(2024-01-04) The Beginning of Evil

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Author:	Alli
Summary:	Nesselos and Therald decide to chat with some of the local people in Kamagua about the history of the Lich King in Northrend.
Rating:	T for Teen

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discussion of war and necromancy

Therald waves at Ness.

Ness waves at Therald.

[Nesselos]: Therald! The tuskarr have been very nice.I think they know Cobalt Company! And obviously, the Argent Crusade.

[Therald]: That's good to hear! *He blows air into his hands, warming himself up.*
[Therald]: I'm happy to meet them. They're a fine folk, I've heard.

Nesselos nods at the large building. "I was about to go ask their Elder what he remembers about when the Lich King first came here!"

[Therald]: That's a good plan. I'll be right behind you.

Nesselos heads into the building. He bows before Elder Atuik.

Therald bows before Elder Atuik.

[Nesselos]: Elder Atuik! We are friends from Cobalt Company and the Argent Crusade!

Elder Atuik says: Oh? Your people have done much to help us. Please, be welcome in Kamagua.

[Therald]: Thank you. *He bows his head politely.*

[Nesselos]: Thank you, thank you! I was hoping we could ask you for a story.

Elder Atuik perks up. "A story? My people love stories. What story would like you to hear? The one about the sea monster? Or the blessed spear?"

Therald looks at the Elder in surprise. That sea monster must have been pretty big if they call it the sea monster.

Nesselos shakes his head. "Those sound very fun, but I was hoping for the story of the Lich King. How he first came here, what your people remember…"

Elder Atuik's whiskers droop. "That is not a very happy story. And it is one that isn't finished yet. I would be willing to tell it to you, but…"

Nesselos glances at Therald, then back at Elder. "But…?"

Elder Atuik says: It is too much darkness all at once. Will you help us out here, around Kamagua? And I will delve into the darkness a little at a time.

[Therald]: It's only fair.

Elder Atuik says: Excellent! First, I would ask you to collect shoveltusk meat. We are always in need of more provisions.

Nesselos nods. "We will do it."

Therald nods at Elder Atuik.

Therald looks at Ness. "Ready?"

Elder Atuik says: Now, the story… when the Dark One first appeared…

Nesselos puts out a hand. A little story first.

[Therald]: Oh. Sorry. Please, continue.

Elder Atuik says: It was… near twenty years ago, when the Dark One came to Northrend. Our mystics felt his arrival, but at first we thought it was just one more evil in the world to be endured.

Nesselos blinks. "Twenty years…? Therald, I am not good at time, but wasn't it more recent, when the Prince came north?"

[Therald]: … yeah. It's only been a few years.
[Therald]: Who do you mean… Dark One? Arthas?

Elder Atuik says firmly, "Twenty years. The Dark One is… I assume the one you call the Lich King. He had not yet started to Walk in Shadow, but he was here. He appeared in Icecrown, and his malevolence spread across the land."

[Nesselos]: Icecrown, yes, that sounds right… but the timing…

Therald frowns in confusion. "Do you use… a lunar calendar, or something?"

Elder Atuik says: I have checked my calendar against that of your people. I am quite confident year is the correct measure of time.

[Nesselos]: But was he Prince Arthas?

Therald nods slowly.

Elder Atuik says: I do not know your Prince Arthas. I do know of the Dark One.

[Nesselos]: Hm… maybe we should go hunt, and consider your words. And the next part of the story after…

Therald looks flummoxed.
[Therald]: Sounds fine.

They head out to hunt shoveltusks.

[Therald]: Twenty years?

[Nesselos]: That would be… around when your Sons of Lothar came to Draenor?

[Therald]: Yeah. That's not when Arthas came here at all.
[Therald]: He was still a child at the time.

[Nesselos]: He seemed very confident, though.

[Therald]: He did, yeah.
[Therald]: What do you think it is?..

[Nesselos]: Hmm…. there were bad things happening before, right? Prince Arthas was in Lordaeron when the plague came.

[Therald]: Yeah. Maybe it's… Um. I don't know. That's stupid.

[Nesselos]: What's stupid?
[Nesselos]: No ideas are stupid!

[Therald]: Yeah, but… I don't know, it just comes out of nowhere, a little, so that's probably not right.

[Nesselos]: Now I am very curious in any case. So you must tell me.

[Therald]: Well… Dark One, that's not a name right?
[Therald]: That's more of a… title?
[Therald]: Maybe there was someone else with that title before Arthas, and he's just telling us the wrong story?

[Nesselos]: Hmm, a different Lich King?
[Nesselos]: I suppose I did not specifically ask for the story of Arthas.

[Therald]: Maybe it's like… if they asked us to know about "the human king" and we just started talking about one king, while they meant another one.

[Nesselos]: But that would mean… there are many Lich Kings? Enough to be confused about?

[Therald]: Yeah, that's what I meant. It doesn't really makes sense, that was a stupid idea. We'd know if there were several Lich Kings walking around.

[Nesselos]: Would we, if this one died decades ago? Were you very interested in Northrend back then?

[Therald]: Uh. Not really.

[Nesselos]: Maybe if we let the Elder tell more of the story, it will make sense.

Therald nods at you.

[Nesselos]: Why did Prince Arthas go to Northrend?

[Therald]: Um… History isn't really my thing. He went here after… purging Stratholme.
[Therald]: Before or afte- no, after.

[Nesselos]: Hmm… then maybe because there was already something evil in Northrend?

[Therald]: Yeah, maybe…
[Therald]: I think he came here looking for something - can't recall what, exactly. He didn't just stumble upon this place, I mean.
[Therald]: … Not the most useful of answers, I know.

Nesselos nods. "It would not make much sense if his response to tragedy was 'let me go exploring randomly'."

[Therald]: Yeah, eh.

They make it back to town with plenty of shoveltusk meat.

[Nesselos]: We have brought meat! *Nesselos plops his slabs of shoveltusk steak on the floor* And we are ready for more story!

Therald carefully places his own steaks on top of Nesselos's.

Elder Atuik says: Thank you, thank you! I will ask you to thin the chimeras next, and bring me their horns, but yes…
Elder Atuik says: The Dark One began to grow very powerful. His will began to reach out to the living things of Northrend.
Elder Atuik says: And as he did, where he could, he…. twisted them from the proper path.

[Nesselos]: What do you mean?

Therald frowns.

Elder Atuik says: He began to enslave them, take over their minds. And then there was the plague.

[Nesselos]: Plague? Here, too?

[Therald]: And the plague here began around twenty years ago?

Elder Atuik nods. "It did not only kill, but… prevented Karkut from leading their souls along the proper path to rest."

Nesselos mouths 'prevented Karkut'.

Therald guesses who Karkut must be, so he simply nods.

Elder Atuik says: They became the unliving, enslaved. Some of the unliving are free now, but this is a new thing.

[Nesselos]: The death knights. *Nesselos nods*

[Therald]: Hmm.

Elder Atuik says: And the ones you call Forsaken, yes. They are no longer with the Dark One, but still bear the mark of Karkut.
Elder Atuik says: In any case, I am jumping ahead. Back then… the Dark One's influence spread, and we tuskarr mostly kept out of the way. But there was one conflict that might have checked his power.

Therald raises an eyebrow.

Elder Atuik says: The Nerubians… not allies of ours, exactly, but we were able to live and let live, we on the coast and they underground. They, however, were immune to the plague.

[Nesselos]: So you were… cheering on the Nerubians?

Elder Atuik says: I am not certain I would say that, but we hoped they would stop the Dark One. In the end, though, they fell. Though they did not sicken, they could be raised once fallen.

[Therald]: Yeah. I know some of them are on the side of the Scourge.

Elder Atuik nods sadly. "Most of them that remain are in his thrall. Their kingdom is destroyed."

[Nesselos]: I feel sorrow for them. *Nesselos lowers his head in respect.*

Therald looks at the fire, burning in the center of the hut.

Elder Atuik says: Well, I think that's quite enough darkness. You should get some more sun, and I'll think of the next things I recall!

[Therald]: Very well!

They head to fight chimeras.

[Therald]: Immune to the plague..

[Nesselos]: But not immune to necromancy…

[Therald]: Yeah. I wonder how that worked.

[Nesselos]: I wonder if it would have been a better world, if the Nerubians had won.

[Therald]: I mean… probably so.

[Nesselos]: Would it be another Ahn'Qiraj?
[Nesselos]: I have heard Azeroth has difficulty with these kinds of creatures as well…

[Therald]: Yeah, but these were here, right? I don't think they'd have come all the way to the Eastern Kingdoms our Kalimdor.

[Nesselos]: I suppose, if they coexisted with the tuskarr. Maybe they would have been better long-distance neighbors.

Therald nods at Ness.
[Therald]: Perhaps if they'd won, they'd have thought themselves all powerful, got power hungry, and maybe then, they'd have been a threat to the tuskarr.
[Therald]: But… that didn't happen.

[Nesselos]: Another path, maybe a better one, but not the one we're on.

Therald nods at Ness.

They return to town, chimeras slain!

Ness waves at Elder Atuik.

Therald bows before Elder Atuik.

[Nesselos]: Elder, we are here for more story!

Elder Atuik says: Ahh, so soon! But I suppose the story will not hold forever.
Elder Atuik says: I left you with the war between the Dark One and the Nerubians. Some years after, that was when your people *he nods at Therald* arrived on our shores in an expedition.

[Therald]: Arthas?

Elder Atuik says: A large group of your people, and yes, they were led by a human man.
Elder Atuik says: It was an ill-fated expedition. Their ships were burned, and they were stranded. I do not think many survived, and I grieve with you for them.

Therald takes a deep breath.

Elder Atuik says: As with other people, the Dark One influenced them.
Elder Atuik says: When they finally were able to return south, their leader… he was no longer himself. Nor were his followers.

Nesselos nods sadly. "This comes to the part of the story we know."
[Nesselos]: Do you know what happened to the leader, while he was here?

Elder Atuik shakes his head.

[Therald]: Hm. So… he isn't the Dark One, Only influenced by him?
Therald looks a little worriedly at Ness. If there's an even bigger guy than the Lich King, that sounds bad.

Elder Atuik says: He is… now, he is He Who Walks in Shadow. They are one and the same, but now he walks the land.

[Therald]: He who walks in Shadow… now walks on land?

Elder Atuik nods. You understand!

Therald doesn't understand. He looks at Ness. Does he understand?

Nesselos shrugs. He does not really understand.

Elder Atuik says: I am afraid I have no further explanation today. But… you can find the place where the ships from this expedition landed, not far from Moa'ki Harbor in the Dragonblight. Perhaps you may find more to the story there.

[Therald]: Thank you for your help.
Therald bows before Elder Atuik.

Ness bows before Elder Atuik.
[Nesselos]: Perhaps we will travel to Moa'ki Harbor next.

[Therald]: Yes, that sounds like a plan.

[Nesselos]: It sounds like he's saying some dark spirit…. merged with Arthas?

[Therald]: That sounds like it, yeah. Like Arthas is a… vessel for something, I guess?

[Nesselos]: It sounded like that, yes. Maybe if we follow in his footsteps, we'll be able to make sense of this.

[Therald]: Yeah. Find… which spirit inhabits him.
[Therald]: Is that even possible?
[Therald]: I mean, you're a shaman, so if anybody could do that, it's someone like you.

[Nesselos]: I don't know if I can. *Nesselos looks troubled* I've only been a shaman for a little while, and I'm so young I'm only a few years past two hundred.
Nesselos looks at Therald with hope in his eyes. "But maybe, if we work together? We can at least try, can't we?"

[Therald]: … yeah. Young. It may take time, but we'll try, yes.
Therald nods.