Trials of a Planeswalker Ch. 01: Rising

"Really? Kick me in the chest?" Blayne sighed, "So much for loving and caring."

"Shouldn't we be warning King Wrynn if the impending invasion?" The Captain said urgently.

"Right! Where is he?" Blayne asked.

"Where is the King of Stormwind. Really." Captain Jedd said in disbelief, "Perhaps the Stormwind Keep?"

"Right. Where's that?" Blayne asked.

"What the hell? Go up these stairs and when you get to the top, you should be able to see a blue-roofed spire in the distance. That's part of Stormwind Keep. If you somehow get lost, ask a guard for directions." Captain Jedd yelled, pointing at a large series of staircases that led from the docks up to the city.

"Thanks." Blayne nodded, dashing up the stairs.

He reached the top of the stairs and glanced back. Varia was taking her sweet time in climbing them.

"Varia! Come on!" Blayne called down to her.

"No! Maybe I should just sit down and fake being sick! Then you'll carry me!" Varia yelled.

"Is that what this is about?! Come on Varia, there are bigger things here than a spout between us!" Blayne exclaimed, "There's a fuckin' army coming!"

"Then go!" Varia yelled.

Blayne rubbed his face and shook his head before turning. He jogged through a nice looking courtyard and down a dirt path. He was running behind a rather sizeable cathedral. It's spires towered over him as he rushed onward. His path took him through a gatehouse and he dashed quickly through another portion of the city. The entire city seemed to be built around a number of canals that all flowed towards the harbor.

Reaching the drawbridge to the keep, Blayne glanced back once more, hoping Varia had hurried up. She hadn't and so he mounted the stairs alone. The city was bigger than it looked and it had actually taken him the better part of a half an hour to reach the keep.

He mounted this new staircase two steps at a time. The stairs wrapped around a large fountain, the center piece of which was a fifty foot statue of a very vicious and proud looking man.

He headed towards the grand archway leading into the heart of the keep. He astounding by the stone and marble work inside. Great pillars held up the vaulted ceilings high above him and a beautiful pattern of blue and white spread out beneath his feet. His boots clacked on the stone with each step and he hurried up the long hallway.

Guards in silver and blue armor were positioned near every pillar on his way up, all of them looking large and ferocious. He reached the end of the halla nd was met by four guards.

"Halt! What is your name?" The guard asked.

"I'm Blayne! Blayne Abasset. I'm here to see the King. There is an army headed this way and I must talk to him." Blayne exclaimed.

"One does not just see the King on a whim. King Varian is a very busy man." The guard growled.

"There is a blood elf army headed this way and if I don't see him, Stormwind won't be prepared for the fight." Blayne said sharply.

"What's going on?" A deep, commanding voice called across the throne room.

"Your majesty, a man is here claiming that a blood elf army is headed this way." The guard called over his shoulder.

"Well let the man through, if there is an attack, I need to hear about it!" The king called.

"But sire, he doesn't wear the clothes of an Alliance soldier. He might be a spy!" The guard argued.

"Soldier! Bring that man to me now!" The king commanded.

"Yes sir!" The guard stood aside quickly.

Blayne crossed the throne room and found himself looking at an astounding man. If it were possible for a man to be described as the essence of 'predator' this man was his. His eyes looked upon Blayne with unblinking, eagle-like pupils. His shoulders showed the broad strength of a bull, shown by the large orange-glowing sword on his hip. His deep brown hair was tied up in a messy tail. His armor bore the crest of Stormwind and his pauldrons held the visage of the eagle and the lion.

This man was not one to be crossed nor trifled.

"So what news is this you bring me?" King Varian said.

"There is a blood elf army rushing down the coast, intent on attacking Stormwind. They have with them more than a dozen boats loaded with troops. I did what I could to slow them, but they approach with unrelenting swiftness." Blayne explained, "If you do not prepare now, they will attack without opposition."

"This is very serious. What is your name? Where do you hail from?" King Varian asked intently.

"I am Blayne Abasset. I am a powerful wizard and I'm not from this world." Blayne said, deciding it best not to lie.

"You are not of this world?" King Varian said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I am not." Blayne said.

"What world are you from then? Outland? Do you hail from the same kingdoms as the Draenei?" King Varian asked.

"No, I am not from this world or any world you know of." Blayne explained, "It's not something easy to explain."

"Blayne! Get these fools out of my way!" Varia called from behind them.

"Who is that?" King Varian exclaimed.

"It's my friend. I ran ahead to make sure I told you as soon as possible." Blayne said.

"Let her through." The king waved.

"About time you get here." Blayne groaned.

"So who are you? Are you from another world like this one?" King Varian asked.

"I'm Varia and yes, I am." Varia said.

"You share my grandmother's namesake." King Varian said, "So you and Blayne are from another world and you are here to warn me of a blood elf attack."

"Yes, we are." Varia nodded.

"Sire! A scout has returned from the northern coasts. They say a great force aproaches!" A soldier said as he rushed into the room, "They fly the flag of Silvermoon!"

"General! Ready our forces! Muster the men to the defense of Stormwind! We have a city to defend!" King Varian called out, "Blayne, I thank you for rushing here, even if it were unneeded. But if you want to help, you may fight."

"Why do you trust so willingly? What if we are spies for the elves or something similar?" Varia asked curiously.

"I trust you because I choose to and because you are trustworthy." King Varian said, "And because I will be standing with you. If you do anything to endanger Stormwind, I will flay your flesh from your bones."

"I think that settles that." Blayne chuckled, "Where shall we fight?"

"If you are as powerful of wizard as you say, then you will find your own place to fight. Just do not put my knights in danger." King Varian said, "Because of the placement of Stormwind as a harbor city, they can only attack from the south or from the harbor. They will not be able to bypass us and attack from the south, so they will be forced to try and take the harbor directly. I trust you've been in battle before?"

"I have and I can't say that I enjoyed it." Blayne said flatly.

"Truer words have never been spoken." King Varian nodded.

*******

Blayne stood beside Varia on the western watchtower, overlooking the large harbor. North and east of them were steep hills that had sheer cliffs on the other side, making it nearly impossible to cross them.

Dozens of merchant vessels were packing up and slowly moving south. The blood elf ships were in sight and everything was tense.

"How do they possibly hope to just slide in here? It's a well-guarded harbor!" Blayne asked King Varian, "They'll get slaughtered en masse if they try it."

"Yes, by conventional means, Stormwind is nigh impregnable. Your only two fronts of attack are a well guarded harbor and great southern gate, which is guarded by the moat and, if need be, we can destroy the bridge and remove all connections to the city." King Varian described, "But if my suspicions are correct, they have magic to help their assault. We have mages too."

"Yea, you have me." Varia snorted, crossing her arms.

"I hope you're half as good as you claim." King Varian nodded.

"Sire! They are preparing something!" A soldier called, handing him an eyeglass.

"What is it?" Blayne asked.

"Some kind of catapult on the lead ship's bow, but they're loading up some kind of ammunition that I have never seen." King Varian said, "Whatever it is, it isn't good."

"They can't possibly hope to fire at such a range." Varia said, "I've never seen anything fire that far."

"Well they intend to. Brace for impact!" King Varian screamed down the battlements.

His voice boomed out over the harbor and men repeated the order. Men hunkered down behind the barriers and walls. In the distance, the catapult fired and it's payload arched high in the sky.

"That isn't good, there's magic there." Blayne said, leaping up on the edge of the wall around them.

He summoned up his magic and he hurled forth a great rope of kinetic power. It looped around the glowing orb and he yanked hard on it, redirecting it's kinetic energy. It was dragged off course and struck the hills on their right. It detonated in an enormous explosion that showed dirt and stone into the water. The ships got closer and closer. Apparently they didn't have another shot of that type or they believed it not worth firing another.

"Good one." King Varian nodded, "I thank you. Fire all against the ships! Mages, destroy them!"

The commands were repeated down the harbor and a dozen heavy bolts fired towards the ships. Dozens of fireballs arced into the sky, falling towards the ships.

A shimmering barrier appeared over each ship and they pushed closer, all the Alliance's attacks finding the powerful barriers instead of their targets.

"See, magic shields. I thought as much." King Varian nodded.

"Let's test them out." Blayne smiled from his stance atop the tower wall.

He wrung his hands together, the light of electricity crackling between his fingers. He drew forth more power and filled himself with it. He brought it to bear and swung his hand forward.

A great boom of thunder and a blinding crack of lightning exploded from his hand. It struck the barrier, making it shine bright. Then with a strange rush of air, the barrier blinked out of existence. A catapult shot struck the bow of the ship and water started to pour into it's hull.

"Very good! Very good!" King Varian exclaimed, "You are a powerful mage!"

The ships reached the harbor, barrelling over the docks and running aground. Hundreds of blood elf troops poured forth, charging over the cobblestones and towards the waiting forces.

"Fire! Archers fire!" King Varian yelled out.

Blood elves began to fall by the rains of arrows falling upon the docks. Screams of war and pain called out. Ships burst into flames as magic struck them. The ships out in the harbor retained their barriers and stayed strong, but the landing parties needn't keep their ships any longer as they charged forward.

The blood elves were met by a wall of steel and flesh, striking valiantly and viciously at them. The elves were skilled, but so were the humans. The battle was pitched and wild, the Alliance holding the enemy down on the harbor.

"We need to hold them here. I've seen the city. It's no place to fight them. We need the open space of the harbor." Blayne said, holding up his hands, "Cover your ears."

Magic surged forth, the hot and rage-filled red mana coursing through his veins. He let the power grow inside him until it was completely uncontrollable. He breathed deep the hot, midday air and thrust his palm forward.

A blinding conflagration exploded out in the middle of the blood elves, decimating dozens of their troops and blowing one of their beached ships in half. It pushed the battle in their favor and the elves started to get pushed back.

"Good! Good!" King Varian nodded.

There was a strange glow coming from the ocean themselves and Blayne saw it start to move. In a sudden surge of fear, he realized that the elves were taking his own trick against him.

"Move! Move! Evacuate the docks! Retreat!" Blayne yelled loudly.

"What're you doing?!" King Varian yelled, grabbing Blayne's arm.

"They're all going to die!" Blayne exclaimed.

There was the sound of a massive rush of water and the oceans spilled forth. Dozens of elven mages threw forward their magic from their boats. It rushed around the elven troops and struck the Alliance head on. The troops broke rank and tried to run, but the water rushed forward and up the steps. In a great crashing of ice, it solidified and held them solid. They were held helplessly by the ice up to their ankles.

"No!" Blayne screamed.

Thousands of ice shards exploded upward from the ground around them, spearing and killing a thousand Alliance troops at once. All in a single instant, every human life guarding the harbor was extinguished. The ice melted in a flash and flowed back into the ocean, giving nothing but corpses to slow the elves.

"Fall back! Everyone fall back! Bar the gates! Defend the wall!" King Varian yelled loudly.

"I tried to warn you! It happened too fast." Blayne shook his head.

"It's not your fault. This is war." King Varian said, turning and climbing down the ladder.

"Where are we going?" Blayne asked.

"Down to the street. If they breach the gates of Stormwind, I shall meet them head on!" King Varian exclaimed, "Never has Stormwind fallen under my rule. Never will it fall."

"Finally! Something fun!" Varia hooted, "Hey, you guys have a sword I could use? A sabre of some kind?"

"Sire! King Varian! Blood elf troop ships have diverted south and they're deploying!" A soldier exclaimed.

"Damn it! Split off what troops we don't need defending the wall here and send them south!" King Varian growled, "We must hold the great southern gate! Come on you two! You're coming with me! General, you have the harbor wall! I damn well expect to come back and find it standing solid!"

"Yes sir my liege!" The man on the other side of the tower saluted.

"Come on!" King Varian exclaimed, jogging out of the tower, "Horses! Bring me horses!"

A soldier quickly came over with two large stallions.

"Quickly! Quickly!" The king demanded.

Varia was quick about throwing herself up on one of the horses. Blayne awkwardly scrambled up behind her as the king snapped his reigns and galloped off.

"Whoa!" Blayne cried in surprise as their horse tore off after the king.

"Don't be a wuss!" Varia laughed, "It's just a horse!"

"I've never been on one before! I would've rather flown!" Blayne cried, wrapping his arms around Varia's waist.

"You were fine on the griffon! What about now?" Varia asked.

"The griffon was majestic... this is psychotic!" Blayne exclaimed.

"Oh shut up and hold on." Varia snapped the reigns again and dug her heels into the horse's sides.

It snorted loudly and galloped faster, racing after the king.

They sped across the city and reached the southern gate just as a large catapult fired over the wall, likely landing among the invading blood elves. The horses raced through the portcullis and reached the bridge, where a heated battle was taking place. The defenders were barely holding their ground against the blood elves.

"Son of a bitch!" King Varian yelled angrily.

The great wooden gate on the other side of the bridge was burning and only one side still stood. Blood elf troops marched over it with malicious intent.

Magical artillery launched over the first wall and struck the second, exploding across the heavy stone and charring it with black soot. Blayne felt the magic being fired from the blood elf mages on the other side of the outer wall. They were powerful. Not as powerful as he, but together, they were impressive.

"This city will not fall to the likes of you!" King Varian bellowed loudly, leaping from his horse and headlong into a group of blood elves.

The king fought with such ferosity, such unadulterated rage that Blayne was exceptionally glad that he was on the king's side.

His sword slew with single swings, flaying chests open and lopping entire bodies in half. His other fist fell like lightning upon any it touched, bashing in skulls and caving in rib cages. Blood and slaughter surrounded him and nothing seemed to touch him. He fought like both a common brawler and an exceptionally skilled swordsman. The sight of it inspired both awe and terror.

"So I've told you of my Sangromancy, yes? Well let me show it in action." Varia grinned, sliding off the horse.

The line of defenders was rallied greatly by the sight of their king terrorizing the enemy with such bloody vengeance. They pushed back and managed to shove them all the way to the gates, getting locked in a bottleneck with the elves.

Varia pushed through the soldiers around them, something strange happening as she passed. The corpses around her feet turned gray as their blood was drained from their bodies. It flowed eerily along the ground behind her, streaming like crimson snakes. Her hands twisted and turned at her sides, sneakily commanding the blood of the fallen to follow her.

Blayne dismounted and followed her, wading into the heart of the fighting. They pushed right up to the fight and Varia brought her hands up. Gallons of blood that she had been collecting rose up around her. It dripped on her face and arms, giving a menacing appearance. Men, hardened by battle and desensitized to the horrors of war began to shudder and tremble at the sight. She swirled the blood around her in a terrifying show of gore.

The defenders spread out beyond the gate as the elves retreated back onto the open ground. The Alliance gave her a wide berth, staying clear of the blood that swirled all around her. The blood elves seemed to not want to get any closer to her than they had to. She was terrifying to enemies as much as allies.

In a scream of fury, the blood under her control lashed out. It struck with the force of a dozen blades, sinking into flesh and drawing back with more blood for her to control. She killed elves where they stood, spearing them and draining their life's blood from their bodies. Men cut in twain that should be spewing crimson fountains, instead fell to the ground dry and pale as their blood was drained and pulled away.

Pulling mana from the blood itself, she maintained a powerful focus on her enemies ahead. At her command, the crimson fluid speard through hearts and cut off limbs. She lashed out like a mad woman, cutting through everything that she set her eyes upon.

The first elf to muster the courage to attack her was met by a literal wall of blood. He found himself entirely enveloped in it and when his screams stopped, he was nothing but a dried husk on the ground, his blood joined the force to attack his old allies.

"My god..." Blayne said, feeling his own hands shuddering.

Blood dripped from Varia's hands and it ran down her face. She laughed with maniac fury as she killed by the dozens. Mages struck at her from behind the soldiers, throwing fireballs and bolts of ice towards her. Most were met by a lash of blood that defended easily against them. Others were just entirely ignored as they passed her without harm.

The King was busy fighting a group of enemies down on the grass, too busy to notice the massacre taking place.

The defenders took the enemy's terror as a chance to push, shoving wide out beyond the wall. They spread out into Elwynn forest, driving back the assailants. The king turned and watched Varia as she continued to dance with the blood. Behind her a trail of dozens of dried corpses lay. Enemies and allies alike gave their blood to her when they died, all of it a frightful weapon to behold.

In a moment of stillness, Varia drew all the blood inward, condensing it into a churning orb between her hands. Her hands moved around it, filling it with black mana. Her skin shone from beneath it's coating of blood, giving a bright lilac glow as powerful magic was brought forth. She roared out loudly and the blood surged forth, taking the shape of a great serpent. It tore through the ranks of the blood elves, crushing, devouring and consuming all in it's path. It's touch was pure death and all flesh that sank into it's crimson fluid became one with it, growing in it's size. At Varia's command, it leapt and fell, dove and thrashed, killing hundreds and hundreds by touch alone. The battlefield, gory and full of death to begin with, became something entirely worse. The world became a scene of pure hell for all that watched, as a roaring beast of dripping blood tore through all that stood against the Alliance. Half-dissolved corpses and bones filled it's body, giving it an even more horrifying composure.