Ilythiss intro

Sadly, text formatting isn't really the greatest on the forums, so we'll have to settle with this

Chapter One

Light. I can see light again. It's coming from a nearby source, reflecting off the walls and oozing into the room, but it somehow becomes dampened and hazy as it enters my surrounding. Where am I anyway? I…vaguely remember being in pain. No, it's gone. I'm lying back-down in a relatively small room, stone walls, huge stone tiles on the floor and everything covered in green, wet moss. 'Drip!', I could hear a drop of water hit the stone. 'Drip!' again, and again, and again. It is somehow soothing as it is disturbing. What kind of a place has moss on the walls and dripping water? Yet, I do not feel cold, or uncomfortable.

Finally, my eyes adapted to being opened again and I scoured the surrounding with one long glance, covering a number of bodies, lying down the same way as I was.
'What the hell is going on?!', I spoke, but as soon as I did, I regreted it. My throat was sore and my voice cracking. Raising my head to finally get up, I banged my forehead against the low ceiling of my chamber and dropped back on my back immediately.

'Curses!', i mumbled as I gently felt the spot on the head that hurt. Something was wrong, but I had no chance to inspect it further because I suddenly felt and overwhelming pain in my abdomen that seemed to take apart my very ribs one from the other, as if they are about to implode. I started to tear up the rags that were still covering my body and as I ripped apart what might have been my shirt at one time, but was now a grey rag that smelt like vomit, I felt – a bone. That really stopped my in my tracks.

'Calm down!', he paused for a second, thinking what to call me, then, coming up with nothing satisfying, continuing with an undefined – 'You.'
'If you keep it up like this, there's really going to be nothing left of you…or right, ha-ha', he grinned.
'Your sense of humour is really something,' I responded. 'Can I have something to drink, my mouth is dry as hell.'
'Yes, well, that tends to happen after such a long period of, hm, recovery, shall we say?'

I didn't quite like the tone in his voice, however, I found nothing threatening about it, so I remained calm. The pain in my abdomen was still wreaking havoc, but the interest in the current situation took my attention elsewhere.

'I don't really have anything to drink at the moment, but you can have some of this moss, it's quite satisfying in terms of hydratisation. And it has some nutrients too, so you'll not be as hungry once we get you going. We wouldn't want you to look skinny for The Lady, would we', he started laughing maniacally, like he's just heard the worlds funniest joke. I still couldn't see him, though, because he was obviously keeping himself to the side of the room. He was banging ceramic pots and mumbling to himself.

'Where the hell did I leave that vial. I hope I didn't spend it all, it takes days to get new supplies nowadays. Damned Mindless Ones blocking supply routes and the bandits hiding in bushes, jumping at innocent…' He suddenly exclaimed, cheerful like. 'Ahaha, here it is!'

'Now, I want you to stay calm when I show myself to you. I really don't want you to get hurt before you even walk out the door. There's going to be plenty of chances for that. Are you ready?' He asked in a conspirative, low-key voice.
'I don't think I can be any readier than I am,' I responded. 'Show yourself.'
'Do you promise to stay calm?' He asked.
'Yes, yes, I promise, for crying out loud!'

Boy, oh, boy, was I not ready for what was about to unwind before me. There he stood, a gloomy, six foot tall figure. His cheeks bare, with no skin on them, as if burned off in a fire. His jaw sort of hanging below two holes in his head where at one point there must have been a nose. His head completely void of any hair, stood on the rickety neck and looked as if it was just about to fall off and his yellow eyes glooming from the inside of his skull. Indeed, even if I had the strenght to run away, my legs would have betrayed me anyway.

'What trickery is this?! Who are you?! Is this some sort of a sick joke to you?! Take me to your supervisor, at once!' My voice cracking, from fear or lack of water, I do not know.

'Yes, you can never get used to this, can you? Oh well, I have an eternity to give it my best shot.' He said quietly as he leaned over me, inspecting my eyes. 'I am undertaker Mordo and here is the water you asked for. I added some Peacebloom and Silverleaf extracts in it. That should put an end to the aching in your abdomen. It's quite common, you know.'
I lay there, unable to move, to think, to ask questions. My mind became a dark hole that seemed to vibrate and pulse as if it was about to explode in one and crush me in the other moment, ears suddenly plugged with pressure and I felt dizzy, weak, and exhausted.
'Yes, yes, you're catching on, aren't you?' he asked in a calm, almost pleseant voice. 'It's always difficult to make peace with the truth. In life, as much as in death. Or shall I say – undeath.'
'How is this possible?'
'You ask so little, my friend, yet, so much.' He responded as he turned away and sighed deeply. 'We can only do our best to serve our masters and hope they know what they are doing. The Dark Lady has saved us both once, she may do it again. I hope you meet her some day.'
'Did you ever meet her?' I asked.
'Yes, once. I was on a trip to Brill, buying supplies and she had just gotten reports of Alliance scouts camping in Silverpine. I…well, I was a sewer rat…I mean, I am a sewer rat compared to…oh, nevermind, you would not understand. Perhaps, one day…' He stood there, looking at the floor, perfectly still.
'I see…she must be something special.'
'Yes, she is. The Banshee Queen… A banshee possesing a body of a High Elf. Her voice echoing from the inside, but as if it travelled through a thousand years of sorrow, pain and anger.'

He suddenly put a halt to our casual conversation and went back to being all doctor-like.

'But I digress, let's get back to the problem at hand, which is, if I may say so – you!' And pointed his boney finger in my direction.
'Yes, I was wondering about that…' I added.
'You, my dear, half-rotten friend, are now a Forsaken. Undead if you will. Don't ask me how this might have happened, don't tell me you had an impecable life, don't tell stories of your admirable deeds because I've heard them all more often than I care to mention. You are an Undead now. It might take some time for you to soak in that information, so I will give you the basics and you can wobble happily onwards.'
'When you put it like that, I just can't wait.' I answered, grinning.
'I see you haven't lost your sense of humour,' he immediately struck back.

The moss I ate and the healing herb extracts he gave me must have done the trick, because I no longer felt the pain in my stomach and the spot where I banged my head was no longer to be found. Slowly, I crept out of the small niche and, for the first time in a long while, stood on my own two feet. Indeed, I was a sight for remembering. To avoid challenging your patience, I can say, in many aspects I was similar to Mordo. I presume there's not many ways in which one corpse differs from the other.

'Long story short,' he said. 'You were once human. You died. The Lich King or one of his necromantic minions found you and raised you to serve in his Army. Yet, you do not serve them anymore, obviously, since you're standing here chatting to me. I…cannot explain how or why you've come back. But you have. You will be judged by lesser beings, you will be a personification of horror, death and everything that no mortal wants to be and for that, you will suffer inside as much as your body suffered from all the pain it has been through on the outside. What you do with time given to you is your choice now. Should you wish to stay a peseant and work land, you can. If you strive for greater deeds, we can direct you towards that too.'

I stood there, silent, trying to gather all this information into something meaningful. Ha, meaningful! I just awoke from the dead…for the second time, and I'm looking for meaning.

'What now?' I asked.
'Now, my tottering, smelly friend, allow me to inspect you quickly. I can see you are feeling better now and we wouldn't want to have any bones missing on you once you go out, would we now?'
I undressed slowly as he inspected the main joints, gripping them firmly to see if they hold. Seemingly pleased, he ordered me to put my rags back on. I sheethed the short dagger I had on me back into it's place.
'Good, good! It seems you've goten away without any serious injuries on the battlefield! You may consider yourself lucky, you know! You should see the condition some of the corpses we get here are in. It's like trying to build a Turbo-Charged Flying Machine without the Felsteel Stabilizers!'
'What on Azeroth are you babbling about?' I asked.
'I'm sorry. I just heard some Orc passing through here say that...'
'Yeah...'
'At any rate, I suppose you would like to know something about how is it that you came to be, am I correct? You should go see Shadow Priest Sarvis up in the chapel, he can give you more detail in that particular area. Oh, and don't forget to ask him about the scroll!'

I looked at him questioningly, but he was already back to his table, messing around with a mortar and pestle. I could hear mumbling from one of the niches close to where I lay just a few minutes ago.
'Calm down!' Mordo yelled, as I strolled out of the damp crypt.
As I went into the light, I saw several worn-down houses next to each other, one of them resembling a chapel. Presuming I should find Sarvis there, I dragged myself towards the open chapel door.

Every bone and every surviving muscle in my body was aching with excruciating pain and every time I took a step forward, I could hear my own bones cracking beneath me. I presume the effects of whatever Mordo gave me ceised to be. Entering the chapel, an odious reek almost stunned me and I barely managed to withstand the stench.
'Ah, at last we meet, young one!' Someone yelled. 'I am Shadow Priest Sarvis, at your disposal.'
'I looked at the hidious creature and, against my own disbilief that anything can dampen my spirit after meeting up with Mordo, I was struck down by his appearance.
This…thing…was about as tall as I was and was dressed in some sort of ceremonial robes, wielding a staff in his right hand, casually leaning upon it. On it's head a pair of black leather belts formed an 'X' across his face and, to my ultimate disgust, he had no lower jaw. How he spoke is beyond me, because his tongue was flapping and hanging loose from his throat.

'I see you are still somewhat disturbed by our appearance, so I shall give you a few minutes to recoup your strenght. In that time, I have something for you. Take this scroll and read it. It's from Isabella, the Mage trainer. She is well known for her teaching methods, so read it carefully and come back later.
I went outside the chapel and sat on the nearby grassy knoll, opening the scroll I was given. Someone named Isabella was rambling how I still wield the magic in me, how I'd return, how I must grow strong, yadda-yadda. I couldn't understand a god damned thing about it. Suddenly, Mordo appeared from out of the crypt.

'Ah, I see you've gotten a hold of the scroll! Did you read it?!' He asked excited.
'Yeah, it's some wench called Isabella telling me I should come see her. What's that all about?' I replied.
'No, no, no, no, NO! Foolish kids, these days. I told you specifically to ask for the scroll. Go on, back to the chapel, now!'
I walked back into the chapel and approached Sarvis.

'Look, old man, Mordo said I should ask about some scroll you're supposed to give me.'
Suddenly he stood tall, as if he had grown a foot in a split-second and a shadowy aura surrounded his body. A golden halo appeared around his hands and for a moment I could feel the energy amassing in his body, his voice beaming through the small chapel.
'You will learn respect and you will show respect, insect! Do you think I just walked out of a crypt like you did?! Do you think I could not smite you down in a second if I wanted to?! Bow down!!! Bow down or you will feel what this old man is capable of!!!'

At that moment, Mordo ran inside the chapel, yelling from the top of his voice.
'Leave him be Sarvis, please, I beg you. You know he's…different.'
Sarvis looked at Mordo, then at me and suddenly, just as quickly as it appeared, the halo was gone from around his hands and the aura dispersed. His voice back to what it was, a gurgling mess of sounds, his tongue flapping...

'Yes, I do know. And that is why I spared you, worm.' He said looking at me. 'You are amongst the rare ones that have awoken from the grip of the Lich King that bares traces back to where you began. We found this on your body as you were delivered to us. How is it possible that this had not been lost through the days, months, years that had past since you died, we do not understand. However, here it is. Here, take this scroll and read it. Learn what you already know and then come back. We will talk.'
He handed me a small scroll that had tiny writing all over it, on both sides.
'Thank you.' I answered and out of fear of causing another outburst, I slowly walked backwards towards the chapel door.
'Oh, one more thing,' he stopped me. 'If I ever hear you insult Isabella again, I'll make sure you never see daylight again, and neither Mordo nor anyone else will be able to help you. That's a promise.'

I shuddered and went outside. Sitting on the same knoll where I sat minutes earlier, I started reading.



Chapter Two


'Dear Ilithis,' it began. So, that's my name, i thought to myself. Ilithis.

'Since you are reading this, I can only presume you've made it to the other side. You're probably sitting down now, wondering what the heck is going on and who I am. In all honesty, I'm not writing you to answer those questions because I'd like to know the answers myself. What I can tell you is who you were. My dear boy, and there's a lot to say. We were soldiers. We were brothers in arms and the reason I'm writing this, despite me being a dwarf and all, well, you know how hard it is for us… Anyways, I'm a wee bit drunk now, so I can express myself more freely. Okay, let me get my head straight.

You are Ilithis, a member of an engineering squadron asigned to defending the Eastern Kingdoms, Eastern Plaguelands, more precisely, from the Scourge. You were one of the best, my dear lad and so was I. There wasn't a building we couldn't tear apart or a catapult we could not destroy. We were sent on a mission to the Plaguelands to observe and report, as they said. Consisting of a unit of elite Dwarven demolishers, me being one of them, and Stormwind combat units, our entire squadron, the Teuti, was quickly dispached to Eastern Plaguelands soon after we heard the first reports of flying Necropoli out there. Oh, it was a blast…literarly, that is! Soon after our arrival, we concluded that sitting in a tent and cooking beans all day long isn't really going to cut it, so we set out to destroy any Scourge we could. I can still smell the explosives and the rotting stench of the decaying Scourge and it makes my heart beat a little faster.

Had I known our squad would be disbanded a day after your demise under acusation of disobeying orders, perhaps I'd've wanted to come after you. But I didn't and here I am – writing a final word to the man that made me what I am today. A cursed emotional dwarf, that's what I am, you blasted human! Anyway, that's all behind us now. You died after a shrapnell of a Necrotic Shard hit you in your, well, your behind. I know, stupid, isn't it?
I do not know where you are now, my friend. Hopefully, some place nicer than Azshara, because that's where they asigned me to now. Looking after the cursed Elves all day long, killing nagas, cooking beans! If it weren't for them, all this would not have happened in the first place! I'm set to go there today. Fly to Menethil and off to Kalimdor, no R&R, nothing. To observe and report, as my commanding officer said. Wish me luck seeing ol' Ironforge again and I wish you all the luck out there. May you find peace one day and may we see each other in the afterlife'

Signed: 'Hegler, Paladin of Ironforge.'

I don't think you'd say that if you knew what I knew, old Heg'. I sat there until there was no more light from the sun, then until morning again and I could not move.
'So, that's how I go!' I yelled. 'A shrapnell in the arse! For crying out loud! And this is where I wake up! No soothing light, no elven songs, no thousands of young girls mending my wounds! Nothing!!!'

I felt cheated, wronged. Like a child that's been promised a toy, only to be told it was a joke at the last moment. A rat slowly walked by me, stopping only to see if I was going to do anything to hurt it. It nibbled on my hip and I rammed my blade through it's neck.
'Sarvis!' I yelled, entering the chapel. 'What do you want me to do?'
'Did Mordo tell you about the Mindless Ones?' He asked. 'Yes? Well…kill them all!'
'Oh, and Sarvis,' I stopped with my back turned to him. 'Call me Ilythiss from now on.'