Heart of Ice

Now...



Lyeald kept her head bowed as she climbed the steps of the Cathedral, avoiding the cultists as subtly as she could. It wasn't all that hard. Most of them were rushing around, trying to stay out of the cold as much as possible, and getting ready for the big event. They had no time to even spare her a second look.



Her feet took her to the right of the Cathedral, where cultists supposed to be working security were warming their hands by a few large fires. She walked purposefully to one in particular, where four people were standing, rubbing their hands. Casually, she stood next to one and held out her hands towards the fire.



“I knew you wouldn't let me down Lyeald,” the man next to her said, sparing her a smile.



She smiled back, but said nothing. She was excited at what was about to happen, but also terrified. They could all be killed if this went wrong, heck if it went right. She didn't even know what was going to happen if they did succeed, or what success even meant. She had assumed Tirion meant to try to take the heart and use it against Arthas, maybe to try to redeem him enough to weaken the Lich King and strike him down, but the fact was she didn't know. She trusted Fordring though, and that was all she could count on now.



A toll was sounded, and cultists began moving into the Cathedral. Tirion nodded to her and the three others and they made their way in. He led them to the front right side, and told them to kneel down like the other cultists. She knelt and bowed her head, but she couldn't keep herself from looking around as unobtrusively as possible.



The Cathedral was quickly filled with the cultists, and there was an air of barely contained excitement, which she guessed was to their advantage, since it didn't make their tension as obvious. Still, she was finding it hard to keep still. Her heart was pounding against her ribs as she began to contemplate what was going to happen.



She could die. Right here and now. She thought of Cer'Ango, about his concern over her need for revenge. Perhaps he had been right, it didn't seem to matter right now, but she did feel a twinge of regret.



“It's here,” Tirion whispered, shaking her out of her contemplation. She looked up and indeed, four cultists were bringing in a cask which almost certainly had the heart. They brought it up to the front and set it down in front of the priest. Bathed in an eerie blue light, the heart rose from it. Lyeald tensed and looked to Tirion, thinking that this was the moment they had to act, but he was suddenly deathly pale.



“Something is wrong,” he whispered and he turned to her, his look sending chills right down to her stomach.



“Arthas is here.”







Four years ago



“Arthas is here!”



The streets of Silvermoon City were chaos. People were running all over, soldiers were trying to get people to safety, or were rushing to the front gate to bolster the defenses against the encroaching army. Smoke, fire and noise were everywhere, and it was almost impossible to see where anyone was going.



Lyeald was shoved and pushed about as she tried to get through the masses back to her home. She couldn't afford to think about the army of undead, led by the renegade Prince Arthas, that were now approaching the gates, of her patients back at the temple, or even of the softness on the ground as people were being trampled. She had to get home, she had to get her family out.



She almost stumbled but luckily regained her footing. If she fell, she was dead. She didn't dare look down, because she knew that if she saw the people beneath her feet, she would be compelled to help them, and then she would also be dead. All she could do was remained focused on her task. To get to her parent's house, to make sure they got out of the city before-



KABOOM!



The explosion blasted from the main gate to the city and the Elder Walk. People next to her were toppled over by the explosion and almost took her with them, but she was able to dodge out of the way and keep moving. The panic was becoming even more intense as people ran every which way, not sure what way led to safety.



She turned her head for just a second and saw the Abominations had broken through the gate and were trampling over the guard there defending it. Other undead were swarming in behind them, and behind all of them, she caught a brief glimpse of Arthas. The Prince had already betrayed his own people, murdered his father and was now going to eradicate Lorderan's neighbor to the north. She didn't pause to look any more as she was swept onward by the now stampeding crowd in the wrong direction.



“No!” she cried, trying to fight the crowd, but it was no use, they were moving en masse, not caring where they were going, just to get away from the horrors that were now invading their beautiful city. As they entered Farstrider Square she was pushed up against a wall, and the crowd kept expanding as more and more people came in from every direction trying to get out and finding there was no where to go. The wall was short, but she couldn't get turned around to climb it, and felt the air being pushed out of her.



Stars were forming before her eyes when she felt herself yanked up suddenly. Then she was on the wall, looking down at the crowd which was getting more and more packed. She looked around and saw that the wall was lined with Rangers who were running this way and that, the one who had rescued her pulled her into a quick hug.



“Keron!”



“Lyeald what are you doing here?” he shouted above the din.



“I left Kild with my parents, I have to get there to get him out!”



Keron tried to hide his panic, but she could see it, it was the same panic she felt for their young son, now on the other side of the city. Her husband shook his head quickly and said, “They will get out, you should have left with the temple.”



KA-KRACK!



They both looked to the east and saw a band of darkness was tearing its way through the center of the city. Explosion followed explosion as it moved quickly northward through the city. More importantly, Lyeald realized that is was between her and her son. She cried out and tried to run, but Keron's strong arms held her back and he tried to reason with her above the din. But there was no reason. Not anymore.



“Open the Western and Northern gates! Get these people out of the city!”



The voice was clear and echoed above the noise of chaos and panic. Lyeald looked up and saw that Sylvanus Windrunner had just landed on the platform behind them, several other Dragonhawks were there and were already being manned by Rangers. Suddenly the crowd began streaming out of the square, guided by some of the younger rangers and soldiers.



“Rangers! With me! We have to defend the Sunwell!”



Keron turned back to her and she understood what was in his eyes. She shook her head and begged him to stay with her, to escape the city together.



“I can't, if they get to the Sunwell we are lost.” He kissed her and then let her go to man his Dragonhawk.



“I will be back, give my love to our son.”



She stared at him speechless as he took off into the sky and watched him go north. She couldn't hear the explosions or the screaming anymore, everything had become quiet.



“Madam!” a young voice shook her out of her numbness and she saw one of the Rangers had taken her arm and was leading her towards the gate out west. She had to be dragged for only a moment before she came back to herself and began to run on her own. The bulk of the crowd was ahead of her and so she was able to move more freely for the moment.



Suddenly her companion grabbed her arm and stopped dead in his tracks, a look of horror on his face. A second later she noticed what it was that startled him, as an abomination stepped out in front of the crowd ahead and began ripping through them. A few tried to defend themselves with their magic, but were easily tossed aside like flies. The few people like her who had not been with the main crowd began running in every direction, only to find themselves trapped by more undead.



The ranger pulled her towards a small building and they quickly scrambled inside and barricaded the door. He led her down to the basement, barricaded that door and they both stood in the darkness panting, as the cries of their people screamed on above.



She allowed a small light to form in her hand, not wanting to be in the darkness. Her companion was an ashen faced youth, who although showed excellent clearheadedness above, now looked on the verge o f panic. They were all terrified she realized, but she she would do her best to keep him calm.



“I-it'll be alright,” she said, fighting to keep her voice steady, but couldn't think of a good follow up. How was this going to be alright? They were being overrun, slaughtered. If Sylvanus couldn't protect the Sunwell, what then? Would Arthas gain even more power? Would they all become undead?



The thought left a cold sick feeling in her stomach and she chose not to pursue it. Sylvanus would hold them off, the alliance would make it through to help them. The Light would protect them. She began murmuring a prayer and held the youth's hand to pass some of that comfort on to him.



It seemed to be working, and the noises from above were starting to fade. They must be moving on she thought, they should now leave the city before-



KRRAAAAAAAAAKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!



The sound was like nothing she had heard before and it ripped through her like a razor. She felt as if her very being was torn asunder by it. She clutched her ears and screamed soundlessly against it before darkness took her.