Ashes and Thorns {Short Story}

Post by Neonhyper

The loud crack of a snapping branch preceded the smashing of a lone kaldorei elf through a clump of thorny shrubs. He stumbled over the arching root of a nearby tree as he glanced over his shoulder with wide, fearful eyes, and hit the ground face first. His fingers dug into the leaf strewn soil as he attempted to pull himself to his feet. Blood poured down his body through the scratches and rips in the rags that remained of his clothing. One large gash had been purposely cut through the pinkish flesh of his cheek.

When he once again stood he made no attempt to check to see where he was going and simply started off at a run again. His purpose was simply to run. To run as far as possible away from where he had been earlier in the day. The perpetual twilight of the forest made it impossible to tell that the sun was at its peak in the sky, so how long he had been traveling was unknown to him. Every dancing shadow cast by the massive trunks of the trees caused him to jump and skid in another direction.

Any cover could contain his pursuer. The very thought of being caught again caused him to take quick, sharp paced breaths and his hands were overtaken by a silvery glow. A wraith-like shriek echoed out of him as he attempted to shake the luminance off his palms. Before he knew it, he was running in the wake of uncontrolled lashes of arcane energy that incinerated all the flora they happened to strike. Tears streamed down the elf's face, getting into wounds littering his skin, and causing him to emit more howls of agonizing pain.

He looked around wildly, digging his grimy nails into his temples as magic lashed right off of his form. Spikes of pain split through his forehead and unrelenting waves of fiery torture wracked at his body. A shadow danced around him at the corners of his vision, finally halting in front of his blurry gaze. The world focused in and out, becoming clear at one moment and then nothing more than a child's splattered painting the next.

The man straggled backward away from the looming figure that towered over him as he fell to the ground. Before him stood the heavily armored form of a Warden, the green velvet of her cloak parted enough that he could see the circular, jagged moon sword held in a tight grip. He ran a hand over the gash on his cheek, blood coating his fingertips as he tripped and landed on his back. In a desperate attempt to defend himself, a huge blast of arcane energy ripped through the air.

It was in vain, as where he had launched the attack no one stood. He twisted around and found that the Warden was now behind him, holding her weapon to the back of his neck. Moving caused the sharp points to prick more scarlet liquid from him and so he remained as still as he could be. His lower body rocked as he whispered madness, tendrils of energy still extinguishing the beautiful fauna around the two. The Warden glared and snarled, disgusted.

She bent down and clamped a clawed gauntlet around his neck. He struggled and gasped for air, but eventually fell limp in her grasp. The Warden waited until the arcane aura around him faded away before picking up the unconscious elf and throwing him over her shoulder. As the forest began to recuperate from the chaos that had disturbed its symphony, the Warden turned and headed back, deeper into the forest.

---

The entrance to the Barrow Dens was nestled in the crevices of a hill bordering a mountain. From far away, it would have been indistinguishable in the matted tangle of trees and brush that kept it hidden from view. However, the Warden knew the paths better than anyone. She pushed a clump of leaves out of the way and carried her quarry to the wooden and vine framed entrance. Two other Wardens guarded it, and then instantly dropped to a knee as she approached.

"Warden Ashthorn," they chorused.

With a simple nod, the head Warden continued on into the depths. A winding passage spiraled down and eventually leveled off into the cavernous prison that rested beneath the earth. The walls were packed soil, with roots weaving in and out of them, supported by rune inscribed stone arches that made sure the tunnels did not collapse. Beneath her feet the walkways were solid rock, causing her heavy footfalls to resound with a deep echo.

Pairs of Wardens bowed or knelt in respect of their superior as she walked across the stone walkways, delving deeper and deeper into the ground. Eventually she exited one hallway, framed by a glorious archway, that led into an enormous circular chamber. She glanced over the side of the bridge that connected to a circular platform. Two levels, including the bottom, below her. Above sat three more. As she stepped off into the center of the chamber, one of her women hastily approached.

"I will take the prisoner back to his cell, my Lady. It's been properly refurbished so that this does not happen again," the Warden explained.

"Good," she responded. "How are the injured?"

"They are being healed as we speak," came the response. Satisfied, the head Warden handed the prisoner over to the other. In a delirious fever the man whispered off strings of incomprehensible language as he was dragged off along one of the other walkways toward the outer ring of cells.

She was prepared to make her patrol when a high pitched exclamation froze her in her tracks, "Marivyne!"

The head Warden turned to look at the ramp which led to the level above the one she was on. Traversing towards her was another kaldorei woman, garbed in bright white gown that bared both her midriff and her upper arm. The mooncloth robe was decorated with silver embellishments along the collar, waist, wrists, and the hem of the skirt that also held small sapphires and diamonds. She was holding an ivory staff, upon which the top held a pointed aquamarine flanked by two pearl moons.

"Belrinda!" Marivyne replied, dropping her formality for a moment so that the two friends could share in a welcoming embrace. However, when it was finished, the Warden took a step back and carefully chose the wording for her question. "What brings you to my Dens?"

"It's that time again, Mari. The High Priestess wants an inspection of the status of all the Dens, the prisons and the druidic chambers alike," Belrinda replied. "I offered to come here."

"Of course you did," Marivyne sighed and glanced aside, removing her helmet and tucking it underneath her arm.

The Warden's green hair, darker than the hue of her cloak, had been pulled into a long sweeping ponytail that was held in place by a vertical tube of gold. Her brow creased together as her stern silver gaze traveled to each of the lesser Wardens under her command walking the bridges above and below. She was not by any means the most beautiful of the Children of the Stars, far from it, with imposing, sharp features of militant authority. The design of a winged bird had been tattooed over her eyes in the same grey pigment that decorated her lips.

"The numbers remain relatively the same. Two hundred and thirty two prisoners, spread across demons and other malevolent entities along with traitors to our own race, following the path of the Legion or in the footsteps of the foolish Highborne," Marivyne began to explain. "Security is the tightest that it has ever been. I personally just caught the only escapee in the last decade."

Belrinda appeared to be considering the information given to her, before nodding, "Impressive. What about your Wardens? Are they--"

The priestess was cut off from explaining when screaming from a higher level dragged both her and Marivyne's attention away from their conversation. Fast, echoing footsteps preceded the arrival of another Warden. The woman's armor was battered, burned, and her helmet had been crushed in, "My Lady, news from the surface, it's urgent--"

"DEMONS!" came another chorus of screams, followed by a howl that could only be described as a gurgling, blood crazed cry of battle.

"ACTIVATE THE WARDS! REINFORCE THE CELLS! THE PRISONERS MUST NOT GO FREE!" Marivyne shouted, before turning to Belrinda and putting her helmet back on. "If you will excuse me, good friend, but I have my life's work to save."

Without a response, the head Warden had drawn her moon sword and was sprinting off toward the higher levels of the Barrow Dens. Her women were working on activating the runed defenses that littered the hallways as scores of sickening, wretched demons began to flood the halls of the prison. Marivyne twisted her ringed weapon and sliced the head right of a succubus that thought it could ambush her from the shadows. She ignored the spurt of bloody ichor as she continued on.

On the top most level of cells the demons had already arrived. Waves of green fel flames had been left in their wake and still burned on the bodies of dead Wardens. A line of living Wardens met the encroaching enemy force and began to fight the overwhelming numbers. Marivyne took a step forward, her body melding with the air, before reappearing within enemy lines. Before the demons were aware of her in their midst, she had spun, the razor sharp fringe of her cloak slicing them apart.

In another instant she was gone. The felguards that had noticed her were now slashing their axes at each other, trying to hit that which was not longer there. Marivyne's moon sword cut down a pack of imps as they bounced and shot off firebolts, before turning to the earnest callings of the other Wardens. She watched, horrified, as a doomguard brought a sinister, flaming sword down and sliced one of her women in half.

The head Warden's momentary distraction was all a small felhunter needed to wrap its tentacles around her arms. Marivyne struggled against the demon's hold as it attempted to drain the life right out of her, tendrils of light green energy pouring down into its body. She sucked in sharp breaths as her world spun and began to fade away, until the felhunter let out a sickening squealch and limply released its hold on the Warden.

She looked over her shoulder to find Belrinda, one of the priestess's hands glowing in a soft white light, "We have to go, Mari! They're releasing the prisoners... slaughtering them if they're not fellow demons!" she exclaimed.

"No time to waste then," Marivyne said. She turned to the edge of the balcony she had been standing on, before grabbing the edge and throwing herself onto the level below with a crashing thud and the metallic cracking of her armor.

Belrinda was right behind her, floating down to the lower level by the grace of Elune, before taking off after Marivyne, the Warden already having run ahead. The pair skidded off onto the outer ring and separated in opposite directions. Marivyne stopped before a blockade where two blue skinned, silver plated felguards flanked a red succubus checking her nails.

"Ah... look who we have here. Warden Ashthorn," the succubus smiled cruelly. "The tides have turned, haven't they? I'll spare you being locked in a cell for eternity, instead you can DIE!"

The demoness licked her lips before leaping at Marivyne, cracking her whip. The kaldorei ducked down, sweeping her moon sword up in arc, catching the succubus on one of the jagged points and impaling through her poorly protected chest. Marivyne turned and slammed her opponent into a nearby wall, stabbing her through the head with a knife in her other hand. Both felguards took the moment to charge, but the Warden simply seemed to step through the air behind them.

She turned and threw the knife. A few seconds later it seemed to explode into multiple shards, which struck the demons. One was pierced through the head and collapsed to the ground, dead. The other began to bleed furiously, but limped toward the Warden, who finished him off by striking forward with her clawed gauntlet and ripping out its throat. Covered in demon blood, which hissed and steamed on her armor, she continued through the rows of cells.

Stone doors that had kept the inmates in had apparently not been fitted to keep demon armies out. The rubble littered the circular hall and Marivyne checked in each room, where there was either a heavily burned and disfigured corpse or nothing at all. She swore and ran back out into the center of the chamber while her cloak trailed behind her. Fel flames licked at the roots in the walls, casting disturbing shadows and bathing the Barrow Dens in a bitter green light.

Marivyne screamed in rage and clawed the head right off a shivarra that was attempted to take her from behind. She jumped down from level to level until she was at the bottom floor, swallowing harshly at the sight of the maimed and lacerated corpses of her sisters. Her moon sword was drenched in the blood of demons and was sated once more when she rent through the flesh of a doomguard. She frozen, however, at the sound of a high-pitched scream she knew all too well.

She took off running, slaughtering any demon that got close enough to her. She reached the other side of the chamber and let out a sharp gasp. Nailed to the floor, through the chest, by a pike forged from fel iron was Belrinda. Marivyne rushed to her friend's side, grabbing the priestess's hand in her own. Belrinda looked over at the Warden, a trickle of blood coming out of the side of her mouth.

"Mari..." the priestess coughed out more blood, splattering it all over her already scarlet stained garb. "... It's all over for us. I'm sorry, Mari, I'm sorry."

"Belrinda! My dear friend, Belrinda!" Marivyne cried. Yet the priestess tightened her grip around the Warden's hand for a moment, smiling weakly, before falling limp.

The head Warden got to her feet and shook in anger. Every piece of sadness for the loss of her friend was twisted into hate and rage. A pack of felhunters mingling with a group of imps were slashed to pieces by a fan of knives and lay resting in a pool of their own blood. Marivyne ran up the ramp that led to the second level of the Dens, where she cracked the skull in of another felguard and slaughtered a third succubus.

Yet her killing spree was halted when the entire cavern went pitch black for a brief moment. The sound of screeching bats came before the green of the demons' fire lit up once again in the darkness, revealing the leering face of a demon who's massive head loomed above her. Marivyne looked over the edge of the central platform, seeing that the demon's hooves rested upon the ground and that his form was as massive as half the cavern.

Post by Neonhyper

He was clad in plate armor inscribed with the burning language of his kind and two leathery, black wings extended around the platform after he crushed the bridges with little more than a swipe. Obsidian horns curled up from his forehead and two gleaming ivory fangs rested against lips curled into a menacing smirk. The dreadlord folded his arms against his chest and looked down at the head Warden.

"I am the Nathrezim Vah'shan, Warden," the demon boomed, even though he was talking no louder than a gentleman's tone. "I would like to greet the leader of this resistance formally... your pathetic force put up a worthy fight, for all it is worth. However, your sisters lay on the ground dead, your charges are slaughtered or back in the place they should be under the Legion. And what of you? Will you lay down and die...?"

Marivyne snarled and drew her moon sword, "My blade is covered in the blood of your kind. If I lay down and die I forfeit everything that I have sworn my life to. No, dreadlord," she spat, "I will NOT simply lay down and die for you, and I'm sure you were expecting no other response."

"Then..."

Vah'shan laughed, a cold, deep cackle. From the darkness swarmed a host of lesser demons, giggling imps, succubi, snarling felhunters, and massive felguards. Marivyne twisted on her heel, crouching down before the swarm as the dreadlord finished, "... you have sealed your fate."

In an instant they were upon her and yet at the same time she was upon them. The Warden crashed her hand into the ground, darkness rippling at the edges of her palm before a great shadow appeared above her. Marivyne phased out behind the army of demons as the spectral creature spread massive wings and destroyed the aberrations around it with nothing more than a whip of blackened smoke. She smiled beneath her helmet at the slaughter.

Yet the grin faded when she felt a choking embrace around her neck and a hiss in her ear, "Vengeance... it will not be enough to save you now, Warden."

Marivyne struggled against the grip of the Nathrezim's finger. Vah'shan moistened his lips in expectant delight as dug a claw into the Warden's back. She screamed in anguish as a sudden pain wracked against her body, and again, and again. The pull of her life was delicately and meticulously pried away from her, sucked by the vampiric nature of the demon.

Around her, the world began to spin and her head felt light and her body like lead. Her screams died out to nothing more than rasps as she found that she could no longer breathe. Lifting her head to perhaps gain a glimpse of the surface in her last moments, she found nothing more than an earthen dome atop the Barrow Dens. Her whole body shuddered as she was lifted to eye level with Vah'shan.

"Where is your goddess now, Warden?"

When Marivyne closed her eyes, she swore she could see the moonlight.

Post by Behelich

Good, good, so damn good I almost restrain from ranting.

Almost.

WHERE IS NEVERMORE?

Post by Neonhyper

Good, good, so damn good I almost restrain from ranting.

Almost.

WHERE IS NEVERMORE?

It's hiding. In the closet. Of things that I said I was going to write that I probably won't.

NOTES

- This is the story of a woman by the name of Marivyne, who is my new death knight, and by no means a conventional Scourged death knight either. This actually just provides a little background on how she died.

- By the looks of things I'm just going to be writing lights of short stories. Works for me.

- I want a hula hoop. Badly. >:| Wardens = Epic

Post by 576272

This post was from a user who has deleted their account.

Post by Patty

I loved it.

- I want a hula hoop. Badly. >:| Wardens = Epic

Yes, but I also want glaives like the sentinels in Feralas. :| Also epic.

Post by 283869

This post was from a user who has deleted their account.

Post by Aimsyr

With all the good fanfics around my awesomesauce-counter has broken due to high exposure to fanfics such as these and it was simply unable to cope with the levels of awesome-sauce on this page. I suggest we close down this page before the awesomeness spills out, we already have other fanfics that have done likewise and I fear the entire board may overload with awesomeness resulting in the production of further fanfics and the destabilization of the entire forum.

Oh wait that's a good thing right? Okay nevermind then.

Anyhow, I am desperately awaiting another short story perhaps set later on with Marivyne being turned a death knight already, along with her friends and colleagues if they too are turned. I will wait forever for that to happen if I have to, but just so you know Hyper, if you ever plan on writing more about this death knight of yours you have my full attention *hint hint nudge nudge*. Providing that it is as awesome as this story, that is.

If you have no plans of doing so, then that is fine by me I do not want to pressure you into anything. It won't stop me enjoying any further fanfics by you that is for sure though :D

Ashes and Thorns {Short Story}

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