The Awakening

Author: Kayaara

There was no feeling at all. No sadness, happiness, anger. The part of her once full of rage, of despair and violence was now more of an empty husk. The need to kill, to inflict pain still ran through her body – that she was definitely sure of – yet without the will of the Lich King to sway her thoughts, they lessened, now a whisper in the back of her head rather than a pounding migraine stomping through her mind. She was dumped in the middle of the frozen lands of Icecrown, with herself as her only company.

Her last memories were of the Citadel – the Lich King’s Citadel – stormed by the heroes of Azeroth. Did she ever remember any of them from her past life? It was painful even trying to remember a life where she wasn’t slowly decaying; where she wasn’t a killing machine. She was lying down on the cold earth, arms outstretched and twin axes just out of reach. If she stretched just a little bit, she could grab them-

Footsteps sounded around the Death Knight, quiet but she heard them in the near silence anyway. They came closer towards her, until she could make out armoured legs in front of her, beside her axes where they stopped. She looked up at the figure from where she lay, not making any effort to sit up or fight back if they were dangerous. She was too weak to fight back anyway.

The blue, frosty eyes were the first things she noticed underneath the figure’s helmet. They stood out against the dark shades of their armour (which she could easily tell even from her state were the ones of a Death Knight). And to her surprise, the figure held out a gauntleted hand to her. Warily, the human reached out and with ease the other pulled her up. She was dizzy standing up, so much so she almost fell on the unfamiliar character, but they managed to keep her steady with one hand still holding hers and the other holding onto the underside of her arm.

Once she felt she could stand properly, the other Death Knight then picked up her weapons and handed them to her, which she accepted. She was still unsure of this figure – if they were friendly or not – but figured they were friendly. She sheathed her weapons by her waist. Now fully aware of her surroundings, she confirmed that the figure was in fact that of a male. An elven male at that. But he was also definitely a Death Knight, which put her at ease.

“I didn’t know there was anyone else here still.” He had a gruff voice, clearly affected by his transition from a bright, breathing, living elf to a dead one.

Her voice was no different. Gravelly. She coughed before speaking: “Why are you helping?”

He removed his helm, revealing a mess of dark blue hair matted in some places but overall as well kept as anyone could have had it given the situation. She couldn’t imagine her hair was any different. His cheeks were hollowed, skin very pale, almost no colour visible which made his blue eyes even more noticeable in contrast.

“Do you want my help?” Without even waiting for an answer, he gripped onto her arm with little aggression to it and pulled her along with him, walking just behind him. “Crystalsong Forest is not far. We’re going there first.”

A million questions ran through the human’s mind: who was this guy? Did she know him when she was alive? Did she know him under the enslavement of the Lich King? Why did he want her to come with him? She decided to start with the most important. “What happened?”

He didn’t stop, only slowed down slightly which gave the human a chance to speed up to walk beside the elf. He didn’t meet her eyes, staring only at the ground in front of him or the open air. He sighed heavily. “The former Lich King was killed. A new one has taken his place. His army is dispersing – those of us with thoughts at least. We’re in control again.” He spoke in quick, simple sentences but they held enough for her to understand.

“He really is dead…” She managed a small smile – was she happy about it? She wasn’t sure; she felt more conflicted than anything. What he did to her before stopped her from feeling much of anything besides anger and a sick feeling of satisfaction after murdering. Oh god. She really did murder innocent civilians! Shaking her head quickly (there was no need for her to linger on those thoughts anymore) she tugged her arm out from the Elves’ grasp. “I don’t remember it. After I saw an army of… Of Alliance and Horde storming towards the Citadel, I think I blacked out after that point.”

“A lot of us did.” He informed. The way he said ‘us’ – there were more of him. More of her. She wondered where they were now, and it seemed as though the elf read her mind. “The others, the ones who were freed from his control, are either still fighting off the Scourge or have found safety elsewhere. A lot were murdered still; you and I are pretty lucky.” Though his words were thoughtful, his voice said otherwise. He spoke in a flat, monotonous tone. The two fell into silence after this, the only sound being the very distant noise of battle and their plate boots clanking against the rocky floor.