Cambrian
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A Savage Nature Ch. 23 (Warcraft Insert)
🕑 Added 2023-05-10 22:00:02 +0000 UTCA/N: Tyrande angy. Tyrande veerrrry angy.
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Hearing Illidan’s unvarnished opinion of their people hadn’t felt good, don’t get her wrong… but that didn’t make it any easier to see the Death Knight slay him mere moments later. For a brief moment, Tyrande is ready to shut down again. She’d just lost her beloved. And now she’d gotten his brother killed as well. If she’d only been a little bit more open with Illidan, if she’d only tried to be more understanding… but no. It was too late. He was dead.
She felt broken. Empty inside. Even as the others raced forward to do battle with the Death Knight, this ‘Arthas’, Tyrande could only stare at Illidan’s body. His lifeless eyes still open and glassy, seemingly staring back at her, almost in accusation. She’d done this. She-
And then Arthas added insult to injury. The Death Knight, hounded and harassed by her companions, had used his necromantic magics to bring forth the dead from the ground, summoning up a small army to fight for him, to help him stave off his certain demise. Tyrande had flinched when Illidan had first twitched. A gasp had left her lips, as his corpse had risen from the ground.
Luckily, the Death Knight did not have time for anything too powerful. He had reaped Illidan’s soul and in raising him into undeath the quick and easy way, he had not brought Illidan’s body back as anything other than another mindless undead. If he’d had the time to summon Illidan as an intelligent servant, their ability to stop Arthas would have been significantly curtailed.
Not that they were all that much better off as it was. That sword that the Death Knight wielded was dangerous to say the least, and it was taking all of Cenarius’ concentration to protect Rognak from its soul-reaping effects. Meanwhile, Thrall and Jaina were busy dealing with the ghouls and zombies attempting to swarm them, holding them at bay through a combination of Lady Proudmoore’s ice magic and the Orc Warchief’s lightning.
Finally, there was Shandris. The Night Elf Sentinel, Tyrande’s adoptive daughter, was loath to leave her side. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t firing arrow after arrow, providing support to both pairs as they fought their respective opponents.
All of this, Tyrande takes in with a detached air. The sounds of fighting and shouting barely reached her ears past the blood roaring in them, reduced to nothing but a dull murmur. Even Shandris right beside her goes unheard… at first. All she could do was stand there, swaying side to side. Until…
“PRIESTESS! Priestess, we need your aid!”
Shandris’ voice sounds desperate. Afraid. Scared. Tyrande finds herself tugged from the abyss she’s falling into, the ocean of despair she’s drowning in. Malfurion is gone. Illidan is gone. But Shandris is still here. And she’s in danger.
“… Mother! Please! I need you!”
And with that, Tyrande finds the strength to pull herself up. More than that, she finds the fury that her heartache had been holding at bay. This… creature was the root of all of her woes. This Death Knight had killed Illidan, but more than that… he represented the Scourge who took her mate from her. Malfurion’s death was on his hands just as much as his brother’s was.
And now this… Arthas thought to use Illidan’s body as a puppet?! The bow is in Tyrande’s hands before she can even think about it. The arrow of pure, blindingly radiant moonlight is drawn along it before she even truly breathes. She fires the first radiant arrow straight at Illidan’s reanimated, desecrated corpse, burning it to ash right there on the spot.
Then she fires the second at the Death Knight’s head, feeling nothing but a howling fury blazing away inside of her as he barely manages to catch it on his blade in time. The sword he wields is clearly an artifact of great and terrible power. Tyrande has never seen its like before, but just looking at it as the runes along its blade glows, she knows it to be an awful, vile thing of unimaginable corruption and evil.
She doesn’t care. In that moment, Tyrande feels the Might of Elune thrumming through her. Every fiber of her being feels at one with her Goddess. The Moon shines overhead, brighter than it’s ever been before, seemingly larger than it’s ever been before. Tyrande’s not sure how she knows that truth be told. She doesn’t look up to confirm it. She doesn’t take her eyes off of her prey for one single moment, even as the stars themselves fall all around her, slaying his undead servants one after another without fail.
Stalking forward, she lets out a snarl as she draws back her bowstring yet again, another blisteringly bright radiant arrow forming between her fingers.
“YOU! You took my beloved from me! You took his brother! My people suffer because of YOU!”
Arthas sneers and deflects her next shot as she fires. But it strains him to do so, forcing him off-balance as his powerful sword is swung to the side by the force of her arrow. The orc druid Rognak takes advantage of this to strike at the Death Knight’s unprotected side with his axe. Blessed by Cenarius himself, the powerful axe bites into the Death Knight’s chest plate, causing dark blood to ooze from the wound that it leaves there.
But the Death Knight is not killed by the blow, as Rognak is forced to pull away a moment later, Arthas recovering and swinging his sword dangerously close to Rognak’s chest in turn. Still… it’s an opening if Tyrande has ever seen one. Calling upon her Goddess, calling upon the Light of Elune, Tyrande howls as she fires arrow after arrow at the Death Knight.
When Arthas goes to block her this time… he finds roots wrap around his wrist and pull his sword arm back at the last second. Lord Cenarius’ druidic magics restrain one of the Death Knight’s arms, allowing for her arrows to find purchase in Arthas’ chest at long last. The radiance of the Moon Goddess punches into the wound that Rognak has managed to make, filling Arthas with the Light of Elune as he howls in anger.
For a moment, his eyes shine with Moonlight and his head tilts back… before snapping forward again, his standard icy blue glow reasserting itself. He makes eye contact with Tyrande then, sneering at her in defiance. She sees in his gaze… he recognizes that he’s not getting out of this alive.
“I don’t even know who you are, bitch. But I’m glad I hurt you. I’m glad I caused you pain!”
Tyrande’s eyes narrow at that, her next arrow already drawn and ready to fire. All the while, she’s been getting closer. Perhaps not the wisest of moves. Perhaps not even particularly advisable. She’s the one with the bow, he’s the one with the sword. By all rights, she should not be closing the distance between them. But she can’t help herself. Perhaps some part of her wants it. Wants to die.
Not the cognizant part, however. When Arthas suddenly breaks free of Cenarius’ binding, his dangerous, rune-covered sword swinging towards her and managing to cut the ‘head’ off of her latest arrow of radiance, Tyrande’s eyes widen in shock. The broken ‘arrow’ explodes a moment later, the contained light no longer contained. The blowback from her arrow of light being cut in half sends her falling back as Arthas surges forward, roaring in anger.
She’s barely able to get her bow up in time, before his runed blade cuts right through it. However, before he can cut through HER, her allies interpose themselves. Working together, Rognak and Thrall use axe and hammer to catch Arthas’ blade and force him back, their muscles bulging as they strain themselves to push the unnaturally strong human into a backwards stumble.
Before the Death Knight can fully right himself, ice coalesces around his ankles, locking his feet to the forest floor. More roots than before reach out from the root wall that blocked his initial escape, grabbing onto his arms, neck, and shoulders. Another roar of anger sounds from his lips, even as he swings his blade too and fro.
Tyrande stares for a moment, finally recognizing him for the psychotic, sick beast he is. He is a plague on this forest, an unstable and sickly thing. Mercy will only see him spread his disease to others around him… and so Tyrande stands, feeling a clarity of purpose fall over her. When an animal maddened by sickness and disease threatened the woods, you did not try to reason with it. You did not try to show it kindness. You put it down. For the safety of everyone else.
With her bow destroyed, there are no more radiant arrows. Instead, Tyrande reaches up with her bare hands, grasping at the Moon shining so brightly high overhead. She lets her eyes drift shut for a moment as she calls to her Goddess, the sounds of Arthas struggling to escape and the others struggling to contain him falling away. For a moment, it is just her and Elune and despite the absence of a Moonwell, the High Priestess of the Night Elf People has never felt closer to her Goddess.
In that instant, Tyrande knows that she and Elune are in complete agreement. The Death Knight must die. Here, now, before his madness and plague can harm anyone else.
Tyrande’s eyes snap open and she lets out a singular cry as she thrusts her hands forward. Through her, the Light of Elune shines brighter than it has EVER shone before. Power, raw yet somehow contained, courses through her veins and strikes Arthas in the chest, in that same spot where Rognak’s axe struck true and a dozen of her radiant arrows had stabbed him mere moments before.
The flow of power catches in that wound and spreads out through every fiber of Arthas’ body. Like before, his eyes begin to shine with moonlight… unlike before, there is no recovery this time. His sword shines with the same ice-cold blue that his eyes once shone with, but it’s no use. And as Tyrande burns the Death Knight from the inside out, a pillar of Moonlight strikes down from the sky above, falling upon Arthas and his sword.
Moonfire more powerful than Tyrande has ever wielded or seen wielded by any other hits the earth, making the ground itself shake beneath its feet and all of them set themselves in place to keep their footing. Tyrande screams and in that scream she lets out all of her pain, all of her suffering, all of her heartache.
When it’s done… she feels empty. Empty of Elune’s power, though she can tell she will recover that in time. But… also empty in a way she’s not so sure of. Her vengeance… her vengeance feels incomplete.
Meanwhile, the Death Knight lays dead. And his sword beside him, the dangerous thing covered in runes, lies shattered into a hundred different shards. For a moment, time itself seems to stand still… and then wisps of energy begin to pull off of the broken shards. Souls start to pour out of the sundered blade at an alarming rate, but while everyone else lets out exclamations of shock as they fly up into the sky, Tyrande… Tyrande finds herself freezing.
For in front of her, one soul in particular hovers. Despite just witnessing his death, Tyrande comes face to face with Illidan Stormrage once more. He appears to her as he once was before the War of the Ancients, before the Sundering, before ten thousand years of imprisonment. He appears before her young… and almost innocent in a way.
Tyrande chokes, tears welling up in her eyes as he gives her a soft smile.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
“No, Tyrande. You, of all people, do not get to apologize to me.”
She flinches at that, taking the worst from his words, but what he says next disabuses her of the notion that he blames her at all.
“My own actions led me here, to this fate. You were the only one who ever truly believed in me. For that, I loved you until the end… but I see now that we were never meant to be.”
Tyrande averts her gaze at that. There was a time when she’d wondered if they were meant for each other. When it was the three of them, before everything had happened. But in the end… in the end, Malfurion had been her choice. And she knew Illidan had never accepted that. Until now. Small mercies, that. Here she stood, her friend finally able to accept that they could not be together… only after he was dead. And his brother, her mate, soon to follow him.
“Tyrande…”
Looking up, Tyrande’s eyes widen as she realizes Illidan is being pulled away. Rather, his visage is slowly morphing into… into that of a wisp. The spirits of their people. Did that mean he would become one with the trees of their forests? Did that mean he would be allowed to join the other wisps, their dearly departed?
“Promise me one thing, Tyrande. Please…”
Tyrande’s breath hitches, but in the end it’s an easy promise to make.
“O-Of course. Anything…”
He’s dead. What could he possibly ask her that she would balk at, at this point?
Now fully a wisp, Illidan bobs up and down, a glowing ball of translucent light shimmering in front of her. But his voice is still his own. Clear, calm, and so very strong. Even though she can no longer see his face, she can still feel as though his eyes are boring into her own with that infamous intensity of his.
“Never stop fighting for what you believe in Tyrande. Never ever stop fighting.”
Tyrande opens her mouth to respond, though she doesn’t know what exactly she’s going to say. But it doesn’t matter because the wisp floats away a moment later, joining the rest of the flowing river of souls leaving the broken sword.
A moment later and it’s over. The outpouring of souls reaped by the dark and evil blade ends and the last of the runes on the destroyed sword fizzle and go dark, leaving it as just pieces of metal laying there on the forest floor.
Silence falls, only interspersed with the heavy breathing of everyone save for Lord Cenarius. The battle had not been an easy one. It had felt impossible at certain points. But they’d won it all the same. And while Tyrande still felt a little empty inside… Illidan’s last words slot into that emptiness, nevertheless, filling up a small portion of it as she stands there, staring down at the broken shards and the Death Knight’s still corpse with the rest of them.
Never ever stop fighting. Looking down at one of her hands, slowly curling it into a fist… Tyrande clenches her jaw.
That she could do. After all… their enemies were still numerous. The Legion and the Scourge were still out there and they needed to be stopped. Once and for all.
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A/N: So yeah, that happened. To be absolutely clear, this was more Elune killing Arthas and shattering Frostmourne using Tyrande as a conduit. This is not a feat Tyrande could have managed without the connection between her and Elune being blown wide open by very powerful emotions.
That said... what do you all think? Originally, when I was first writing this outline, I planned to have Arthas escape via Death Gate, maybe after losing an arm, so he could still be the Big Bad later on in the story.
But then I found out he doesn't HAVE Death Gate back in WC3. Or else he wouldn't have to spend 7 months getting back to EK from Kalimdor.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed and be sure to toss me a comment!
Comments
Arkhaan
This story rocks and I love how you write. Not a word of he following is negative to you in anyway at all. You rock. However I’m gonna be petty and grumble because it’s my favorite pastime. I have never liked tyrande. Never have never will. You write her better than most but even with blizzards characterization of her I don’t like her. She’s really really bad at being a leader and as person she’s generally kinda crap to those around her. Like I get that elves are arrogant and superior but good golly at least they get humbled when they screw up! She just doubles down all the time. I’m glad she’s actually somewhat vaguely competent in your version but I was reminded of my problems with her character with the scenes of her being broken down and listless, they were incredibly reminiscent of all the times she didn’t do anything to fix plot lines in the canon.
Mateo Valva
f
Nanaya7Nights
He isn't. But he is a plotter. So he will start manipulating either Sylvanas who he is connected to or Kael who should slowly be growing desperate to save his people. Once the events of the Frozen Throne begin, he will need a new host. If he dies without a successor we end up jump starting the events of Shadowlands.
Cambrian
Glad you enjoyed the twist! As for Sylvanas and her bonus chapter, probably not gonna retcon it no. Rognak wouldn't fuck her 'as is' though either, so she'd probably end up a Nature Undead or something wacky like that lol
Frostcore
Great chapter again! It's really refreshing that major characters actually die unlike most stories (and canon). Illidan can be remembered as a good guy by the night elves, which creates the question how the story will go aftet the Legion is defeated, considering that most of the plot of Frozen Throne happens due to Illidan. As for Arthas dying... I think that it was good, but I'd really like for it to be revealed that he was manipulated by Nerzhul and that his soul was the first one that Frostmourne consumed. But that is simply me still being salty because the train wreck that was the writing in shadow lands, especially the retcon that Arthas did everything out of his free will instead of being controlled by Nerzhul. Also for Sylvanas... if there will be a bonus chapter later on featuring her, could you retcon her to be still alive? After reading about the canon state of how the bodies of undead are, I can't see sylvanas smut in the same light again, at least the undead version.
Yulii Aladzhov
Welp. Had a reply and everything but I posted it wrong and Windows decided to prove how much of a piece of shit it is by not saving it to clipboard despite my deliberate use of the copy shortcut. In summary. Sylvanas showing up in eventual bonus content would be a nice perk but I am plenty happy with the story as is. Looking forward to seeing how Jaina and Tyrande (later on ofc) will get in on the fun side of things. As for Sylvanas and her situation - Blizz shat the bed with pretty much everything they had for her since Legion to the point I wish THEY hadn't had any ideas for her. Then again they've seem to have been making a concentrated effort to bury all of their female leads since pretty much Cata so no big shock there. At this point all three have had their credibility wrecked and Jaina's big hero moment at the Siege of Lorderon is just absolutely not enough to make up for everything they had her do between Cata and then. And neither is anything she's done since.
Zitronen tee
I have kinda lost track of warcraft lore by now, but didn't blizzard pull that cop out with Sylvanas' soul being "incomplete"? And after it was restored she got the big sad? Would be interesting if that bit of her soul was stored in Frostmourne and was restored early so she does not go full psycho bitch. Also, with Arthas biting it early, she doesn't have years worth of additional trauma courtesy of her time as an undead minion.
Cambrian
All I'll say is that the Frozen Throne Expansion is definitely going to look very different in this story fufufu
Cambrian
lmaaaaaao
Cambrian
I'll be honest, I've got no plans for Sylvanas in the main story. I might have her show up in bonus non-canon omakes for smutty fun though. Maybe have Rognak make her a Nature Undead lol
Cambrian
Nah, the canon timeline for EK is pretty much intact yeah. Which means everything in EK already happened before Kalimdor basically. The whole reason Arthas was even on Kalimdor for Rognak to be able to ambush and kill him was because Archimonde got summoned and cut the Lich King loose, leaving Arthas in a position to pull a big sneakaroo for his boss.
Darkanlan
That would be canon. My question was more if he was going to alter things at all. Which would make it more interesting. Say for instance Mannoroth was summoned earlier when they were heading towards the Elves. Or Dalaran got hit before they went to the Elves. Many small changes in what they do first could make a massive change.
Yulii Aladzhov
First of all the fact that both Illydan and Arthas dies due to their respective biggest flaw is just perfect. Even if you ignore that Illydan's secret war against the Legion is a blatant retcon and take is solid proof of his ability to plan he has always been show to give into impulse first and only then plan to get himself out of his own mess. As for Arthas, the guy was clearly overconfident to the point of arrogance long before the power boost of being a Death Knight. His biggest mistake is being here without any back-up but while trying to run would probably not have done him much good given the sheer amount of CC he was up against every choice he made just made it that much more likely he would die in this encounter. I'm seeing a lot of comments about Sylvanas and they all seem predicated on her behaving like her BFA/SL self. A retconed, OOC and all around idiotically written version of her mind you. I hope you have plans for her that are better than the shitshow Blizz came up with.
Nanaya7Nights
The time line is pretty clear: - Arthas leaves for Northrend - Jaina leaves for Kalimdor - Arthas becomes a Death Knight and brings about the Downfall of Lorderon - Arthas attacks the Elves and Kills Sylvanas - Arthas ressurects Kel'thuzad - Arthas attacks Dalaran - Kel'thuzad summons Mannoroth, Kazzak and Archimonde to Azeroth So Sylvanas is dead AND the Elves are f**ked. Not to mention that with Illidan dead and the High Elves' disdain for the Night Elven way of life the question arises as to what action s they may take out of desperation. Some of them might even submit to Banshee Queen/Lich Queen Sylvanas if she provides them with enough magic to survive.
Darkanlan
Timeline wise are you going with this is Arthas after he attacked the Elves or during their slaughter towards the Sunwell? I can't remember timewise if the stuff in Kalimdor was happening at the same time as the stuff in the Eastern Kingdoms. Could see him getting called over due to Rognak killing off the demon and Sylvanus never getting turned into an undead as he never reached the Elves to kill and raise them like in canon. Would make for an interesting twist if only a few of the human kingdoms died and the Elves weren't as badly crippled. Would change up the future of both the Alliance and the Horde. Especially with Arthas getting killed by the combined forces of Orcs, Humans and Elves.
Owl Face
Oh wow, so you weren't kidding when you said you'd do it again. Cambrian you're fucking fearless, bro.
Cormag81
This is a cool chapter but it does leave an interesting point for the future cause with Arthus dead before becoming the lich king who will nerzhul pick as his champion once he's out from under archimond's thumb will we be dealing with a true banshee queen in the future or will some other character rise to fill the role
Cormag81
I don't think at this point in the story Arthur had donned the helm mean he wasn't the lich king just the most powerful death knight nerzhul is still under archimonds thumb at thus point so can't be rebelling so openly as to empower a lich king.
Sam Kemp
This is huge. No Illidan and no Arthas. Major changes coming. Is there still going to be a Forsaken faction? Is Sylvanas even in a body again, or is she still a banshee?
Belly
These deaths out of nowhere, they're great btw since it's a refreshing change from other people's stories where they basically just follow canon til the end when even the main characters aren't that OP to stay alive. Wonder if the other death knights are going to be free from the lich kings influence now. (Sylvanas booty clap when?)
Cambrian
Not to worry, as I've said before, I plotted this entire story out all the way through the end of the Frozen Throne expansion. Of course, it should now be clear that this story's version of that will be very AU lol. You'll just have to wait and see what I have in store~
Nanaya7Nights
Interesting to see the plot derailed, but the issue remains that Nerzhul cannot be killed without someone else becoming the Lich King. Either Sylvanas or maybe Kael would have to take up the Helm. Or else, we end up with the Jailor plot taking place now. The heroes of Azeroth are not yet ready to face that.
Nanaya7Nights
Unless she becomes OOC, she will likely be manipulated into taking up the helm. The question is whether Nerzhul will control the combined form or she will.
Nanaya7Nights
The problem is that given Sylvanas' nature, this would be the point where the Lich King could manipulate her by making Arthas' actions look like the fault of the Nethrazim and Arthas, thus manipulating her into taking the helm & becoming the Lich King.
Cambrian
Haha, I'm glad!
Cambrian
Glad to hear it!
RanmaChaos
Thanks for another fantastic chapter! I still don't know jack about Warcraft but I'm enjoying the ride.
Alith Anar
That was a great fight, I rather liked Tyrande’s thought process during the combat and she is going to have to work through her subconscious death wish sooner rather than later
Holt Hamrick
Keep it up just keep burning out the enemy. But what of Sylvanas
McGrundy
Who?
Cambrian
looooool
T4ndoris
first illidan and now arthas? Damn all the extension BBEG are falling down, next chapter : Deathwing sudden heart attack
Walkersebes
Should prolly rewatch the scarab series, damn thing's so funny and entertaining, it's a masterpiece
Cambrian
looool
me: why didn't the lich king try to help Arthas? Lich king sees Tyrande: I bet she gives GREAT helmet!
Cambrian
Oh nah, I was just making a joke there, not a reference xD
Walkersebes
The Tyrande angry veeeery angry spiel was a funny little snippet from his scarab Lord series, Anachronos part me thinks or Smith. By the way, greatest shit I've ever seen related to wow, you can enjoy it even more watching The Bald One reacting to it
Cambrian
Not intentionally but I do love me some Barny lol. Which was the reference? xD
Cambrian
Nah, Sylvanas has been dead for ages at this point lol.
Walkersebes
Is that a Barny64 reference I smell?
LordMarksman
Well, I'm glad Illidan passed on classy. At least he will basically be remembered fondly by Tyrande from now on unlike in canon. I kind of wish he had a more epic death than that though. As for Arthas death, well with that line up unless he could somehow teleport away he isn't escaping so his dying makes sense. I guess by this actions Sylvanna stays alive (I think) admittedly part of me wonders if Rognak would get lucky with her too :) Also Shandris getting jealous even though she is one who told Rognak they are just friends with benefits.
Cambrian
Thanks!
Cambrian
Yeah Arthas is not the Lich King yet, and yes the Lich King still exists as a separate entity. Though with Arthas' death and Frostmourne's destruction, Ner'zhul ain't doing too hot now, that's for sure
Arkay
Super good!!!!!!!!!
Grafian
Great chapter! Personally I think you did Arthas reasonably well. Though I did think Arthas =/= the Lich King. Wasn't his own soul the first taken by Frostmourne, after which his corpse was puppetted by a new entity, the Lich King? I might be misremembering of course, but that's how it got stuck in my head lol. Also, very curious about what's going on with the rest of the Scourge right about now? Is this an early start for the Forsaken? At least there's a good chance our boi unknowingly charms his way into Sylvanas' pants. They really did her dirty in WoW :/
Cambrian
Truuuuue
TheSinful
If Arthas was still a pally, he could've bubble-hearthed out. That's what he gets for class changin
Cambrian
I feel like I did him justice in terms of how dangerous he was, but faced up against that much firepower, he wasn't going to survive lol
Cambrian
haha right
Cambrian
big swings up in this joint lmao
Alex McGregor
Well... there are going to be many tantrums thrown over Arthas getting killed like that lol
Jake Griffith
I always love the little tidbits of lore writers find, trying to make the plot coherent. Makes me appreciate how expansive the LORE is. (:
Dracontorrin
O gods above - I am close to bringing pitchfork and yesterday I put it into shed. Okay when I was suspecting you killing Illidan but you killing Arthas just after that o.O - was thinking along the lines of fight and him running away wonded or with broken Frostmourne or something not just killing him :D still love the bold choices
