A quick sketch of how Arthas and Anduin looked like before everything went to shit ^^^
"Aidan?" Obi Wan pressed the communication button for the millionth time in the past hour, his eyes trained on the stars as they darted past his vision. The ship was roaring beneath him as they travelled at light speed, but still not as fast as the jedi would've liked. He needed to be faster. "Your majesty, can you hear me? Please respond."
When only static followed the jedi master cursed under his breath, looking at the calculator to see another 2 hours remaining. His grip tightened around his steering wheel as his mind raced. He knew that he could trust Lyanna to stay alive long enough for him to reach her, but he was afraid of what she would've accomplished when he did. He was afraid that he'd blinded her in the exact way he and the jedi council had been blinded.
He was afraid that because of him, she'd try to remove the curse keeping her with him. "This is master Obi Wan Kenobi." When the nerves became too much to bear, he continued his attempts. "I have an urgent message for the king of Valeria, please respond."
He waited anxiously, straining to hear anything over the static that ensued. As the moment passed, he groaned in frustration and plumped back against the pilot's seat, only to have another curse escape his lips. His hand ventured to below his left ribcage, pressing against the bandages wrapped around his torso. The wound throbbed violently against the palm of his hand.
"Blast it." Obi Wan mumbled quietly, pressing his eyes closed in pain. The med stimulants had helped, surely, but the pain was still almost unbearable. What use was he, a wounded jedi, against a sith and his mandalorian army when he couldn't reach the Valerian king? What would he be able to do on his own?
Not much, the jedi decided, as his gaze ventured to the stars passing by. Not enough. "This is Master Obi Wan Kenobi speaking." He tried again and again. "A sith has invaded your planet, and your queen is in mortal danger, please respond."
~
"What is this place?" Maul's voice echoed through the halls, the timbre undertones deep enough to make me shiver. He walked right next to me, his red lightsaber illuminating the otherwise pitch-black passage. There were 2 mandalorian soldiers before us, their weapons raised and their flashlights following their aim. Behind us 8 more watched our back, some of their weapons pointed straight at me.
We were walking through the passage leading to the great hall, one that had large columns on either side of the 7-foot-wide passage. The ceiling reached the double of my height and ended in curved arcs. As was custom in Valeria, the walls were covered with paintings telling legendary stories of our ancestors, only these were focussed entirely on the Blackwings. My eyes followed the depictions, the red paint that overpowered most of the images, not one without any trace of violence or murder.
"Before my father reunited the 4 founding families, -" I spoke as a diversion as my eyes scanned the area for any opportunity to escape and made a mental map of the layout of the structure. Simultaneously I memorized each individual rhythm of their steps, the way they scanned their surroundings and where their blind spots probably were.
"- they all ruled individually over their own lands. This was the Blackwing's base of operations. Their war room." The passage led further into the dark until it debouched into a great hall. As we arrived, my voice soon echoed loudly through it. "Since war was something they always engaged in, -"
At the end of it a single throne stood, much like the one back in Eagle's Fall but without any of the grandiosity, without the golden decorations, the grand wings attached to the seat itself and the silken tapestries behind it. No, this one was simple, made out of black dragonstone that glinted in the light. Behind it there stood a large statue, a great black wolf staring down at us from his perch.
"- this was their home." I concluded, hearing my voice echo through the empty, abandoned hall. Before my father, the Blackwings were the most powerful family, notorious for their vicious battle tactics and their determination to get whatever they wanted. Theirs were the strongest warriors of the planet, the most reckless. They didn't bother with niceties, empathy or hope as my father did.
"Now, it's a tomb." I muttered more quietly as they fanned out, examining every nook and cranny of the huge chamber. Still, I discovered as I glanced backwards, 4 men remained behind me, watching me like hawks.
The throne room held multiple entrances to different passages, all mouthing out in different hallways that led deeper into the mountain. We stood in the midst of it so that every single passage was within our sight. I had no idea where they all led, for this structure was the best kept secret in Valeria history.
My eyes ventured back towards the hall itself. Several long tables still stood there that were shoved to the sides, broken benches next to them or thrown over. Several mugs covered with dust littered the floor, pools of dried liquid which could be both wine and blood staining the surface red. If it were the latter, the bodies of the victims were nowhere in sight.
I tried to take a step forward but Maul's hand quickly shot towards me and wrapped around my wrist. "Stay." He snarled; his grip so tight it became painful. "You're still my prisoner, doctor."
"Get your hands off me." I bit right back, pulling on my arm, redirecting my attention back towards him.
"Where is the Aether?" Maul ignored me and only further tightened his grip while his other hand motioned towards the other passages impatiently.
I despised the fact that I was this powerless against him, that I couldn't even tear myself out of his grasp while I had been able to blow apart a whole building with him in it mere hours before. "I don't know, Maul, it's not like I've been here before." I hissed, trying to summon any flicker of power from the sea of poison that was running through me. Desperation was starting to rise and I hated it. "I know as much as you do. Now, Let. Go."
He considered me for a moment and only then did I realise the words that had slipped out of my mouth. My eyes had widened even before he spoke. "Then I'll have no further use of you." What he did next was something I hadn't expected this quickly. It was like something snapped within him, the final piece of his patience. His free hand shot towards me and wrapped around my neck, lifting me up with ease.
There wasn't even a possibility for me to dodge the attack. "No, Maul!" I protested before his fingers clenched around my throat, shutting off part of my airway. My fingers darted towards his, trying to pry them off.
"What part do you think Kenobi likes most?" His lips pulled into a grin, showing his black teeth. The other Mandalorians turned away from investigating the halls and instead turned their attention to us, some snickering in amusement.
"Your fair skin?" He ignited his saber and brought it to me, the flickering almost searing me. "Your hands, your long legs?" His grip around my neck tightened, making me gasp for breath. My feet kicked the air uselessly as I cursed inside my head, searching and searching for that long-lost spark of fire but finding nothing but endless waters.
"Maul." I pulled at his hands to no avail and then started to pound on the muscles of his arms. They were rock hard beneath me, not budging even an inch.
"Or perhaps your pretty mouth." Maul's smirk widened. "I should send you back in pieces, see what part he prefers.'
"We had... a deal." My limbs weakened but still I tried to keep up the fight.
"I said I'd let Kenobi go, -" The smirk turned into a wicked grin. "- I never said anything about sparing you."
My vision became blurry and my head foggy at the loss of oxygen. I was losing consciousness, fast. "Arthas."
Obi Wan's face flickered before my vision. I was sure he was already headed this way, with or without help. It didn't matter, because I knew I only needed him, and for that I needed more time.
"You won't find it without me." I managed to croak out, looking down at the sith. Maul cocked his head to the side, assessing, clearly not convinced. "You may need to... open another... door." I was barely holding on, fighting to stay awake, to ignore that what was pulling on my limbs.
Maul only snickered in response. "Goodbye, doctor." His grip tightened to the point that no air could get past it. "I'll make sure Kenobi remembers you."
I gagged against the strain, eyes feeling like they were bulging out of my skull. "Arthas, please." My senses were falling away, my vision covered entirely in black spots and my limbs tingling. There was a loud ringing in my ears that blocked out every other noise. Then, there was a sensation that I was falling without end, the world tumbling around me.
When the surface of whatever pit I was falling into neared, it disappeared just as fast. Something grabbed me from behind and pulled me from the darkness, yanking me up with such a force that my stomach flipped. It was when I came back to that I realised Maul had released me.
I fell to the floor in a hopeless mess, hands placed against the hard stone as I coughed loudly and dragged in a few much-needed breaths. My eyesight slowly returned, the black spots evaporating as more and more breath filled my lungs. My eyes stung and tears streaked down my face as my chest heaved, fighting to regain the oxygen it so desperately needed.
"Are you done?" I croaked out and looked up, only to find his attention placed elsewhere. Maul's entire body seemed on edge. What? As I examined the others, they too were focussed on a single passage to the west, all their weapons pointed in that direction.
"What was that?" One of them asked as they inched closer to the entrance.
"What was what?" I mumbled under my breath, trying to get back up on my feet. Blinking away the tears I tried to recover from my tumble into what could've been my own death.
Then, suddenly, I heard something. A high, faint ringing. A calling, it seemed. I looked up and followed the sound, spotting a green little orb behind one of the Mandalorians. It flickered there, darting around like a blurry firefly, until it flew into one of the passages, taking the sound with it.
My eyes darted to the others, trying to make out if they too had heard the same, but no one else had seemed to notice it. My eyebrows furrowed, heart pounding, until I felt something tugging at my arms. A faint touch, barely just a whisper but it was there, pulling me in the same direction it disappeared to.
It was when it flew back around the corner and flickered again that I recognized it. "What?" I lifted myself back onto my feet, limbs trembling as they recovered. There was a hint of a distant memory of the same green light illuminating the way, one that I could barely grasp onto.
A bone chilling howl ripped me from that trance, making me glance towards the entrance on the opposite side of the hall. All the other men shuffled on their feet uneasily and raised their weapons further.
"Saxon." Maul growled, warning the commander as he too inched closer towards the passage. No one dared make a sound, afraid that whatever prowled these halls would find us.
The hairs rose on my skin. I followed their movements until I felt the same insistent tug on my fingers. With a huff I turned around, only to see the green orb darting from left to right, as if impatient.
It's showing me the way. With another glance to the others, I inched in the opposite direction, deciding it was best not to find out whatever creature had made that sound. First it were but small careful steps, but when none noticed me they became bigger until I was almost running.
One of the four that had been guarding me perked up from his own examination. "The queen!" The words made a tremor go through my body. Soon all their weapons were trained on me and their yelling filling the chamber.
Within a second a blaster shot grazed my cheek, leaving behind a bloody streak and pounding skin.
"Bloody hell, -" I cursed as they send stun shots after me, almost tripping over my own feet as I attempted to dodge them.
"Don't kill her." Maul hissed. "She's mine." My feet quickened into a full-on run until I was darting through the halls.
Another deep, low growl rumbled through the halls followed by a loud yelp, making my pursuers halt in their tracks. A loud, anguished yell sounded, accompanied by the clashing of armor against something hard, something sharp. Barks that almost sounded ghostly echoed through the halls, mingling with the furious and surprised shouts of the mandalorians.
Suddenly, no other shots were shot my way, but I did hear them. I dared a glance over my shoulder as I ran. By the gods, those are... Huge, black figures that had shadows flowing from their limbs jumped out of the passage and attacked the mandalorian soldiers. Teeth flashing, claws protruding they lashed out and tore through their armor without breaking a sweat. Their red eyes illuminated their sight, their huge paws almost as big as our heads.
They fought ferociously, their unearthly howls soon filling the entire room as more and more arrived. They pounced at whoever was nearest. "Hellhounds." I concluded as fear blossomed. I have to get out of here. They already crowded the room, outnumbering us 3 to 1.
"DOCTOR!" Maul bellowed, throwing a now deceased hellhound off of him and to the floor. His eyes flared even in the dark, his red lightsaber raised as he sprinted after me.
"Oh dear." My legs quickly resumed their pace, pounding against the floor.
As I entered the passage I swiftly searched for a way to close it, halting in my tracks as my eyes explored my surroundings. There was a large, round flat piece of stone meant for blocking the door in case of invasion.
My hands grasped around its edges, pulling against it. "Come on, come on!" My heart raced and pounded, seeing Maul's malicious growl nearing. I put all my effort into pulling, until the stone slab suddenly fell down right in front of me and blocked the sight of the advancing sith and the hellhounds devouring the others.
"Yay!" I chirped softly, grin following, until a faint sound behind me made me turn around swiftly, hand grasping for a sword that wasn't there. There, in the distance, the same green light flickered, beckoning me closer. Please don't be a murderous ghost. My feet soon carried me in its direction, the sound of Maul's lightsaber stabbing through the stone not even causing a hitch in my pace.
That light felt familiar. Like a distant memory of a warm childhood, a safe space. It calmed my raging heart and made me feel strangely protected, as if it had wrapped warm arms around me that could shield me against any danger.
"Where are you leading me?" I mumbled as I followed it through the dark halls, past numerous turns and doors. Dust covered the abandoned hallway and made its way into my nose. I could only hope that there were no hellhounds on this side of the caves, for I had no way to defend myself against their attacks. Something made me think that light couldn't fight, either.
The green light disappeared behind a corner at the end of the hall, leaving me in complete darkness. "Hey, wait!" I yelled, quickening my pace, darting towards the only stretch of green light at the end.
When I rounded the corner, there was another large cavern that stretched out in the darkness. I couldn't even see its walls on either side of me, didn't see the end of it. I only saw that light in the distance, now but a small speck of green in the sea of darkness. A cold draft wove through my hair, smelling even worse than all the other halls combined.
"This is not creepy at all." I breathed out an anxious breath as I slowed my steps, cautiously making my way through the darkness after having collected all the courage I had left within me. Whatever I was walking into, I had a feeling it wouldn't be good. Flicking my fingers, there was still no spark coming from me no matter how hard I tried to reach into the pool within me.
My footsteps echoed through the hall loudly, no other sound accompanying it. There was no doubt on my mind that Maul was still in pursuit, maybe having just finished cutting through the obstacle and now searching the endless halls for me. If luck was on my side, the hellhounds would slow him enough for me to find the Aether first.
After what felt like long minutes but could've been less, something arose in the distance from out of the fog. A large gate, much like the one back in the north, appeared. It was opened, a slit letting out the last bit of green light. Only, there was a bit of red mixed through it.
"The aether?" I squinted my eyes as I picked up the pace again, trying to decipher what was behind that door. My heart seemed to pick up its rhythm and courage again, having finally found what could be what I was looking for this entire time.
Come on, come on. The closer I got the more obvious that red light became. I couldn't even help the soft chuckle of relief that fell off my lips, the giddy excitement that went through me. It made me oblivious to the bones and dried blood that littered the floor more and more as I ventured closer. I would've laughed had it not been for the massive creature that suddenly jumped in front of the gate.
"Bloody he, -" The words died on my tongue as I skidded to a halt, eyes darting up, up, up until finally they spotted the furious red lights glaring down at me. My entire body froze as they took in his massive form, his eyes almost as large as my hands, his fangs the size of my forearm. His black fur coat was thick and matted with blood and dust, missing spots where pale scars ran over his skin. His claws scraped over the floor, the screeching sound making me want to fold into myself.
"Fenrir." The great black wolf, standing before me, very much alive. "Ho- how?" Shrinking back, I couldn't even think to turn around and run for my life. His penetrating gaze had me pinned to the spot.
The wolf, or rather god, growled and bared his teeth, his enormous head lowering until it was almost level with mine. I stumbled, recovering my balance just in time before I could fall onto my back. But as I moved his growl deepened and he barked, making me freeze in my spot entirely.
"Okay, okay." I whimpered as my fists clenched, nails digging into my skin to keep myself from doing anything else.
It seemed to satisfy him. Fenrir came closer, his enormous paws inching nearer until his nose was right in front of me. Still, his fangs were bared, his claws out of their sockets and ready to tear me apart. His eyes were trained on me as he took in a deep breath through his nose, and somehow I could feel his magic, his presence seeping all over me, as if examining my entire being.
I could only let it wash over me and hope for the best.
At first his growl returned and his lips pulled up into a snarl, ready to tear into me, before suddenly he found something he hadn't expected. I could see the tremor going through his massive body before he inched back again, straightening up and looking down at me from the height. His claws slowly retracted and his fur lined up with his body.
"Good... wolf?" I hesitated as I looked up at him, brows furrowed, having expected him to tear into anyone that wasn't a Blackwing. Why was I still alive? Why spare me?
Fenrir let out a loud huff, swooshing his tail until he turned away from me and walked to something that looked like a nest right next to the gate. He laid down there, tail tucked between his legs and his head resting on his forepaws. His crimson eyes, however, remained trained on me, but the malicious intent had disappeared.
For a moment I didn't know what to do. I had even forgotten why I was there in the first place. "Right." I swayed my arms, trying to shake off that feeling of dread, and I swear the wolf mockingly lifted his 'eyebrow'. But he didn't move as I slowly made my way towards the entrance, didn't even glance up as I peeked around the corner.
"You're not going to eat me?" I chuckled hesitantly. Fenrir let out a deep breath as he closed his eyes, his muscles visibly relaxing. When I was sure he wouldn't pounce, I slipped through the crack and arrived in the chamber he'd been protecting. Or rather, the artifact he'd been protecting.
Right in the middle of the room it was placed on a single pedestal, floating in the air. At first it looked like a tiny pyramid much like all the other holocrons I'd seen in the jedi temple, but as I got closer it broke apart into multiple pieces and revealed the single red orb in the middle of it. The light flared brighter as it revealed itself, almost blinding my eyes. I lifted my hand against it until my eyes had adjusted.
Squinting my eyes, I walked closer until I was able to see past the light and examine the object. I let out a deep, relieved breath. "The Aether." It looked exactly like the one I'd seen in my visions. I filled my chest with air, puffing myself up. I made a confident step towards it, feeling like nothing could stop me now, until the green light darted from behind cover and flew right between me and the artifact.
There, it flickered, bouncing up and down. For I moment I stood there, confused. "Not now." Sighing, I tried to wave it away, but as I touched it it soon expanded and stretched. I stepped back in shock, watching as it grew and grew and manifested into a translucent green figure before me. The edges were blurred, the details hazy, but recognition sparked all the same.
There was no mistaking the brilliant green eyes as they looked at me, nor the features that resembled my own. Even her glare looked almost the exact same as her mouth pressed into a thin line and her hair waved behind her, as if she was drifting in water.
"What in the, -" I quickly darted back as her figure dissolved again and flew towards me. I tried to hold out my hand to stop her, but she flew right through the limb like it was nothing at all. "No!" I panicked as it flew into me, a strange feeling like being pulled deep underwater soon following.
At first, all I saw was that emerald light. But then, all there was was darkness.
Hellooo
So, more mystery, more secrets! How exciting (I hope). What do you guys think is going to happen? Let me know!
Dedicated to _honeywriter for looking after me even when I won't :).