimed quietly, scolding Shining's, cold treatment of their... guest. "He doesn't feel bad, Shiny... just tired."

Shining looked back at the necromancer, and sighed once again. Cadence rolled her eyes, ignoring Shining for the moment, and trotted slowly up to Kel'Thuzad.

"Kel'Thuzad, rise." Cadence calmly said, walking as regally as she could towards the stallion. In truth, she was terrified. The stallion was a mess. Paper-thin skin that was missing in some places. Tall, spidery legs, connected to an emaciated torso. Fur a mottled, deathly grey. Shrugging it off, she settled down on her rump, a few yards from the emaciated stallion.

Cadence smiled warmly at the stallion, who for the first time in several minutes, looked up. For several more moments, Kel'Thuzad seemed unsure of whether to obey her.

Well... She seems to have significant power in the relationship...

Slowly, Kel'Thuzad rose to his hooves.

As he did, a crack like a gunshot echoed through the throne room.

Kel'Thuzad's right foreleg collapsed at the center, and bent towards his left.

He fell unceremoniously to the ground, his muzzle impacting the crystal floor with a dull 'thud'.

"Kel'Thuzad!" Cadence shouted, starting towards the crumpled stallion. Cadence's mind immediately flashed back to high school, recalling several ways to splint a wound. She always did have a thing for physical health class. She ripped a flag from its pole without a second thought, and brought it to her with telekinesis. As she tore the fabric of the flag apart to form some make-shift rope, another crack sounded through the room.

"Ah... much better."

Slowly, Kel'Thuzad rose once more, a dull blue glow surrounding his knee joint. He groaned once he was fully erect, and twisted his back slightly, sounding a series of crackles and pops from his spine.

"My apologies milady, I am not used to this body." Kel'Thuzad attempted a smile, his lips curling into the... alien expression.

Gods... has it really been this long since I have smiled?

"I... you..." Cadence stuttered, her face paling as she gazed at the torn and ripped flesh of his leg, the bone clearly visible through the torn scraps of fur. The flagpole and ripped flag fell with a 'clang', and she started hyperventilating. She jumped and squeaked as she felt a hoof place itself over her shoulders, but quickly closed her eyes and bent her neck under Shining's as he settled down next to her, accepting his embrace.

"I... am sorry, Lady Cadence..." Kel'Thuzad started, but was stopped as Shining held up his hoof.

"She'll be fine, Kel'Thuzad. She's just... frightened, is all." Shining Armor was quivering, almost unnoticeably so. How could a ANYPONY stand back up after that? It was... scary.

"My Lord, forgive me for asking, but have you ANY experience with necromancy?" Kel'Thuzad said, looking back over at the discarded Helm of Domination for the second time. Shining flinched slightly at the word. In truth, he had none. Well, besides what he had learned from battle strategies and ancient tomes of knowledge that King Sombra had locked away in his private quarters. He also knew that it was long banned in Equestria, and the penalties for it's use were severe...

"My King?" Kel'Thuzad inquired once more, snapping the stallion from his thinking. Shining quickly shook his head. The thin stallion sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment. The lich shuddered for a moment, then start shaking violently, yet his hooves anchored him the floor.

Were is it... were is it... ah... there.

Shining Armor for one, was confused. Him and Cadence stared at Kel'Thuzad as he had his... seizure, maybe? The ponies had no idea what the stallion was doing. Any attempt to communicate with him had led to failure, and he had made no sound despite the occasional grunt for the past five minutes.

Suddenly, the stallion in question cried out in victory as a massive pale white light engulfed him, and obscured his body. The royal couple shielded their eyes as the light grew brighter, and brighter, and...

Vanished.

There, next to Kel'Thuzad, was a small chest.

"My lord, if you do not mind, I would like to know something." Kel'Thuzad said, turning his attention to the small container next to him. He pushed the center of the chest in, and it unfolded into a small array of metal plates in a grid. Inside, a wide selection of items revealed themselves.

"Y-yes Kel'Thuzad?" Shining Armor asked. One of the objects in that chest was a... sword, maybe? It was small for one, but probably nothing more than a dagger to the stallion it belonged to. What bothered him was the dried blood covering the entire blade. The only thing he could make out through the dark brown coating were small lines of glowing blue. Kel'Thuzad turned to the stallion, and placed a small jar in front of him, using a small cloud of whitish-blue magic.

"What is your phylactery?" Kel'Thuzad simply said, sitting his rump back down unto the crystal floor.

"My... what?" Shining said, readjusting Cadence so that she could sit more comfortably under his chin. Kel'Thuzad sighed, and with a flick of his front left hoof, the soul within the jar floated slowly out into the open. The soul itself was... difficult, to describe. It looked like cooking oil that was poured into water. Alien, strange. It was wavy and chaotic, and a very dull green. From behind the soul, Kel'Thuzad waited patiently, his face a portrait of concentration.

"My Lord, the ritual you performed to retrieve me from the Twisting Nether required a magical object of extreme power, did it not?" Kel'Thuzad asked, slowly and VERY carefully slipping the soul back into the burial urn before gently sliding the lid back on. Shining nodded. "May I see it, please?" Kel'Thuzad asked, placing the urn back into the chest and turning back to the prince.

Shining gulped.

The Crystal Heart.

"May it wait until tomorrow, Kel'Thuzad? My wife and I are... tired, to say the least." Shining lied. He, for whatever reason, did not feel tired at all. Cadence on the other hoof, was snoozing quietly on his chest, the pink alicorn emitting a gentle snore every now and again. He wanted nothing more than to snuggle underneath the Saddle Arabian silk covers on his bed with his wife, but Kel'Thuzad was the current focus. The stallion in front of him was unfazed by his answer, and nodded slowly, stature correcting itself as he slowly raised himself to all fours.

"Of course, my liege. I, however, do need a place to... set up shop if I am to remain in your service." Kel'Thuzad said slowly, resealing the chest with a burst of arcane magic.

"Oh. Umm... you are welcome to use one of the guest rooms in the Royal Quarter, if you wish." Shining nervously said. He still did not fully understand the stallion, but he did trust him now. Sorta kinda trusted him. If the necromancer wanted to hurt him and Cadence, he would have already done it.

"Many thanks, my liege." Kel'Thuzad stated, slowly propping the chest in a stable position on his back. Shining chuckled lightly, the stallion's polite, if archaic way of speaking was reminding him of simpler times back in the guard, when he would have to 'escort' nobles that did not exactly see eye to eye with Princess Celestia out of the day court. He turned to slowly walk towards the door, but a dull scraping of metal on stone caught his attention. Kel'Thuzad had picked up the strange, evil-looking helmet that had replaced his crown when he had reawakened.

"Kel'Thuzad, what is that helmet?" He softly asked, lightly hoisting a half-asleep Cadence unto his back. Kel'Thuzad's gaze snapped to him, and he dropped the helmet. The metal impacted the crystal floor loudly, echoing through the throne room, and causing Shining to wince. As the echo faded, Shining asked a different question. "Kel'Thuzad, is that helmet... bad?" A glint of fear raced through the undead stallion's aged eyes. However, it was quickly replaced with a thick layer of questioning.

"It... can be." Kel'Thuzad hesitantly said, picking the helmet back up and staring into the eyeholes of the war helm.

"What do you mean, 'It can be'?" Shining asked, turning once again to face the lich. Kel'Thuzad sighed once again.

"It is used to, for lack of a better word, 'command' your armies, my liege." The stallion said, lightly placing the Helm of Domination on the chest on his back. "Do you mind if I... study it, tonight, my king?"

Maybe I can find out what drove Ner'Zhul and Arthas mad... and prevent it from happening here.

"Yes... you may." Shining said, turning towards the door once again.

Shining Armor stopped once more, turning to the stallion once again as he made his way towards him.

"Kel'Thuzad?"

"Yes, my king?"

"How are you not bleeding all over the floor?"

Kel'Thuzad chuckled, and gestured towards the door. "After you, my lord." Shining Armor was still curious, but trudged on, hauling his surprisingly light wife with him.

Kel'Thuzad and Shining Armor trotted down the long halls of the Crystal Palace for some time in silence. Several guards acknowledged their presence, but were slightly intimidated by Kel'Thuzad's seemingly unnatural smile and horrific appearance, and said nothing about him. Shining dismissed the guards from outside his and Kel'Thuzad's room, before turning to the lich one final time.

"Goodnight, Kel'Thuzad, and welcome to the Crystal Empire." Shining Armor said. The lanky stallion bowed once more, and thanked the Prince. Shining turned for his room, and pushed the heavy oak door open, and was greeted with the warmth of the fire in their hearth. Sighing, he lightly trotted in.

"My king... there is something I must tell you."

Shining Armor turned one last time, and looked at the stallion across the hall.

"I'm dead, my king. Undead, rather." Kel'Thuzad said slowly, as if hesitantly telling him this information. Shining's mouth opened slightly to retort, but closed as the stallion's eyes bored into his.

'Goddesses, he's telling the truth.'

"Goodnight, my king."

Without another word, the lich closed the door to both his chamber's, and Shining's. Still very much awake, but beyond mentally exhausted, the restless Prince climbed into bed with his beloved, curling protectively around her. He kissed his goddess gently on the top of her head, breathing in her heavenly scent.

"Goodnight Cady." He quietly said, curling around her tighter. Shining breathed out slowly through his nose, and closed his eyes.

Across the hall, Kel’Thuzad snorted to himself, turning from the two energy signatures of his new rulers.

Poor lad... he doesn't even realize it yet...

And as the moon reached it's peak over the Crystal Palace, the stallions knew no sleep.

Comments

[Clockworklich]

You will take my thumbs up and you will like it!

[Aziraphael]

Not bad. It could use some editing, but the concept and characterizations are pretty solid so far, so I'll see what you can do with this.

[Lich-Lord Krosis]

6407695

All will be revealed, in time.

[Mr mustash]

This. . .will be interesting.

[Totallyrandomdude]

I don't play wow(it's wow, right?), but this looks cool anyway.

[Thegodhand]

So far so good, the dialogue feels pretty natural and you are already giving us a view of KT's personality (something you never really got much of in WoW). I look forward to seeing where this goes. Just two nit picks with this chapter.
1)Shining said that he didn't feel tired at all after telling K'T he needed rest, but when he got to his room you described Shining as exhausted.
2) The line

Poor lad... he doesn't even realize it yet...

coming directly after a line spoken by shining makes it slightly confusing to tell who said it.

[Bronzer]

Some might think Kel'Thuzad is being too good hearted by trying to prevent Shining Armor from being driven insane by the Helm of Dominion. However, if you think about his lore it makes sense. Sure he is without conscience but that does not mean he is apathetic. He cares, it's just that he has more of a blue and orange morality. Besides, the main reason he joined the Scourge was because the mages of Dalaran were out for his head for experimenting with necromancy. The sanity breaking might just be caused by the sudden connection to every member of the Scourge from wearing it or it might be a Burning Legion fail-safe trap.

[fireflutterpony]

The jumping from one character's thoughts to the next is really jarring. Pick a viewpoint character for a given passage and stick to it.

[Ephedianroyalty]

Poor lad... he doesn't even realize it yet...

Who thought this. This is very important information. If its Kel, then there’s a little bit of intrigue. But if it’s shining... then what the hell does Kel not know?!

[Lich-Lord Krosis]

9119290
Kel’Thuzad thought it. Thank you for bringing how confusing the wording was to my attention.