A Secret Meeting
A cold wind blew across the frozen waste that was Icecrown. It had been two years since the fall of the Lich King, and the birth of the new one to replace him. We had been there, a bond forged in blood and tears. The Cataclysm that threatened to destroy our world had been averted, Deathwing slain. It was time to rebuild. Our people had suffered greatly in the last twenty years, but with the latest threat averted, it was time to focus on those of our people who were not warriors. Those who made up the bulk of our nation, the very reason we fought. So why was it, my sister had summoned me here for a secret meeting? What could possibly be important out here?
As I walked along the rampart, I pulled the great-cloak around myself, my armor was good, but offered little comfort against the cold. At least the cloak had a warm fur lining. Memories flooded back to me, of the fierce fighting here, the charge through the citadel to confront the Lich King himself. Eleckra had led us through thick and thin, a fierce determination she had honed through our childhood that had been tempered by her joining the clergy. She had learned kindness and a gentle manner which hid the steel within rather well. I had merely been the blunt instrument, the defender of our corps, myself and the Forsaken warlord, Tunarath. I could hear the din of battle in my mind, the stench of death and the cries of the dying.
"So our mysterious sister called you here to freeze too, did she?" the voice called me back from my memories. Looking up, I saw Asterope, my younger sister walking my way. A chill that had nothing to do with the cold in the air ran down my spine. As many times as I saw her, the coldness of her eyes and the paleness of her skin never ceased to elicit a reaction in me. She had been like me, a Blood Knight, a paladin of our people. Yet during the fight against the Scourge she had fallen in combat, and had been raised as a warrior of the Scourge. Yet she had broken free of the control of the Scourge, and joined the Knights of the Ebon Blade, a death knight. As if reading my mind, she smiled warmly, though the smile never quite touched her eyes, yet her normal arrogant swagger was missing from her voice as she spoke with a gentleness I had not heard from her in many years, "I am sorry, I should wear more clothing to make you feel less awkward. I need to remember how much what happened to me disturbs you, Alcy."
My face flushed, not at the chiding but at the name she chose to use. I had not gone by that name in a long time, and nobody called me by it, except her. "Regula," I said quietly, "I go by that name now. Regs for short if you wish. I gave up my name when you changed yours, to show solidarity with my sister. And yes, Eleckra summoned me as well. I was not aware she had sent for you as well. It must truly be a dire situation that she called us both here. Any ideas?"
Asterope, no.... Sterope she called herself now, shook her head slowly. "No, though I suspect I can guess. I suspect it has something to do with the Warchief. Rumor from my order is that they found something out there, something new to conquer. You know how he is."
I certainly knew how he was. He took the war in warchief seriously: kill or be killed. That there were those in the Horde that questioned his decisions with an alarming regularity seemed to bother him not at all. "Perhaps," I answered, sighing slightly, "I guess it was too much to expect for him to want to build on that uneasy peace between the Horde and the Alliance that came out of Deathwing's rampage."
"There you two are," Eleckra's voice cut through the icy wind despite the softness of her tone. Wrapped in her white gown and feathery cloak she reminded me of an angelic figure. Her reddish hair peeked out from her deep cowl belying the impish youth I remembered from a happier time. "I thought I would have to send the Kor'kron Guard after you."
Sterope was first to reply, "If that had been an option, we would not be here in this frozen wasteland watching our sister rattle in her armor from frost." Sardonic as usual, her wit cut harder than the wind. I was not rattling.... shivering perhaps, but only a little.. Yes, a very little.
Eleckra smirked, "Yes, you are correct. Let's get out of the wind, you silly warriors. A few days away from one another an you forget how to keep warm? Or did you find a new blue shade of lip gloss, Regs?"
Frowning, slightly, I shook my head. The idea of heat appealed to me, yet I didn't wish to seem too eager. A paladin was above such things, weren't we? "So what is so important, sister?:" I asked in my most officious tone. It worked in battle, of course the three of us had known one another all our lives. Striding purposefully, I closed the distance to the entrance to the Citadel, while it wasn't much warmer inside as I remembered, at least there was no wind. The three of us entered into the great entry chamber. Once, what felt like a lifetime ago, soldiers of the Ashen Verdict stood here, making a base camp for us to assault the chambers above. Everything was gone now, just the ice covered walls and floor remained. A monument stood, honoring all those who had fallen here, I didn't want to look at it, too many names I knew there I suspected. Not right now, at least.
Eleckra stopped at the monument, and her fingers traced along the top. Speaking a soft prayer, she smiled a sad little smile as she read some of the names. "Many friends lay near here, lost in that war. House Ath'las was well represented that campaign, all four of us were here," her voice was barely a whisper now that we were out of the wind. The emotion was thick in her tone, she was remembering as I had earlier. "They say Pleione will recover from the wounds encountered against Deathwing. But for now, she is out of commission. So this time, we will only be three. I chose this place for our meeting symbolically. It was the last time things were clear cut for us, the last place we knew who the enemy was. The end of the old Horde as we knew it."
Pausing, she looked at us both. The softness in her manner was gone. The steel so few knew of had returned, forged in this frigid place years ago. Clenching a fist, she turned to first Sterope and then me as she spoke, " And I believe the spirits of our fallen friends are here as well, and I wished to include them in our meeting in a way, for it is partly in their honor that I called you here. It is time to discuss what needs to be done to save our people, our nation, and our Horde." The next words from her mouth hit me harder than any blow I had taken in combat, "Are you prepared to commit Treason?"
