A New Unlife - by auburnimp (WoW)
Written by Auburnimp
Part of her knew she had once been a priestess and sentinel, one of the chosen of Elune, but now she was something entirely different and served the dark, cold Lich King.
His presence and voice, echoing as if he were two beings not one, chilled her to the bone but she could not refuse him. Her instructor told her, "Kill or be killed," and that's what she did. Scarlet Crusaders, frightened villagers, it was all the same to this thing she had become, this killing machine.
And all the time she heard his voice in her head. "Do it! Kill them!"
She slew hundreds, by sword, by canon and by an instant plague device she used in the enemies' mines.
She was rewarded for each of her efforts, either by the Lich King himself or one of his favoured princes.
Then she was sent into New Avalon, behind enemy lines, to work with two death knights stationed there. One, Thassalian, asked her to rescue his friend, a blood elf death knight called Koltira as, "We are all brothers and sisters in death."
She had to go to the keep anyway, so agreed she would look for Koltira, at least.
When she searched she found Koltira in a basement room, lying on a rack. He had obviously been tortured. Almost forgotten emotions made her help him and although weak and in pain he helped her slay the inquisitor.
She was sent to the chapel as a 'reward' and there came face to face with an Argent Dawn prisoner who recognised her. "Kikuno, don't you recognise me? I used to look after you when you were a babe."
Kikonu? Was that her name then? She killed the night elf anyway and then helped finish New Avalon off with an aerial assault.
The Lich King rewarded her and sent her along with others to destroy the Aregent Dawn at Light's Hope Chapel. She was strangely pleased to see that both Thassarian and Koltira had survived and would be amongst the knights leading the assault on the chapel.
Black banners streaming behind them they charged into the fray. Ten thousand of the Scourge against a pitifully few hundred mortals. The outcome was inevitable.
It came as a shock when their commander's sword could not strike the Argent Dawn's leader. As he tried in vain to bring the weapon under his command, the battle died down as friend and foe alike turned to stare.
There was a bright light and even with her helm firmly in place, she had to shield her eyes against its brilliance. The ghost of their commander's father spoke to him, then the Lich King appeared. Surely now they would finish this.
Instead the sword in their commander's hand wounded the King!
He and the majority of the Scourge vanished in an instant after a last, threatening, "This isn't over."
She was confused. Were they abandoned? Would she die now or become as one of those stinking, mindless ghouls she'd commanded. She was afraid.
The Argent Dawn commander spoke, saying he would write them letters for the King of Stormwind and the Orc Warchief. All Kikuno could think about was what Tyrande would say.
But their commander was speaking once more. "We will take Archerus from the Scourge. It will become our new home, the Ebon Hold and we shall be the Knights of the Ebon Hold."
They returned to Archerus and fought off all the 'surprises' that Arthas had left for them in his spite and Kikonu wondered both at the hold he'd had over her and whether she was truly free of him.
Two weeks later she was in Honor Hold and people seemed to view her as one of them again. She even met up with Thassarian and Koltira from time to time when she returned to the Ebon Hold for supplies or to put runes on a new sword.
Life - or unlife - was good.
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