The Blade's end and a New Beginning

This is the story of how Ferrum in Oblitus (my WoW guild) was disbanded and replaced by the Silver Sword Company. Averus is a blood knight who was betrayed by the undead rogue Razala.

It was early in the twilight hours and a thick fog loomed across the vast forests of Tirisfal Glades. Averus, Ogrest, and Xeroshin sat atop a  small hill, looking down on the quiet town of Brill from their mounts. They were mere sillhouettes, nearly invisible to the unsuspecting denizens of that undead town.

"You still think this is a good idea?" Xeroshin asked, gripping the reins of his steed with anticipation.

"There's no doubt in my mind. These undead are a danger, and they must pay." Averus replied, his stern crusader stare blazing with vengance upon Brill.

"Ogrest?"

Ogrest merely grunted, his head covered by his plate helm, his blue eyes still visible despite the dark shadow cast by his helm.

Xeroshin returned his eyes to the town, still not certain about this choice of action. None of the members of Ferrum in Oblitus were quite ready to accept this, but they followed their leader without question. Averus had lead them well thus far. He guided and trained many of them, and through the dark times when the guild was outlawed he was like a beacon of light, leading them out of the darkness. It was quite a dangerous plan, but the general consensus was that Averus knew what he was doing.

"I will go to the Zeppelin towers," Ogrest finally spoke, "With a small group of soldiers, I will blockade the towers and prevent any escape as well as hold off any reinforcements."

Averus nodded, "Good. We'll attack just before sunrise. Tell everyone to be ready, Xero."

Xero nodded, kicking his horse into action as he turned and rode behind the hill where the rest of Ferrum in Oblitus was poised to attack. Ogrest kicked his bear, who whined and growled, impatiently waiting for it's chance to sink its teeth into cold flesh.

Averus continued to glare down into the town as Amulious rode up to his side, his characteristic helmet on his head, covering his gruesome scars.

"Be ready for battle, Amulious." Averus said coldly.

"You don't have to tell me. I've been waiting for this day for a long time." Amulious replied, a hint of excitement in his tone.

Averus nodded.

---

Brill was quiet as the sun began to break through the thick fog from the east. Though the undead rarely slept, they still planned their days according to the rising and setting of the sun. The town began to stir, slowly, and a few of its denizen made their way out of their homes onto the smooth cobblestone roads.

The guards continued their patrols, always keeping a watchful eye. Even in Tirisfal the scourge had many minions who would not shy away from the chance of taking an unsuspecting forsaken town.

One guard looked off in the horizon, noticing a few moving shapes. He walked towards them cautiously, away from Brill, to check. As he made his way up the hill, he felt a sharp pain in his back, followed by a dagger which sunk deep and tore straight to the spine. With his wind pipe severed, he could not even muster a scream before he fell limply to the ground.

Benelyn stood over the unanimated corpse, gulping slightly from the fear of her betrayal, then waved over at the troops on top of the hill.

The army of Ferrum in Oblitus came rushing down in droves, the only sound being the trampling of their boots and the clinking of their heavy armor. It wasn't until they were already upon the town that the guards finally noticed them.

"We're under attack!" Cried a guard, drawing his sword as he was assailed by two elves who quickly dispatched him. The rest of the forsaken guards drew their arms and went to battle, but the element of surprise left them at a severe disadvantage.

"Send word to the Undercity! We need reinforcements!" Another called, and a forsaken citizen nodded and sprinted south up the hills.

She panted desperately, coming over the hill. She gasped in terror as she came face to face with an armor plated orc, a shadowy collossus with icy blue eyes staring at her beneath a plated helm.

---

As the battle ensued, warrior and civilian alike were cut down by Averus and his elven warriors. Averus himself cut deeply into the undead ranks, black and red blood spattered over his rage-filled face. He blasted holy fire and cut down enemies one after the other.

"Averus! More undead are coming!" Shouted Xeroshin as more undead made their way down the eastern road towards Brill.

"Don't stop fighting! We'll kill them all, down to the last man!"

Amulious fought with glee, grinning as he chased down an undead woman and cut across her back, leaving her in a pool of black blood on the dirt. Two guards came upon him, and he laughed as he incinerated them from within with holy fire. He pushed his way eastward as Averus pushed west.

In his blind fury, Averus found himself cut off from his companions, but his crusader rage would not allow him to stop pushing forward, cutting down enemy after enemy and leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Finally, he found himself on the outside of Brill, panting heavily but still full of fight.

"Averus!" Cried Benelyn, noticing the peril which her leader had found himself. She began to run towards him.

"Stay there and keep fighting Benelyn! I'm fine on my own!" He said, and Benelyn stopped, thinking about disobeying him for a moment, but her thinking quickly ceased and she began to fight again when a forsaken guard engaged her in combat.

Averus looked onward, noticing a small band of undead approaching the town of Brill, though this group did not look anything like the forsaken guards whom they were fighting.

It was a small army of ghouls and necromancers, and at the head were two who stood out, and one who Averus recognized immediately.

"Cayene!" Averus roared angrily. He went forward and stopped before them, and he was quickly surrounded by undead. Cayene cackled maniacally.

"Excellent work, Averus! Even when my identity is revealed, you and your goons still manage to fall into every trap we set out for you!"

"What are you talking about, witch?!"

"You've done nicely in destroying Brill, but our Scourge forces can take over from here. Go! Kill elf and forsaken alike! Leave none alive!"

"No!" Cried Averus, turning to warn the others, but he was quickly cut off by two abominations.

"Haha! Well, thanks for the help Averus, but your time has come to an end! Kill him!" Cayene ordered, and the two hulking abominations moved towards the paladin.

"Wait." Spoke the other figure, and the abominations stopped in their tracks.

Beside Cayene stood another man, cloaked from head to toe in a tattered beige cloak, clasped in the center by a pin bearing the crest of Lordaeron.  Beneath his large, billowy hood peered two ominous glowing blue eyes.

"Ricolne, what are you doing?! We must kill him now, or we'll risk everything!"

"A warrior such as him doesn't deserve a dog's death. I'll kill him myself; In single combat."

Averus smirked, turning to face this strange warrior as the abominations backed off and made their way towards Brill, leaving the three of them alone.

"So, who would you be then? Another slimy undead b*****d to be cut down by my sword?"

"My name is Ricolne Blackwood. They called me 'The Scarless' in life, because I've never been beaten in single combat, nor have I been wounded in battle." The undead spoke, unclasping his cloak and tossing it to the side. He stood before Averus, his ebony plate armor gleaming beneath the rising sun. He drew his longsword and held it before him, the handle of which bore the crest of lordaeron. He stared at Averus with his glowing scourge eyes, his long greasy blonde hair tied tightly behind his head for battle.

Averus narrowed his eyes, his lips pursing as he realized the seriousness of the situation. He gripped his sword tightly, his shield secured firmly on his other arm.

"Uncle Ricolne, this is foolhardy! Let the abominations kill him and be done with it!" Cayene pleaded, but her uncle ignored her. She growled angrily, looking between the two of them before stepping back a safe distance.

"I'm surprised a mindless ghoul like you still has honor." Averus taunted.

"You'll find yourself much more surprised when you lie on the ground dying. Have at thee, knave!" Ricolne lunged forward with blinding speed, slashing at Averus. Averus blocked, and the two swords clanged together with violent intensity. Though Averus was a skilled swordsman, he could not withstand the attack of one of Lordaeron's finest and began to be pushed back. "Hmph, I'm disappointed. I was expecting a more interesting fight." Ricolne said. He lunged forward, pushing Averus back a  few more steps, feinted, then slashed at Averus' head.

The valiant crusader tried to raise his shield to block, but he wasn't quick enough. As the blade swung towards his head he managed to stumble back, and the blade sliced deeply across his face, causing blood to pour down into his eyes and mouth.

"Interesting." Said Ricolne, "that was suppose to kill you. At least you have courage, I'll give you that."

"Ha, right. You're a good swordsman too, but is that all you can do?" Averus chuckled, dropping his shield.

"Hm?" ricolne looked at Averus curiously, believing the battle to be won.

Averus gripped his sword, then swiftly his raised his hand and a flash of blinding light exploded from his palm. He quickly rushed forward, swinging his sword at the undead's neck.

"Cheap trick!" Yelled Ricolne, raising his sword to parry quickly.

"Ricolne!" Suddenly the undead knight was distracted, the concern in his nieces voice triggering his paternal instincts. He glanced to her as she ran towards him. Foolish girl he thought, realizing his mistake almost instantly. Had she not distracted him, his blade would have easily parried Averus' blow and would have found it's way into the elf's neck, but he was milliseconds too slow, and Averus's sword narrowly missed the parry and connected with the undead's neck.

Ricolne's head flew into air, his body falling limply to its knees and then to the ground. His head thudded a few feet beside him.

"NO!" Cayene shrieked with unimaginable shock and grief, running to her uncle's side and collapsing on top of him. She sobbed loudly, burying her head in his chest and gripping the fabric of his tunic. "No please no! This can't be happening! This can't be real! Ahh!" she screamed again, then slowly rose to her feet.

"You b*****d... You basta-!" She was silenced quickly as Averus' sword plunged into her chest to the hilt, the blade sticking out of her back. She gulped and gurgled black bile, tears streaming down her cheeks. She kicked violently as Averus lifted her off the ground, but her struggling soon ceased. A few short, sputtery sobs escaped her lips as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and Averus lowered his sword so that she slid off of it onto the corpse of her uncle. Averus panted, wiping the blood from his face, when suddenly he felt a sharp, familiar pain in his back. He quickly stepped forward, turning 180 degress to face his attacker. It was Razala.

"You traitorous coward!" he coughed a bit of blood, though the wound was not quite fatal. "Why did I ever... trust you." He said, then raised his hand. Suddenly Razala body contorted with pain as holy energy seared him from the inside out. Averus stopped, and Razala was left writhing on the ground in agony. He stepped forward, prepared to finish the job. He looked beyond Razala, noticing someone watching not too far away.

"Ogrest!" Averus yelled, and Ogrest stood silently, a hulking black silhouette with the rising sun behind him. His eyes seemed to glow silver; A cold, inhuman glow. They stared at Averus with a cold and stoic ferocity. "Help me finish this undead, will you?" Ogrest said nothing, remaining where he stood. "Ogrest! That was an order!"

"I no longer serve you, Averus." Ogrest stated. He stepped forward, his axe and shield already drawn and ready.

"What are you talking about, Ogrest? Would you betray me too?" Averus laughed, "So this is how it is. I'm to be killed by ungrateful traitors. Tell me, why now? What have I done to deserve this?"

"It's not personal, Averus. Your actions are out of control. If I don't kill you now, the horde will tear itself apart. I've spoken with Sylvannnas, and she's agreed to forgive the elves and Silvermoon if I put an end to Ferrum in Oblitus, but more specifically, you."

Averus laughed, his face and armor covered in blood. "So you will do the dirty work then, Ogrest?" His laughter quickly turned to anger, "You're an idiot! You've always been nothing but a dog!" He spit on the ground. "Come on then, do it! Finish me if you have the balls!"

"You're right, I've always followed orders without question. It was you who told me, 'if I ever put the guild in danger, you are to kill me.' So here I am, putting an end to your madness once and for all. Raise your sword, Averus. I don't intend to slaughter you like an animal. Fight me, and die with what little honor you have left!" Ogrest charged forward with a roar, and the two engaged in a deadly battle of mak'gora.

---

At the end of the battle, Averus fell to his knees. Before the final blow was struck, he spoke these final words:

"I never claimed to be an honorable man."

Ogrest appeared to nod, though it was barely noticeable. He walked forward coldly, axe raised.

---

Brill was on fire, and smoke rose to cloud the blue sky. Elf, forsaken, and scourge bodies littered the streets, but with the help of reinforcements from the undercity the scourge attack was halted. The remaining warriors from Ferrum in Oblitus continued to battle with the Forsaken, but without the reinforcements being blocked they were quickly being overwhelmed.

Suddenly, Ogrest appeared on the hill above the city and roared loudly.

"Elves and undead, stop your fighting! Averus is dead! The battle is over!" He lifted the severed head of Averus high in the air, and the battle slowly began to stop as everyone looked over to the bloody orc. A few anguished cries sounded off at the sight of Averus, his white droopy eyes covered in blood as more of it dripped out of his neck.

"I am the new leader of Ferrum in Oblitus, and I hereby disband the guild forever! By order of the Dark Lady, disperse now! Those of you who wish to follow me, do so as you please!"

As the sun reached it's peak in the sky, the extent of the bloodshed was clearly visible. Brill was destroyed, and it's streets littered with corpses. The battle was finally over, but nothing was gained for the horde besides despair. From the west more Scourge forces approached, and a new battle was about to begin. The Tirisfal glades would not recover from this atrocity for many generations to come.

THE END (???)

Author's Note

It may be difficult to understand without context. Averus was once the leader of Ferrum in Oblitus. Razala was swayed by Cayene to betray Averus and join the Scourge. Ogrest was a loyal warrior of Averus. After the betrayal, Averus lost all trust for undead and decided to attack Brill in retalliation, with the support of some magisters in Silvermoon. He was supported by Amulious in this decision, as Amulious had an intense hatred for undead since the beginning.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Reviews

[Bryad Polis Valentino]

I like this...is it weird I think your dialogue for characters is amazing? Very witcher like...are you a fan of the Polish Witcher Fantasy series?

[Sir Aphid]

Not weird at all. thank you. :D

I've heard of the witcher video game but never played it. Is there a written story that it's based off of?

[Bryad Polis Valentino]

Yeah, several. I speak English and Italian so you have to find a good translation. They're recounted by a bard, dialogue heavy, and a mature accurate fantasy tales. Very fun to and entertaining to read, like your works.

[Drsupp]

Can I get ur mail id? [email protected] is mine. Please ping me when you are free.