World of Warcraft®

It was rather odd of the Lady Linnaea to be frightened of a rabbit. Dusk agreed and finished her kava, giving in to the small bit of fruit the cook pressed into her hand. She did like strawberries, the tart fruit woke her taste buds and she smiled. "I will take care of it, thanks."

The garden was being tended by the cook's helper, too bad she did not see any tracks other than the barefoot ones of the girl and his leather clad ones. Her keen eyes soon found the rabbit, and she made short work of him. The young boy tending the garden smiled, "Rabbit stew for lunch!" as he carried the rabbit to the cook.

Dusk made her rounds, to each of the guards at their stations. "Be on the look out for a breach in the fence. I want patrols at all hours, staggered times. Two of you at a time patrolling the outside perimeter. We may need to get some dogs for patrol, or better yet, maybe some spiders from Undercity. We can station them at the corner towers. I will talk to Lord Bloodmoon about it."

It was late afternoon before Dusk found time to meet with the Lord of the Manor. He was at the pools with his apprentice. It was almost comical as he sat on the divan with Linnaea, he had on skimpy bathing trunks and was obviously enjoying her attentions. Dusk averted her eyes and paced back and forth. "How goes the preparations for the ritual, Lord Bloodmoon?" she asked casually as she looked everywhere but his lap.

"Good news, I have a team assembled and we will begin in the evening hour of nine. After dinner and we all have had time to let food settle. Captain, why are you pacing? Sit down you are making me irritated with your pacing." Gidean was calm and his arm was around Linnaea.

Blushing furiously, Dusk settled on the ground. "Sorry, Sir. I do not like to disturb your obvious enjoyment of the evening." her voice sheepish.

"There is plenty of room up here, do not be shy..." he started before Linnaea whispered in his ear. "She what? Oh for Light's sake...fine" and he covered his lap with a towel.

Dusk got up and cleared her throat, "All right, Sir. Sorry." and she got on the divan as far away of the two of them as she could. "You have the team ready? That is good."

At about that time the Lady Sinwell made her way to the pools joining them as they talked about the ritual. Dusk showed her the rune on her neck, and Sinwell liked it very much. "It's very pretty, Dusk. Who did this for you? I might have some work done."

The rest of the night was a blur as Dusk fought off her growing drowsiness. Would she be ready for the ritual. One thing disturbed her. Lord Bloodmoon mentioned she would not be drugged for this. She needed to be awake and fighting mentally. He told her to expect pain.

Eyes a little bleary from lack of sleep and her anxiety high, Dusk walked to the front door of the ancient school, Scholomance. Her friends were gathered here, Rhannah, Lady Sinwell, Linnaea, and Lord Bloodmoon.

They were here to help her get rid of a curse, and a spirit that was trying to kill her. She knew it was not Kale. And she had finally accepted the fact she needed to do something about the cursed sword. She was almost half dead already, undead that is. Her nerves were not the same. She could fight without pain most of the time, her hands were cold and her ability to stand intense heat or cold was almost frightening.

Lord Bloodmoon was stern with her, "Let's get this taken care of, so I have a living Captain of the Guard. Shall we?" he indicated the door to the old school. Linnaea followed close beside him, still clinging to him as if she was afraid he would disappear.

The warlock, Rhannah, led them down into the bowels of the old school. There in a room full of old bones and cobwebs was a sturdy table. It had been cleared of debris and even though it was stained, it was clean. Dusk stared at the table and then around the room. "It looks like a butcher shop..."

The others just stared at her as if she was losing it. "All right fine..." she got up on the table and laid the cursed sword beside her.

Rhannah went around the room and lit candles, cleansing it of stray spirits. "I will take the position near the feet. Lord Bloodmoon to her head please, your assistant and the priest to either side. I will begin as soon as we are ready." she was quiet and calm.

The rest positioned themselves and Lord Bloodmoon nodded. "We are ready, you know this will be painful? No drugs, you have to be awake and fighting this spirit." he was looking directly at Dusk.

The warrior nodded, "Yes, I know...I was told...I am ready." her arms twitched in nervousness but she managed to relax and breath deeply. No drugs meant she would feel every bit of pain. She glanced at Lady Sinwell, biting her lip slightly.

The healer turned to Lord Bloodmoon and spoke. "Let me give her a potion for stamina and to boost her spirit...at least that much will help her to resist the power of the curse."

Gidean thought it over and then nodded. "As long as she stays awake. I will allow one potion." his words spoken with authority.

Lady Sinwell gave the potion to Dusk and she drank it down. "Thanks, though it is bitter..." she made a slight face. But the potion started working right away. Dusk could feel the heightened awareness of all in the room.

Rhannah began casting her shadow magic to begin. They had agreed to work all at once to remove the curse and separate the bond from the sword. Lord Bloodmoon cast a powerful remove curse spell, but was resisted by the sword/spirit.

As the curse fought with Gidean, Linnaea added her strength to his. The room crackled with arcane energy. Rhannah found tendrils of Shadow embedded in Dusk's soul. She worked carefully to remove them, "They are hooked! The more I pull on them the deeper they dig in!"

Dusk screamed in agony as the hooks drove deeper. Rhannah had to fashion a shadow dagger to dig out the hooks. Thrashing on the table, Dusk fought the spirit inside of her trying to take over her body.

Sinwell added her Holy magic and fought the pain and healed up the shredded spots in Dusk's soul. She added strength to all of them as she worked to give Rhannah as much help as she could. "Fight it Dusk! Force it out!" At one point she thought she might have to shackle the undead part of Dusk to keep her from grabbing up the sword and striking at them.

Lord Bloodmoon fought with the curse, twisting it and pulling it one way as Linnaea fought to pull it apart the other direction. The spirit rose up from inside of the sword and struck out at Linnaea, thinking she was the weakest of the group. A shadowy skull appeared behind her and spoke to her, "Poppet? Ye hear me? Ye be nothing but a harlot...always"

Linn faltered but for a moment and then forced the spirit away from her with frost and shards of ice. "No!! I will not listen to you!"

Arcane magic flew in all directions as Gidean Bloodmoon and Linnaea worked together to tear the curse from Dusk. Rhannah separated each strand of the Shadow magic embedded in Dusk's soul. She had to call in one of her demons, a void lord who drew away the fragments of the shadow even as she pulled them from Dusk.

Blood flowed from Dusk's mouth and from tiny cuts all over her body. She screamed and screamed until her voice was nearly gone. Finally the fifth and last tendril was severed and removed. A hollow voice bellowed in the room, "NOOO! I must have you!!" but Rhannah bound the spirit into a soul gem before it could attach back to Dusk.

"Quickly!! Put that in here! We must contain it." Gidean held out an ancient Zandalari voodoo doll and the soul gem was inserted into its back. "Now we can dispose of this...the ocean depths will work well." he seemed to speak from experience.

They were all exhausted and sank to the floor panting. Dusk lay unconcious on the table. Lady Sinwell continued to pour Holy magic into her. Finally when she thought it was going to drain her of every ounce of mana, Dusk stirred.

Her voice was a croak as she whimpered. "Is it...over?"

The blue eyes that opened to stare at Gidean Bloodmoon were not the blue of undeath, but they were certainly blue. The pale skin of her body had started to bloom a healthy pink as blood began flowing normally. The toxins and unholy magics of the runed blade were gone. She was weak as a kitten, but her mind was not the spinning whirlpool it was before.

He looked at her and smiled, "I guess you now have blue eyes. I hope that is not all the curse left behind." he turned to the healer, "Lady Sinwell? What is your prognosis?" he was exhausted but still cared enough to make sure Dusk would be all right.

Lady Sinwell was nearly ready to collapse herself, but managed to do a scan of the warrior. "She is well for the most part. But I am sorry to say that she will never have children. The scars there are too delicate to repair. But she should have a full recovery. After a few days rest of course."

The warlock, Rhannah, was nearly spent herself as she knelt on the floor watching. "I am glad it worked...it took nearly everything we had." her smile was for all of them. It was not often she was called on to do such detailed and delicate work.

Dusk could hardly move, "It feels like I was run over by a herd of kodo." she glanced at the sword by her side. It no longer glowed from the unholy, blood and frost runes. All were broken and useless. She moved her hand to it and felt the cold metal. It was as inert as the day it came out of some smithy. Untouched by the Lich King and his tainted Scourge.

She remembered the day she had picked it up. Regret flooded her as she thought of Kale. But it was not him, he had died long ago, defending his family. The malevolent spirit trapped now in the phylactory was not Kale. She was free once more.

Lady Sinwell offered her another potion, "To help you recover your strength and vitality, then you need lots of rest." she handed them all similar potions. Sitting there sipping the healthy potion, they looked at one another and wondered if they would ever forget this night.

Dusk finally got enough strength to sit up and pick up the sword. She turned to Lord Bloodmoon. "Sir, I owe you my life. You have given me back something very precious. This sword, this warrior would serve you. From this day forward, I will serve the House Bloodmoon, all who are under your protection are now my charges as well. I swear to you this oath, by blood make it so." Holding the sword in her hand the blade made a shallow cut and she let a few drops of the bright red fluid hit the floor. She offered him her hand, her gaze steady as she met his.

Gidean pulled the leather band from his head that held the hair from his eyes. Sweat dripped down his handsome face. He was physically and mentally exhausted. They had wrestled the spirit from Dusk and removed the binding curse. But there was a toll. Though her eyes cleared of their unnatural light for a brief time and her skin colored with warmth, those signs of restored health would only be temporary.

Gidean shared a sad gaze with the lovely Lady Sinwell, a consort of sorts to him. Her slight nod confirming what both had felt during the titanic struggle with the maligned spirit. Lady Witherblade would forever hover between life and undeath. She would slip no farther into the undead realm but what the sword and spirit had already took would not be restored.

Lady Sinwell had lied to Dusk not wishing to upset her any more after the terrible ordeal. Her infertility had nothing to do with scarring. Lady Witherblade was neither fully alive nor was she undead as were the forsaken. She was suspended in a world in between. Maybe days...maybe hours but the unearthly glow of her azure gaze would return. The color of her skin would fade once more to the way it was just before the ritual. Nothing that Lord Bloodmoon or Lady Sinwell Wavestrider could do would prevent that. Perhaps another had the power to reverse the loss...but it was beyond the scope for the mage and priestess.

Simply removing the curse and containing the evil entity had almost proven beyond their combined efforts. More than once Rhannah stumbled and nearly lost consciousness while removing the shadow barbs that wormed into Dusk's soul. On the last barb, when it was obvious that her strength was exhausted Gidean implored her to take strength from him. The generous use of his Evocation, Icy Veins and Frost Armor spells had allowed Gidean to maintain his vigor throughout the ritual. In fact the only time he faltered was when the malevolent spirit manifested outside of Dusk in the form of a spectral skull and worked to undermine the efforts of young Linnaea.

The skull had mocked her playing to her deep seated fears that she would be returned to the life she knew and lived before coming under Gidean's tutelage. That of a courtesan. A plaything for men and women to use and abuse. Gidean had promised her that under his training she would never return to that way of life as a means of feeding herself. He promised her she would be a mighty mage one day and he would see that promise to fruition. But this maligned spirit read her thoughts...drank her fears and doubts and attacked her in an effort to break the circle, to ruin the ritual that was systematically removing it from Captain Witherblade.

Gidean could not have been prouder when Linnaea cried out in strong defiance and sent icy shards into the manifestation dispelling it's unholy projection. The ritual continued and they all eventually triumphed. Dusk would not die. Dusk would not decay and become a loathsome thing like so many of the denizens of Undercity.

Dusk would keep her soul.