The Wedding

[Thartis]

Thartis looked over his only treasure in life his only daughter. She had hair that made the warm sun envy. She was everything to him and it was her special day. She gleemed of light that that made everyone smile and feel care free of all cares. He felt a twinge of pain of sarrow that his only family left, the only person that he cared for was about to leave him. He shrugged it off knowing that this was she wanted and her will was the same as her mothers was. He bent down to make some last minute fixes to her wedding dress. The dress its self was his great creation on to his daughter. One of the nobles that saw it when is was still on its little stand tryied to pay for in enough gold that he would never work again. He refused the offer this dress was for only one person his beloved Trishal.

He left the tent leaving her to the bridesmaid that will finish the all the things women will do. Women as he gruffs under his breath. Thinking to himself when did she become a woman. Only moons ago she was playing bolts of wool and cloth left it the basement. As he walked he felt a warm sadness come over him knowing tonight he would not have her to talk to in there house. How he wished her mother was still here to see this day.

As he sat down and pulled out his pipe and slowly packed it with the herbs that traveled all the way from the elves. He stopped and wonder if he should travel back there to see his old teacher. Learning thread and needle for cloth and leather made perfect reason when he was still in the army. That was a time when he was young man when his hair was black as night. Thinking of those days when he wore his armor with the crest of his family proudly. He sat there think to himself gazing to the setting sun knowing when the sun rose again it would be a new day and a knew life for all around them.

The wedding was simple but beautiful one that would rival the nobles with all happiness in the air. Trishal was marring a young lad 2 years her senior a young guard with youth on his side. Roun his new son inlaw was known to be just and fare as the new deputy of the farms that took care of the trade route between Goldshire and The logging camp. They would live in bliss and be happy.

As the night progressed and many villagers in joyed the warm summer night. Dancing and laughter was the order of the day from the young deputy. All had taken of it deeply into the bellies. The young couple blessed everyone to continue the party till the night had ended. They retired to there tent. Thartis decided to take a walk down to the lake to watch the moon in that night. The night that he new changed his life. He would have a grandchild by next summer and truly be an old man.

As he look in to moon he saw with his eyes a mountain or city floating across the sky. He looked at his flask of rum and threw it into the water. He knew that what he was seeing was true but a city. Maybe the mages that sought him out for his wears where doing the mind tricks apon him again. Then a beautiful green firework shot from it floated over head. As he watched in awe of what man can do. It stopped in the middle of the ski with no wings and fell into the celbrations. A flash of brilliant light threw him to the ground.

As the haze wore of he could here the screams from the tents. He could see green fire rising on top of the tents. Thartis pushed forward with all his speed that his old bones would allow. As he ran a mixture of curses and prayers left his lips. In the night he could not see well but knew the land that eyes where only something to full young travelers.

He turned around a tree only to see something that only comes in a thousand nightmares. Something only that legends do not speak of. The undead had attacked them. Why? As his mind thought quickly we where a truce. I had heard stories from warriors returning from the front. Thartis always dismissed them as stories to scare the ladies.

As he charged as full speed into Trishal’s tent to save her diving in the front preparing to take on anything he stopped dead in tracks to a sight of his Trishal running a blade throught her new husband to the hilt. ...

[Upae]

(( 8O :cry: Nooo! ))

[Thartis]

As pure horror tore rose from his hear, his mind screemed WHY? Thrishal his sun in his sky slowlt turned to him with eyes not of her own but dark as if not light or life would escape. She slowly with grace that would make any of the highbornes bend to her will spoke in the voice that sounded sweet and loving. “Father I had to he was controlled by a great evil and it had to be done.” As her young love slumped to the floor with a thud that can not mistake his fate she did not even look.

As she approached Thartis he knew he must be keen on what is going on. Was his daughter in the right or was she the evil. He in his heart the his little girl had to be the one that was true to the light. He knew she was pure as the light that came from the mourning sky. He would save here from this horrable dream. As he urged her to move quickly from this place to get the guards to help save the people. He told her to grab the gear she needed and they would be gone. They would head to Stormwind where there would be safe. He grabbed a dagger off the floor that looked as if was dropped by on of the deputies guarding the tent.

As he watch from inside the horrable events taking place where slaughter by these undead killed old and young a shrill filled the air of mother and there kids. He glanced back wondering what was taking so long. Thrishal whispers something and picked up a large axe. As she picked it up Thartis ponders when did my daughter become strong enough to lift such a weapon. He tells her to put it down. “It is to heavy and we must make for speed.” She whispers again this time he hears. “Father you are also one that is the curse of this land.”

She then lets out a scream of joy and blood lust. She swings full tilt at him. With the little dagger he parries her. Tears roll down his eyes as he studders ”Why I am your father. We are family! What is controlling you?” She swings again laughing and yelling “You old Fool I am no longer your little girl I will become a queen once I have purified the lands with your blood.”
Another swing flashes heading for his neck. He ducks and spins slicing her ankle and is now behind her. She screams in exstacy and turns around only to smile. “You are better than we thought old man. Let me hold you to my chest so you may have one last pleasant thought before you die.” As tears fill Thartis’s eyes he drops his dagger. “You are my daughter my the center of my world. I love you.” He aproches her with hands out to embrace the last of his line. At the moment that he steps close to her she chuckles with the sound of demons in her voice ”Stupid old man”. The axe comes over his head straight down. With a flash Thartis spins once more taking the axe from her and one clean motion cleaves her body from the head.

The head rolls to the feat of hear dead husband. Looking straight into the sole of Thartis soul. She speaks with the sound light “Father why did you do this. I was suppose to be happy. Why did you kill me? Why did you do this to me?” She cries. Thartis take the axe with his only child’s blood on it and walks out of the tent. He hears her crying behind him. Tears roll down his cheeks.

He sees the undead feasting upon his friends. In one rush he begins to slaughter the undead with the axe that he killed his daughter. As the undead falls more seem to rise. He begins to rage, a rage that the gods them selves would cower from. As he seas no more throught tear and the blind hate. Then the fire rays of light rise from the sun. He stops wating for any others to stir.

With slaughter around him he sees know what is there. Yes he destroyed all of the undead but looking with an aged eye it strikes him he had also killed the villagers in his rage. The axe in his hands is crusted with blood. He walks back to his daughters tent. There is no noise but the taste blood and death. He moves over to this daughters body and wipes the axe clean.

He shouts with all the hate and confussion ”I will kill all who brought this among my Daughters Wedding!” As walking out the tent he hears a voice that he refuses to listen to.
Thrishal cries “Father do not become one of them. You have already started. They will use you or they will kill you. Do not fight just let them take over that way everything will be in order.” As he looks at the tent he lights his pipe and throws a fire on the tent to burn. He burns it all then sets out on a walk. Thinking “I need allies and If not I will do it myself.” ….

[Thartis]

Thartis out on the road thinking to himself as he walked next to his old friend Smy. Smy was just not any old friend but an aging pinto he saved from a cook long ago. He and Smy had traveled hard for many days heading to the oold capital. He had heard from gaurds and other travelers that the undead was there. Thartis never been there when it was the capitol but he would figure his way there.

If these monsters where there he could find the on that caused his daughter’s great pain that destroyed her life. Careful to avoid many travelers on the road a possible he moved a long crest of mountains and the rocky shore swimming till he finally reached the small town just out side. There where so many of the undead was not sure what to do. He was no great champion or even part of a quest of adventure’s fighting for the holy light. He was just out for revenge. As he hid from view he watched and waited. He was still nursing a wound that a Orc had given in a battle a few days before. It was more luck than skill he was able to walk a way.

Thinking about it he should have been able to kill the orc very easy but as time slowly was catching up with him. He was no longer the warrior of the first war that help lay waste to many of there kind. Now that young orc caught him off guard as he was eating by a fire.

“A fire” he growled to him self. He knew better than that. To hide on should know a fire is not the best thing to do. Well that battle was gone and luckly Thartis still lived. As he sat there thinking of events science the wedding he spent his time hiding and fixing his clothes. A habit of being a talor is that you are always wanting to fix yours or someone other clothes. In his bag he had made several little black dresses. The kind that young ladies like to where when the sun went down.

Making the dresses was the way to calm his nerves. As he waited under a tree to see more of what is going on. Slowly one of the undead walked out into the clearing. It moved funny as if it joints did not move at all or moved to much. Looking at it he could not tell what it’s intentions was. As soon a it turned away from his position he charge letting loose with his axe. A yell of horror of pain screeched from this monster that scared Thartis to take a second slash. He made sure this one was for the neck. If he could he would not let it yell again.

Is it calling on friends as his axe swung straight a true. It did not matter then. He heard the snap of a neck being popped from the rest of its spine. A living man would feel nothing as it would sever all the nerves but wondering would the undead. Not even sure the undead felt any thing he stop to ponder. He rolled it over to see if the job was done.
Looking down at it he saw no movement.

Deciding that there may be some information that could be of use he searched. Finding more than a few copper not much else. Looking at the body closer he moved the arms that where pinned under the body. There he saw in one hand a ribbon, a small blue as the sky ribbon. In the other hand he saw a few flowers. Thartis felt sadness for this undead, he left the coins it the small pouch. For some unknown reason he picked a few more flowers and tied the little ribbon around them. He laid them on his chest, with no further thought to it took out some needle and thread. He sat there for a while trying to fix the rags on his body. It struck him he thought of this undead as a him not a monster.

Soon he heard voices coming down the little path and Thartis quickly ran back into the woods and waited. He heard the voices come closer they where a mix of common and others. He wait unable to see well hiding he could tell from the noise that they where not all undead. He laid there hiding not sure what to do…

[Thartis]

Humans they are humans approaching his heart raced not knowing if these where the ones he heard maybe a trick. He had seen tricks like this before in the war. They approached the body of the undead that he had slayed not just a few moments ago. A young lady was with them wearing a light blue dress. The dress was not of the best quality but was cared for with love. He could see that it was once made for some one else and was carefully made to fit hear. As they looked at the body she fell to her knees next to this undead. They stood around it for a while so silent Thartis thought his own heart beat would give him away.

From the silence he heard a whimper come from the young lady whose hair was black as coal. She begain to wail in pain, it was the sound his heart had made when his own darling daughter was taken over by some other force. The pain of one you love is no more. She stood up straight and whipped the tears from hear flushed cheeks. She turned to the 2 men with her. One was a strong built man with shining plate armor. Had the look of nobility with his posture. Thartis stared thinking with the wits he still had. Then it struck him is a paladin. He had worked with them before. He knew most where cherished by the light only a priest had more blessings than them.

The second was a Night elf, the dark skin and glowing eyes took him a while to get use to when he had traveled in his training. He noticed that this Night elf was wearing a wild cloak. There where few that had the honor to make them for noble people of elves. The cloak caught his eye it had shown that it had stretched and cleaned many times. That mean that he could be a druid for they would roll them selves in there own cloaks at night to sleep. The young lady started to yell with anger and sadness at them. “See some one else did the job for you! All I wanted to do is say good bye to him. He was my lover till this happen. Look at him you two he was our comrade! He now lays here with my favorite flowers with the ribbon I gave him. The Forsaken are not the enemy, it is the Scourge that are. Now get that in your thick heads. I will kill the Scourge for this!”

Thartis laid there listening to it all. Scourge? Forsaken? He has now relized that he may be wrong in all of this. Pain stabs him in the heart. Has he killed more innocent people because he does not know who his enemy is. He wait till the party leaves under the bush. To ashamed to approach them while they are there he now knows he has no clue what is going on. Thinking to him self he walks to his steed. Should I go back to Stormthwind or to Darnasses. He leans down to talk to Sly. My friend I will let you choose…

[Thartis]

Thartis had woke up on the back of a Sly. He had tied himself there so he could get some sleep. Physically and emotionally drained he needed to press further. Untieing him self from Sly he hopped down. His friend Sly had taken them to high mountains where it was covered in snow. It was cold to his body shocking his insides. Quickly he pulled out clothes and leather making it something to take care of himself. Looking over at his friend he took bolts of wool laying them over his old friend.

“Sly why did you choose here?” he mumbled to himself. They started walking up the steep mountain trying to get a bearing on where to go. Looking at an old piece of warn parchment, that way he stated to him self. Ironforge is not to far if it can be done by night fall. Leading the way for the two of them they walked with constant speed of determination.

Wolves he could hear them in the distant giving the call that something is in there land. As they went down a slope a loud snap filled the air. Turning around all he could see was Sly falling down the slope and something else that he could not make out in the snow. Quickly Thartis sprang into action chasing after them. In the snow he could make out to wolves attacking Sly. The wolves where hungry there ribs pushed tight against there skin with the gleam of there eyes telling all creatures it was us or them. Quickly Thartis heaved a smaller axe at one of the wolves. Sly as a horse reared up, trying to keep itself alive kicking at the white attackers that would make him thier meal.

Thartis had struck the wolf with the small axe. As Thartis continue to charge had noticed the axe did strike but with the handle. This seem to aggravate the wolf as it turned around. Thartis in his mind knew the wolf was faster and could move better so tie to just be like the orcs he fought years ago. With full speed he yelled striking fear into the 2 wolves as one ran away the other froze in place. The large axe swung from the side of his body with all that was in him.

The flat side of his struck the skull of the wolf that did not run. With a load pop the wolf fell over with not a making a mark on it hide. The 2nd wolf was now where to be seen in the swirl of snow. Thartis walked over to check his friend. Sly was not to bad but Sly was also very old. Thartis remembered that this old horse was to be made into pet food. His little girl fell in love at first sight while they where in town. She fell in love with all the big colors and how it was not a scary horse like the guards use. At that moment he struck a deal with the butcher and they went home with Sly.

As Thartis worked quickly on the wounds he tried not get emotional of the past. Bandaging quickly ant stitching quickly as he could. He felt the cold breeze made him shutter. They would need to stay the night where they are in the snow or he would push alone. He lost to much in the past few weeks. He had lost his daughter, he had lost on a grasp of the world and he was fearing he was loosing his ability to good from bad. He was not going to loose his only friend left. Cutting down trees and using the bolts of cloth he begain to build. A shelter around Sly blocking the wind. Thankfully the trees had greenbowls on them as he took them and layered them on the sloping side of the peak. Then covering it is snow to give it the installation it needed. When done he looked at it very happy for he still new some of the things he learned before he joined the military from his very young youth. He crawled inside with sly asleep it was warm and a bit crowded.

As Thartis layed there he drifted in to a sleep listening to the howling wind outside.

[Thartis]

As several day’s pass Thartis cared for his companion by melting ice to water. Using plants and animals that he came by for food. They had set up a simple life in the woods but in the back of his mind that they could last forever like this. Sly was starting to show that the worse had past and would be ready to travel soon. Thartis had heard many machines in the woods but did not see any factories or buildings in the area. Thinking that they may be close to a town he gathered up his gear with his friend they prepared to travel. Coming out of the snow level they found a road watching it for a while he decided that is was safe. Fallowing down the hill he came across a small town. The town was small not a few buildings small but the size was smaller.

As he approached carefully a cheery voice spooked him from the corner of his eye. “Greetings traveler. Welcome the inn is just down the road” It was a gnome, gnomes he really had only seen a few in major cities. They where craftsmen of machines they where well known how smart they where. Yes this may just do, I can learn what and who is my enemy is. Once he got to the inn there was a stable mostly with Rams there and a Large Cat type creature. Talking to the very energetic stable master about Sly’s problem they agreed on what could be done.

Leaving Sly to the care at the stables he walked around the small town. There seem to be a bustle all about with dwarfs and gnomes preparing for a party. Walking into the tavern there was many moving bodies most speaking common a few in there own speech. Sitting there enjoying a flask of rum that he had purchased from the barkeeper. Sitting there hearing music on songs that people only sang when they where drunk. Thartis cracked a smile. He missed being with people. There was nothing wrong with his company he traveled with but Sly was not one for talking.

Thartis went up stairs to clean himself up. Shaving something he had not done for over a month and a bath to finally get the grime clean. Feeling much better and washed his clothes and started to fix them proper. Just finishing his clothes and cleaning the armor he had been wearing for so long. Everything seen to be in its place. A loud scream came from the room next to his. Grabbing his axe heading out the door fast as he could.

Breaking in the small door barging into the room with his axe at the ready he saw. A small gnome surrounded by other gnomes all in tears. They all looked up at this strange human with an axe ready to fight but with no clothes on his body. Thartis quickly relized his clothes where still drying in his room. A bit of shame came over him and used the axe to cover parts of his body. The gnomes seen to give a laugh then one in the middle started to cry. “My dress it is ruined. I get married tonight and it can not be torn unless by my husband.”

Thartis soon noticed it was a wedding party. With out haste he told here that he was a talor and would fix it come to his room in a bit so he could become decent. A few moments passed and a small little gnome had entered his room. With a stammer she said ”Sir I have very little coin to pay you.” Thartis smiled “There is no coin for this it is your day.” An hour passed as he worked greatly and skilled. Every few moment s a tear would swell in his eyes. A wedding of a things.
Finally it was done he had the bride come in and try it on. She giggled with delight running back to the rest of her friends. As he was packing away his gear a knock at the door. Turning about was a much older gnome with a deeper and more stout voice stated “Thank You my niece would have a frantic time with out that dress. My name is Sereist” Thartis stuck out his hand to shake and stated his name. Sereist and Thartis when to the tavern to enjoy some brew that had been prepared.

Sitting and talking Thartis had found out that the green light was the scourge. Sereist explained that they moved if floating cities and that is what was likely the cause of your pain. That all the major cities where fighting them alliance and horde alike.

That night Thartis was invited to join in the festival. As he kept a weary eye out for the nightmare to happen again nothing did. He fell a sleep, more like passed out from the booze in his head. The new day broke and he packed to go. Thinking that he shall head back where he came from maybe in Stormwind where he had planned to go before this trip. Walking down to the stables he saw children playing around Sly laughing and giggling. The stable master came out to get them away as he approached. Thatis shouted “Do not do that. Let the kids play with him he is fond of them.”

As Thartis talk to the stable master he noticed the children all seem to love Sly. “So what will it coast for you to take care of him hear with the children till the end of these days.” The stable master looked shock at the question. “Sir a horse is rare hear and my kids love him. I should be paying you.” he said in a cracked voice. “Deal you will pay me by telling where the griffons are from here. I have a long trip to make and a long fight ahead. This young warrior has no time to waste.”

Thartis said good bye to Sly and told the children how Sly is a hero. As Thartis walked up the hill to catch a flight he relized his revenge can not be by hate it must be his love of his daughter that saves him and her.