((This is a repost of Rose’s background story. The old forums were deleted and I had no intention of posting it again due to how long it was. However, after the Guard day event and the tavern chat after I kind of wanted to redo some of the story. With some of the themes coming in the next xpac and hoping some upgrades fix my online issues, I hope to maybe further the story. To keep it simple, I’ll only post segments rather than the whole thing at one sitting. Just to much for one post so maybe 4 chapters every other week (when I get a weekend off to edit). Hope you enjoy…))
“My child, what is it you see in the flames you cause?” asked a man in robes.
“I see pain, anger and rage, yet I do not know why that is all I feel. In my heart I know there is something more, but I cannot seem to ever recall what those things are.” Rose replied.
The man in the robes nodded. “You are driven by emotions that have been locked in place by a power that does not belong to you. There is beauty in what you create, but without control all you will do is harm. I can help you if you let me.”
Rose looked at the man hesitant. “I-I feel wrong, but I don’t know what to do.”
The man came closer and placed his hands on her head. “Child, it is ok to feel unsure, but to want change, to fix what is broken and undo what wrongs you have done you have to want it. To do so however, will cause pain, but in time that will pass.”
Rose lowered her head and the man began to speak in a soothing tone. As he spoke, her mind began to swirl with emotions unfelt in many years. Pain began to creep into her mind causing her to jerk her head back. Stepping back, the man in robes stood startled.
“Please, I must finish, the seal isn’t complete!” he said attempting to place his hands on her head again.
Still shaken, Rose stepped back refusing to let him touch her. “No! Get away from me!” she screamed releasing a wave of flames that covered the man. As he burned, she fell to her knees holding her head in pain as she passed out.
Waking some time later, she stood as her mind had a cool feeling that washed over her creating a calm she hadn’t felt in a long time. While this was a pleasant feel, one thing bothered her.
She could remember nothing.
Coming to her feet, she saw the body of a man in robes that had been burned alive. Shouts and sounds of fighting drew her attention away from the man. Slowly moving towards the sounds, she emerged from the alley and is stunned by what she saw.
Flames, flames everywhere she looked. The town was being attacked and she could not remember anything. Through the madness, screams caught her attention as she watched children being guided out of the burning school through a window by a badly hurt teacher. There were only a handful of them escaping from the heat of the fire.
Behind her there came a wicked laugh. A man in full black armor sat smiling on his horse. He seemed delighted in the scene before him. He let out a heavy laugh as the teacher helping the children became trapped in the building and perished to the flames.
The screams grew louder from the children at the loss of their teacher. “No…what have you done?” Rose said out loud and she turned to the man. “Who are you and why are you attacking these people.” She demanded.
The man stopped smiling and looked at Rose with a confused expression. “What “I” have done? I know we had our fill in drinks the night before, but not enough to ask that question.” He said letting out a laugh.
Rose, showing anger asked with more force. “Tell me who you are!”
Rolling his eyes, the man jumped down from his horse. “Fine, I’ll play. Oh my dear maiden, tis I, Sheknee and here is my merry band of misfits of The Defias whom are tasked with the destruction of Moonbrook.” He said in a sarcastic tone as he added a mocking bow.
“A cause, might I add, you were pretty excited to join. You said if I remember correctly, ‘they are in service to Stormwind and are as corrupt as all those in service of the weak child king. What happens to these people is none of my concern.’ I knew you were cold, but damn, you got me excited to come here. Are we done playing this game now?” he asked.
“I am not a murderer of children. I would never join a cause like this” Rose said as she turned to Sheknee to face him.
“Not a murderer of children?” He asked with surprise in his voice. “What are you talking about? It was you who…” Sheknee paused shaking his head. “I don’t have time for this, there is still work left to be done here. I do not know what happened in the last few minutes to make you grow a conscience all of a sudden, but you would choose now to defy my orders?”
Rose turned to look over her shoulder to see the children escaping over the hills. Turning back she looked with confidence to Sheknee. “I can’t defy orders to something I don’t belong to”
“Then what need do I have for a weak mage who cannot do a simple task like smack a few children around?” With a snap of his fingers four stealthed guards appeared around Rose. “If you are too weak to do this, I will do it myself.” Sheknee began to walk in the direction of the children followed by two of his guards. “Kill her; this hunt will only take a moment”
“No! I won’t let this happen!” Rose screamed as she felt the power of arcane forces build up inside of her. With a scream of pain and power, an explosion of arcane power erupted around her sending her would be assassins flying through the air.
Fully charged, sparks could be seen dancing around Rose. Her eyes fully focused on Sheknee.
Sheknee felt the wave of arcane that came from behind and only met it with a smile. Standing with his back to Rose, Sheknee turned his head to look over his shoulder.
“You would dare challenge me? Your power is strong and to be feared, but you are not even worth the scraps on my table that I would feed dogs with.” Sheknee said coldly. Snapping his fingers, he motioned the remaining two guards to attack.
Without a word or sound the guards leapt forward, dashing side to side of each other with daggers drawn and death in their eyes.
Rose knew she couldn’t let them slip into the shadows and had to act fast.
The ground around her became frozen as she summoned the elements of ice. Her hands became encrusted in ice as the spell began to take shape. With arms raised, she fired a massive ball of ice towards her targets. With luck, she caught the first of the guards as he tried to dodge it. The second fared better as he received the time needed and faded into nothing.
Not giving into panic, Rose continued her assault. Trying to keep track of her targets movement as she began another spell she stood her ground knowing the guard was nearby. As quickly as the guard disappeared he reappeared only a few feet in front of Rose. With a quick motion in his attack, his dagger was at Roses throat, but could go no farther. Unflinching, Rose had completed her spell with perfect timing.
From the cloud of smoke the guard emerged out and began eating grass. This is natural though for it is what sheep do. Rose chuckled for a moment, but regained her focus on Sheknee who remained where he was when the guards came.
“So it would seem you are not so weak. Perhaps you could stop me.” Sheknee said. “If you defeat me, you will have saved the children, but what then? You are still a murderer, still a traitor to Stormwind. You have no place to go, nowhere that you are safe. Not from me or the kingdom you now attempt to protect.”
Rose couldn’t help but feel his words rang true. “I don’t know what is going on, but I know I cannot let you harm anyone.” Rose replied as she began to channel the fire from within.
Sheknee began to walk over to Rose.
Building inside her was the great power of flame. The same great power that leveled so many buildings before began to build within her again. An aura of flame surrounded Rose as she gained strength. The ground around her turned to ash as the next spell was being prepared. With eyes of fire, Rose screamed out as she released her most powerful attack. The massive fireball streaked through the air towards its target.
Sheknee made no attempts to dodge it. He continued walking forward, directly in the path of the fireball. Just as it was about to connect, Sheknee raised his left arm. “HAAAAAA!” He cried as he blocked the attack with his hand, deflecting it away. The ball of flame struck the ground at his side causing a haze of smoke. After the dust and debris settled, Skeknee still moved forward with a smirk across his face.
The moment stunned Rose and she began to panic. Channeling all the power she could muster, she unleashed a wave of spells. Ice would not slow him, fire would not hurt him and the arcane that dispatched her assassins only seemed to bounce off his armor. Then she remembered the last guard.
It was her only hope, the last spell that could work. Her hands turned silver as the spell began. Sheknee, still at a walk, saw the spell and made no attempt to hurry his attack.
Now only a few feet away, the spell was complete and Sheknee was engulfed in the same smoke as the unfortunate guard. With a sigh, Rose relaxed for a moment, a moment she would regret.
Out of the smoke emerged a huge gauntlet hand that grasped her throat. The spell had failed and Sheknee had reached her while she was defenseless. Lifting her off the ground with one hand she came face to face with him.
“Did you really think you could harm me with your pathetic spells? I was trained by the best mages and warriors in the defense of such attacks. You could do nothing to me.”
His hand began to squeeze harder as he continued. “To think, with the power you have, you could have done so much for us in the future.” With his hand he forced Rose to look to her right back at the school. “You do great work” he said in a cold tone. As he turned her back to face him, she spat in his eye. Filled with rage, Sheknee brought his other hand across her face. The blow knocked her hard against the burning wall of the school house, scorching her back. With a cry of pain she tumbled forward. There, she is surrounded once again by more guards.
Sheknee bent down to pick up a flower that lay at his feet. Taking it to his nose, he took a breath in to smell its sweetness. Turning back to Rose he said. “When a Rose loses all of its petals, it loses its beauty. That is when it becomes a fallen rose and needs to be cut from the rest. Your time with the Defias is long over and you will be cut away from us…Fallenrose”
As Sheknee walked away, Rose knew her life was over unless she did something to stop it. Summoning the last bit of power she had, she released a wave of ice which held the guards in place. Knowing she only had a few moments; she struggled to her feet and began a teleportation spell. Just as the guards broke free she vanished into nothing.
“Find her; she doesn’t have much power left she couldn’t have gotten far!” Sheknee growled.
Appearing near a pond not far from Moonbrook, Rose struggled to move. Trying to stand all she could do was fall again. She could hear the sounds of an animal sniffing her hair. After all she went through and all that she has done, perhaps this was a fitting end to be eating by wild animals.
“Meatbag, knock that off. Leave her be!” Rose heard the gruff voice of a Dwarf and he came near.
“It would seem you are in a spot of trouble miss. Don’t move we’ll get you out of here.” Turning to the wolf, the hunter spoke in a serious tone. “MB, I need you to take her far from here, run as fast as you can. I’ll stay and set a few traps for our friends here.” The wolf whined at the request and hesitated as the Dwarf helped Rose onto his mount. “Don’t argue with me, I’ll join you at Sentinel Hill, Now GO!” With Rose on his back the large Ram galloped away leaving his master behind followed closely by the large white wolf.
As they left the view of Moonbrook, Rose could see Sheknee advancing over a nearby hill only to stop at the sight of the Dwarf. It almost looked like they were talking before the world faded as she passed out.
(( Part 2 ))
Archmage Sarken stood in his study waiting for any news from the Stockades. Waiting only moments, a messenger appeared in the doorway. Out of breath, the messenger handed Sarken a crumpled letter. Upon looking at the letter, he looked up smiling as he laid the letter on his desk. The messenger, still waiting to be released, caught a glance at the note and he read only three words….
“She has entered….”
The Warden of the Stockades paced back and forth mumbling to himself. “How could I let this happen?” As he paced, he glanced every few chances at the entrance to the Stockade. That entrance, now fortified and heavily guarded is all that stopped the rioting prisoners from escaping into the city.
In an attempt to save face, he asked for help to any who was willing. The few that have been willing to quell the riot came at a high price. Warriors, Rogues and others seeking adventure or needed money answered the call. Many would go in and most would not return. Those that did were so badly hurt they would in time die from their wounds.
After all of these failed attempts, the Warden began to wonder what the Captain would do to him once he asked for assistance at his own prison. Then he received a note from the Mage Quarter responding to the call for aid. The note stated that they will be sending help as soon as possible and to not be concerned about payment or who was coming.
When she arrived at the Stockade gates, she came alone. Her hair was red and short with two slight rows that curled up around her head. She had the face of innocents but eyes that seemed to be filled with sadness. She was dressed in the standard robes of a Mage and armed with only a staff. Stopping only to say that the Mage Quarter had sent her, she continued on towards the steps leading into the prison.
Two hours had passed since she arrived and the Wardens pace began to quicken as he waited impatiently. “How could they be so foolish to send a single mage? What do they think she can accomplish where so many have failed?”
His thoughts are abruptly interrupted by commotion coming from the entrance to the Stockades. Walking over to see what was going on the Warden looked down the stairs and with straining eyes tried to see anything.
Just then the room began to shake.
An explosion erupted from within the Stockades and screams could be heard deep in the prison. Looking harder into the gate, the only thing they could see was darkness. Though they could not see anything, they only needed to listen to the cries of pain that came out of the blackness.
The explosions that shook the very foundation began to come closer to the gates. The disturbance reached as far as the Mage Tower where Archmage Sarken stayed in his study. The power that came from the Stockades startled him. Concentrating his arcane powers, he put himself into a dream state and traveled to the source. Using his vision he waited by the gate along with the guards and the nervous Warden. Not noticing his presence the guards remained focused on the gate.
Out of the darkness, there came two prisoners. In a panic they began screaming for the guards to protect them as they ran up the stairs. The first of the two prisoners burst into flames and stopped in his tracks while the second, seeing his companion fall, ran harder towards the guards. He would only make two more steps before being engulfed in smoke. When the smoke cleared, a sheep walked passed the guards towards the hay where the horses were kept. Finding an open spot, the sheep lay down and fell asleep.
Turning back to the gate the guards stood ready for anything that came out. Out of the darkness, the lone mage appeared where she stood at the bottom of the stairs. Smoke swirled around her as she looked up at the nervous guards. She walked up the stairs and passed the guards towards the Warden. Stopping, she turned to him and said with little emotion. “Your troubles are now over. The prison is yours again.”
Satisfied with what he has seen the Archmage returned to his study. Sitting in his chair, he turned to his window and looked out. Sensing the presence of someone behind him, Sarken continued to stare outside.
“She is ready for the task she has trained for these past two months. She will be stronger than before since the last time she faced Sheknee. Wouldn’t you agree, Vendo?” He said as he turned to face the stealthed figure in the corner.
Stepping out of the shadows, Vendo came forward and kneeled before Sarken. “Yes, but can she be trusted? Considering what we know about her, is it wise to let her go?”
Nodding at the question Sarken replied “This is why I have called for you. I wish to use your skills to monitor her activities as well as those around her. This Dwarf that brought her to us, Wulfgrin, I know very little about him though his name seems familiar to me, keep an eye on him as well. It would seem she remembers nothing before Moonbrook and I wish to take advantage of that.”
Turning back to the window he continued. “If she is able to defeat Sheknee, we will be one step closer to my true task. We Must continue to keep her in check. I cannot afford to have things fall apart now, not when we are so close to cleaning this mess up. Is this understood?”
“Yes my Lord.” Vendo responded as he disappeared into the shadows.
Within the Dwarven District, Wulfgrin stared into the Archmage’s room with Eagle eyes, using the Hunters vision; he heard the conversation between the mage and rogue. Taking a sip of his ale, he looked over to his companion Meatbag. “Well my old friend, it would seem our work has become a little more complicated. Sarken seems to have his own plans for our new friend. For now we will play along, though we will need help in the future.”
“Come, the best place to start will be in Booty Bay.”
Grabbing his rifle and ale, they headed out of the door towards his destination.
((Part 3))
Standing in a field of corn, Rose fought her way to get clear. After exiting what seemed like endless rows of corn, she came upon a small village. As she came closer to the village, she began to smell the smell of burning wood. She quickened her pace into a run towards the town. When she arrived she found that the whole town had been burned to the ground.
A gust of wind blew passed her, revealing smoke from a building still burning. Worried, she ran to it. Once she passed the already burned buildings she turned the corner and found what was still burning. It was the towns School house. It was then Rose realised where she was, she was in Moonbrook.
Standing in the street she looked into the school. At first she saw nothing, but then she saw movement on the first floor as someone ran passed the window. She called out to them, but through the flames she could hear nothing. She cried out louder and again no one answered, not even a scream or a cry of pain. Rose couldn’t wait any longer, she had to help somehow.
Just as she was beginning to channel an ice spell, a massive ball of fire streaked pasted her destroying a portion of the building. The blast blew Rose back and knocked her to the ground. As she sat there, she felt the presence of someone next to her. Turning to her right she looked up and her eyes went wide. Standing next to her with complete confidence and calm was, Rose.
The Rose standing next to her turned and looked down to her with a wicked smile. Before she could say anything, the other Rose began to walk towards the burning school house. Without hesitation, the other Rose entered into the fire and walked to the second floor. Rose stood up and looked to see anything in the second floor.
There, standing in the center window was Sheknee and next to him was the other Rose. They stood together and looking down to Rose, smiled with evil intentions. A second explosion hit the school house, pushing Rose back again. Able to stand on her feet this time she looked again into the second floor. There were more people there now, only different.
Sheknee and the other Rose stood where they were, but those that stood beside them were smaller. Rose took a step closer and looked harder and what she saw was horrifying. Those that stood beside them were children. They showed no emotion at all, their eyes were shut and mouths open as if they were screaming, but no sounds came out. Then the children stepped closer to the windows and without making any noise, they all pointed as one at Rose.
Rose began to back away in fear, not knowing what it all meant. Turning, she again faced the school. She turned back again only to see the same school. Every turn she took, she was faced to the school. Falling to her knees she began to cry. All around her now where the children, their mouths open and pointing while Sheknee and the other Rose stood by with mocking smiles.
The world began to spin, buildings and faces blended together spinning ever faster until everything turned black. Then after only a few moments, everything went black. She is startled by the sudden wetness that went across her cheek. Waking from her sleep, she found her assailant at the side of her resting place. It stared and wagged its tail in a playful motion, but whined in concern over the startled Rose.
It had been two weeks since Wulfgrin left for Booty Bay to seek help. Before leaving, he left one of his wolves to watch over Rose. The wolf he left was the youngest of the pack and the most light hearted. His fur glowed bright red at the top and faded into a lighter color as if the sun was rising on his back which earned him the name Dawnshadow.
The dreams were getting stronger and worse with each passing day. Dreams of not only Moonbrook, but of other things began to haunt her. Not knowing what any of them meant, they seem to come more frequent the closer she got to Sheknee. It had taken about a week to gather the information needed to track him and now it was only a matter of time till they faced each other once again.
Rose had spent the night in the cold darkness of Duskwood, lying in wait for any sign of Sheknee to appear. The information received had told her of a small Defias hideout in a farm that once belonged to a farmer named Sven. It was there that he was to appear.
From the camp there came more commotion than normal. Dawnshadow let out a low growl which told Rose her wait was over. Slowly crawling up the hill to get a look, she looked down to the farm. A shiver went down her spine as she saw him. After two months of preparing and waiting, now was the time she had waited for, now was……
“You’ve been waiting so long for me, why don’t you come out and let me see your face.”
Startled by the sudden response to her presence, Rose didn’t know what to do.
“There is no point in hiding; I know you’re here Rose. Come out and face me if you dare or are you still the weak little mage I humiliated?” Sheknee called out in a laugh.
There was no point in hiding any longer, slowly Rose stood from where she was. Dawnshadow followed close behind. The moment she stood she began to take count of all that was before her. Ten, no fifteen foes stood between her and her target. She began to channel her magic, but held it low until the right moment.
“What is this you have with you? A wolf? Have you become so pathetic and weak that you need dogs to protect you?” He said with a laugh as he shook his head.
“I have been waiting for so long to see you again. Oh the things I have learned about you, I find it fascinating. We will have our chance to talk, but first, I want to see what they have taught you these few months and plus my men have been thirsting for a fight.” Sheknee said with a motion to his men.
Dawnshadow stood in front of Rose in a defensive stance, growling louder. “Stay with me” Rose said as she began to move forward. The Defias attackers began to run towards their prey. Rose’s walk turned into a run as she ran to meet them head on, Dawnshadow following close by.
A Defias mage that ran with the group sensed something was wrong and slowed his pace to let the others run ahead. The charging fighters let out a battle cry as the came closer and closer to Rose. With only a few feet separating them, it looked like it would be a swift kill for the Defias.
Just as they were about to collide, Rose cast the spell she held until now. Taking only a second to cast, she vanished before her attacker’s eyes. Not before releasing a second spell which encrusted them in ice, holding them in place. Not knowing what had happened, the Defias followers looked around and tried to get free. One noticed that Rose had somehow gotten behind them in a blink of an eye.
Once they realised where she was, it was already too late. The stunned fighters had given Rose enough time to complete a chain of spells she had prepared before the fight began. A cloud appeared over the trapped Defias and shards of ice began to pelt them. Faster and faster the shards rained on them, knocking out or killing most in a matter of seconds. After a minute the cloud disappeared and there was a moment of silence.
As Rose turned to face Sheknee, she was greeted by a fireball that hit her directly. The lone Defias mage that stayed behind had prepared an attack of his own as she dealt with the others. Satisfied with his successful attack the mage relaxed in confidence. Before he could turn, the smoke had cleared and Rose still stood, unharmed by the blast. The blast had been absorbed by a fire shield.
“Th-There wasn’t enough time, there’s no way you could have protected yourself so quickly.” The mage said in shock
Rose only smiled at him and motioned him to try again. The mage began to channel his power to create another fireball. Before the spell could be cast, Rose lifted her hand and countered it. The stunned mage began to run away and with a snap of her fingers he was turned into a sheep.
Sheknee let out a delighted laugh. “My, you have become stronger since the last time. You seem to have a thing for that sheep spell, it’s rather amusing.”
As he laughed, Sheknee stood and let out a whistle. “I have a few new friends I’d like you to meet. I think you will find them a bit more challenging.”
The woods behind Sheknee began to sound as though there were being torn apart. The ground thundered as four massive Ogres appeared beside Sheknee. Along with the Ogres there appeared ten more Defias fighters hidden in the woods.
One of the Ogres led out from the rest and charged towards Rose. Summoning the elements of ice she launched a bolt of ice in an attempt to slow his charge. The bolt hit its target and did nothing to slow his pace. As he charged, the Ogre raised his arm and swung with his massive club. Rose had little time to dodge out of the reach of the blow and was struck in the side. The hit knocked her into a daze which for a moment made her lose her focus on the Ogre.
Seeing his chance the Ogre pressed his attack and charged again. Raising his club once more, the Ogre brought the huge weapon down again. Before it could connect, Dawnshadow lunged at the arm causing the strike to miss. Crying in pain from the bite, the Ogre flung Dawnshadow towards a tree, knocking him out.
Regaining his concentration, the Ogre switched hands and began to raise his uninjured arm, only to stop midswing. His eyes were no longer on his target; they were focused on the lone Dwarf that sat on a boulder on the hill not far in front of him.
“Oh, hi there, don’t be minding me; I’m just watching the fight. To be honest though, so many against just one seems a tad unbalanced. Let’s spice things up a bit shall we?”Wulfgrin said as he puffed on his pipe.
From behind the boulder where Wulfgrin sat, two warriors stepped forward. One taping his sword on his shield, the other warrior drew a claymore as she made ready to charge. From the other side of the boulder the came a pair of deep growls. Climbing up beside Wulfgrin sat two wolves, one white as snow and the other dark as night itself.
“I’d like you to meet Lorix, a former soldier of Stormwind and Denava a fine warrior of her craft. The two wolves behind me are my old friends Meatbag and Darkpaw. That young one you sent to that tree is a member of their pack and I’m pretty sure they will want a piece of your Ogre friend” Wulfgrin said with a chuckle.
Both wolves gave cold stares at the Ogre standing over Rose, each growling with deep hate and slowly moving forward.
Then there came a high pitched laugh from within the woods. Out of the brush there came a small imp. Coming towards the Ogre at a skip, the little imp stopped at the Ogres feet and looked up. Sticking his tongue out, he kicked the Ogre in the leg. The Ogre clearly unimpressed swung at the imp causing him to run away. As soon as he reached the tree line he shouted upwards.
“Uh Boss, I’m gonna need help with this one.”
Looking up, the Ogre could see a human female standing high on a branch, leaning on the trunk of the tree. The Ogre smiled and in a quick motion brought his club down to strike Rose. Before it could land, the Warlock was in the path of the strike and gently put her hand on his arm.
“You are weak, your arms feel weak and that great strength given to you at birth is no more. You arms are like water and you can lift nothing as I cast this curse on you.” She said looking down.
The Ogre suddenly dropped his weapon and struggled to move his limp arms and his eyes began to show of panic.
Looking up into the Ogres eyes she continued. “One of simple mind, look into my eyes and see your fate of a thousand deaths and you will know fear for all that it is in life.”
The Ogres eyes grew wide in terror as he let out a cry and ran back into the forest where he came.
Kneeling down beside Rose, the Warlock helped her up and tossed her some bandages. “Here, you can do this yourself, I’m not in the business of healing, and they don’t pay enough.”
“And this here is Frozentears, a tracker of demons by trade as well as a mercenary for hire.” Wulfgrin said.
Sheknee stood emotionless, showing little concern.
“Is this all? You think by helping Rose you will change anything?”
“Not in the slightest, I said we were here to add balance to this fight. Rose has you all to herself without interference.”
Sheknee laughed. “As you wish.”
As the two sides readied themselves for the fight to come, Rose readied herself for the fight she had trained for so long.
In the shadows high above the battleground, Vendo stood in silence observing the battle about to unfold. Focused on the mission alone and not concerned with the other players involved, he waits to see the outcome so he can report to the Archmage.
((Part 4))
“There are moments in time where an event or action can change the speed of time. In many battles this can occur, some fights can take as long as ten seconds or less. However in that moment in time the two combatants have no focus on time and the fight can seem to last forever. Between the two each move is calculated, thought out and executed. To those outside of the fight, all they see is the end result.
It is in this moment that you have your advantage to strike faster than that of a normal person.
Sheknee defeated you on the principle that he can stop direct attacks as long as he can see them. I will teach you how to strike in multiple places at once, thus not giving him time to focus his defenses. The one way to do this is to utilize the ability to Blink between places.”
Rose thought of the Archmage’s words as she dodged repeated attacks from Sheknees swift motions. The battle had raged for no more than a few minutes and as the Old Mage had said, it had seemed like an eternity. Firing a few shots of arcane magic as she moved to avoid his sword, Rose could see that her spells were having little effect on Sheknee.
The others were fairing better in their fight with Sheknees Defias fighters. Each fighting their own battle with such intensity that it impressed Rose.
While watching the others fight so hard, Rose had forgotten her own battle for a moment and turned in time to dodge another attack that almost connected.
Cursing in frustration Sheknee yelled to Rose “Blast you! Is this all you can do? Fight me dammit or is this the best a puppet of Stormwind can muster?”
Rose stopped moving for a moment to look back to Sheknee “Fine, you shall have what you want” she said as flames began to circle around her.
“At last! Show me what your masters have taught you. Show me the strength that lies within you” Sheknee taunted.
Rose struggled to maintain the massive size of the ball of fire. After a few moments she released it towards her target. As before, Sheknee made no attempts to move and stood in place.
Closer and closer it came and Sheknee stood waiting, smiling. At the last moment, he raised his hand and caught the ball, only this time it began to push him back. Focusing all of his strength, Sheknee began to push back. Sheknee spent so much of his attention towards the fireball in his hands; he failed to notice that Rose was no longer in front of him. It was then he felt the heat of a second fireball coming from behind.
Releasing one hand from the fireball in the front, he caught the second fireball just in time. Crying in pain as the pressure from both fireballs began to weigh heavy in his arms. Just as the two fireballs were about to overcome him, Sheknee gave a desperate final push that stretched his arms. Using the two fireballs, Sheknee catapulted himself into the air leaving the two massive balls of fire to collide into each other. The explosion knocked everyone to the ground, causing all fighting to cease for an instant.
Landing on his feet and falling to one knee, Sheknee began to breath heavy as he took in this moment to rest. Searching through the smoke, he looked around to see where Rose was.
“Well done, they have defiantly trained you better than I had thought. You had better come up with a new strategy, for you will not catch me like that again.” Sheknee said as he stood again.
Emerging from the smoke Rose appeared at a distance in front of Sheknee.
“Ah, so there you are in all of your glory. It felt good did it not? To have me so close to death.” Sheknee said mockingly
“I can see it in your eyes, the bloodlust you once had. There is still a little bit of the old you still in there.” Sheknee smirked
“Tell me, Puppet, how are the dreams?” Sheknee said in a low laugh
Rose stood shocked, she stared at Sheknee with a puzzled look.
“Yes, I know of the dreams. Dreams of things long past. Dreams that make no sense to one who has forgotten their past. They are not dreams, they are memories. Memories of what you were before.”
Rose finally spoke, wanting to know more “What do you mean, what I was before?”
Sheknee chuckled as he came to his feet “It is a common side effect for when a Priest uses a powerful Mind Control spell on a subject. The subject loses all that they were and does the bidding of the controller becoming his or her puppet.”
“That’s not possible, I remember everything, everything I’ve done.” Rose said
“Do you really?” Sheknee said with a smirk.
“Do you remember anything before Moonbrook, before the school? It was you who helped set fire to those buildings and it was you who took pleasure in destroying them all. Then suddenly you stopped at the school and began to care. You destroyed many of those buildings without a care of who or what was in them. You think I’m the bad guy? There were times where your actions scared even me.” Sheknee said
Rose could not believe what she was hearing, could it be possible? Could the dream of the other Rose be actually be her?
Sheknee began to walk closer as he continued. “Do you remember how shocked I was when you said you weren’t a murderer of children? You knew full well there were kids in that school even after the second blast. They took you in that moment to stop you from harming them. They protected the children from You.” Sheknee laughed.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Rose didn’t know what to think. “Who are they? The ones you seem to know that did this to me?”
Sheknee stopped in his place. “Now now, you should know better than that. I can’t go and give away all I know just like that now can I? If you surrender and pledge loyalty to me and I will tell you all you want to know. Otherwise, you will have to defeat me to get it and I don’t see that happening
Looking up to Sheknee she said in a deep tone “Lies, I would NEVER do the things you say. I would rather die before doing such things. I will defeat you and drag the truth out of you screaming if I have to.”
Taking a mocking bow, Sheknee laughed “Believe what you will, puppet, the next time my hands are around your throat I will not waste time on words.” With that Sheknee broke out into a sprint towards Rose.
“I won’t give you the chance to harm me or anyone again. Your terror ends here.” Rose said as she ran to meet him head on.
Once in range, Sheknee swung with his sword at Rose only to hit air. Suddenly she appeared to his right and he swung again, hitting nothing. Then she appeared to his left, again he swung at nothing.
Each time she appeared on his right or left she spoke two words.
At his left…”You Can’t…”
Swinging to his right…”You Can’t…”
She moved so fast Rose seemed to be on all sides at once. Swinging his sword in every direction, Sheknee began to tire, the words slowly driving him mad.
Bringing his sword down with all the force he could he struck out in front of him. Then in a soft whisper from behind he heard “You Can’t Touch Me…”
Before he could get his guard up it was too late, the dagger slipped quietly into his back and he knew it was over.
Staggering forward in disbelief, he dropped his sword and fell to his knees. The ground began to turn crimson as the blood from his wound poured out on the ground. Looking towards the sky, Sheknee seemed to stare at nothing even as Rose came into his view.
“Where magic fails, sometimes it is what you don’t expect that will work.”
Sheknee twisted his blank stare into a smile and looked at Rose. “Kera will be proud of you.” Sheknee laughed weakly.
“Who is Kera?” Rose asked
“Someone of your own blood. Ask the Dwarf, say her name and look into his eyes, he knows of whom I speak. She is your s s sis……” Sheknee couldn’t finish the sentence and closed his eyes, but what was said was all that was needed.
“I…I have a sister?” Rose asked to herself. Rose sat down beside her fallen foe, exhausted from all that took place.
The others came over after their battle had finished.
Wulfgrin came over beside Rose and saw the body of Sheknee and said to Rose “It is done then, there is but one task left to do.”
Looking up to Wulfgrin with tears she said “I have a sister. Her name is Kera. What does that mean?”
Wulfgrins eyes showed a spark of interest at the name, but looked away as he spoke.
“I-I don’t know, but I believe I know one who might. We will go to him and he will tell us what he knows by choice or by force.” Wulfgrin said helping Rose to her feet.
Staring into the trees high above, Wulfgrin knew someone was there.
Vendo, realizing he had been seen, quietly left and headed towards Sarkens tower to turn in his report on the battle.
As the others gathered in preparation to leave, Wulfgrin walked over to Sheknee unseen by the others. As he kneeled down he is startled to see Sheknee still breathing.
Opening his eyes slightly, he smiled at the Dwarf.
“Quite the project you have there, though this is not what you promised in Moonbrook. You didn’t let me have her.” He said weakly.
Wulfgrin leaned closer. “She was never yours to have and you were good practice for loose ends.” Sheknees eyes widened as a dagger went into his neck. Starring at Wulfgrin as the life faded from him, he smiled.
Wiping the blood from his dagger, Wulfgrin moved on to join the others.
(( Also, can I not post in my own post? Only option I get is to reply, but it won’t let me do that unless someone else posts first. I hope that isn’t the case because this will be very annoying otherwise.))