Conquest of the Horde

Epsilon stared down at the court, narrowing her eyes. Useless judgment. She knew Draenei, she knew they wouldn't be fair, would sooner condemn Vitaly to death rather than think of any other options first. Even being Vitaly's wife, she wasn't allowed inside the court. No surprise. She was a Death Knight, they were draenei. One plus one sums two. She let out a creepy giggle, making the guard close to her feel a shiver. She gave the guard a brief smile and looked around for a way to better listen the judgment.

"If there is anything the presence wish to say before the punishment is executed, do so now.". She heard the Anchorite named Athaab say so. Considering his idea, he might as well have become the next target on her "weekly menu" if the other draenei didn't speak up. She shifted her sleepy eyes to him, listening.

"Hold zis trial... Zis human show a deep regret toward his actions. Understanding ze effects of crimes he now show remorse and wish to devote himself to a live devoted to ze Light."

Another smile came to her lips, more out of surprise than anything else. Instead of talking, she looked around the court. If she was to rescue Vitaly from that hole she needed a damn good battle plan. She estimated having around a thousand plans in her mind for all kind of combat situations. None of them involved fighting an entire force of Light-loving goats, just waiting for a foolish deader like her to step in false. After some conversation from an elf with the angry anchorite, she realized Vitaly was saved... Somehow. The angry anchorite was grinding his teeth in anger.

"This.. this is a day of shame for us draenei."

"You draenei... Have no idea of what shame is...". Epsilon murmured to herself. She noticed the eyes of the guard on her. She couldn't tell if he was curious, afraid, or just watching. From all people told her, she was "pretty", for a knight, yet she was no reason for the goat to be looking at her this way.

"The human man... Is he important to you, lady?". He dared ask.

Epsilon smiled once more, moving to behind a column as Vitaly took his leave with Telah and the unknown elf. She nodded at the guard. "If I had another life... I'd give it to him... I guess he is important...". She reached for her spear and made sure it was well-placed on her back. Vitaly had not seen her. No one had in fact. Or they did not care if she was there. She wasn't about to linger on the thoughts for long, knowing it was natural for a death knight to consider betrayal from others an option. "I see. Be happy, looks like your man lives and may find redemption.". The guard said. Epsilon gave him one of her usual sleepy stares and nodded. "I know he will... He always does... I do wonder though...". Will he love me once he finds the Light? Light has no love for the ones like me. Epsilon thought, grabbing a mango from her sleeve and throwing it to the draenei guard.

She watched Vitaly from afar. He was taken to the infirmary, then he ate something with the others and left again. Epsilon sighed, not daring to approach. "What should I do... Katherine...?". - You have my body, you should know the answer. She would have answered, or maybe Epsilon was hearing things again. She sighed once more and took her leave, removing herself from the holy city. When away from city sight, she launched a dark coil in the air, opening a portal to her home... Acherus. Despite the ominous feeling the gate gave others, to her it felt... Warming, somehow. She entered the gate and began to walk the dark way that would take her to Acherus.

"If it's just love then let it go... It doesn't matter as long it's exciting... Beloved, charming husband, I want you...". She began to murmur, and then hum, trying to find the right tone for the song she still remembered, but dared not sing with her twisted voice.

Even after a few years having passed, the stage hadn't changed. The land, corrupted, destroyed buildings, plagued lands. The Scarlet dogs were mostly gone, safe for one pocket here and there, but even those were not reported to be seen anymore. Epsilon sat on the upper rail, high on the mighty fortress of the Ebon Blade. She liked sitting there, most of times this part of the Acherus was empty, safe for one or other knight passing. Most of her brothers and sisters were out, doing missions for the Blade, a few others trying to return to their former lives, or starting new ones, even though some thought it to be impossible.

Epsilon did both. Agent of the Ebon Blade, housewife, owner of a tavern in Stormwind, with her husband. True, she would never know other way. She would never birth a child and see it grow into a fine adult, handsome like his father is. She'd be surprised if her marriage lasted that long. Last time Epsilon and Vitaly had an argument, it ended on her throwing him in the air, kicking his spine and bashing him against a wall, which rendered him crippled for quite a handful of days, until a priest healed him. Even so, she was sure she could see him limp, from time to time.

Or at least would, if he was around. Which he wasn't. She had little time to talk to Vitaly, or even do anything, really. Few days after his return from a long business travel, Vitaly reported himself to Shattrath to answer for his crimes. The empty hole Epsilon felt in her chest had little time to be filled in the one week he was around. Now the gap was widening again. True, she loved him very much, but sometimes she wondered if she in fact loved. Death Knights were made to kill, to harm, to cause pain, not love. Even though Epsilon did like killing, doing so twice or thrice a week, she had to admit she took a liking for a more "common" life as a tavern keeper. She would talk to her customers, they would talk to her, a handful of them actually treating her as a living, common being, worthy any respect and trust. A few others? Not so much, but Epsilon could always ignore those, or in worse case, drive a spear through their faces.

"Almost done, my dear... You are quiet today, does anything bother you, dear Epsilon?". Her ghoul, Lambda, asked in his usual guttural tone. He was dead, very much dead, but something on his mind made he had this old habit of his. Lambda had been a hairdresser and stylist in life. Death hadn't take that away from him, only now he only had Epsilon as a "customer", which sometimes drove the poor knight to the limits of her patience. While being her servant, sometimes she felt Lambda was more like a father to her. Ironic, being fathered by your own ghoul. Even so, in life the ghoul, once a human, had been older than her, and wiser. Death had removed very little of his essence. It maimed his body, deformed his face, removed what he cared the most for, his beauty, even so it hadn't removed his passion.

"Nothing... I'm just... Wondering...". Epsilon replied, keeping her sleepy gaze upon the wasteland down below. "Pretty...". She murmured and the ghoul cackled.

"You have a twisted concept of beauty, my dear, but I will leave that to you. There... Redone. Is that what you really want?". The ghoul said, moving his sharp, but precise claws, away from her hair. Epsilon turned around on the rail, sitting in a way to face the ghoul. Epsilon had been beautiful in life, and death had done little to remove it from her. It did remove the charm and cheerfulness she had once living, but no one is perfect. The ghoul did his best, a wonderful job, to keep her body and beauty in check. He liked it, why not allow? Epsilon understood little of the concept of beauty. It had been erased from her mind, along with most her memories, but she didn't care. Lambda, Vitaly, many of her friend did say it was important to look good, and that she did. So she would let the ghoul do his job. Along with the usual make-up, hair trimming and dressing, Epsilon had requested the ghoul to make a small tiara of flowers, flowers she brought from somewhere.

"It looks wonderful, in my opinion. I dried them up, so they shouldn't die. We wouldn't want that now, wouldn't we?". The ghoul cackled once more and Epsilon let out a timid smile. She moved a gloved hand to the tiara, thinking of the person that had given her the flowers. "Yes... Not dead... I like them too... He said it was pretty... Maybe... They will hate me less if I'm pretty...". She mentioned. The ghoul nodded and returned his working material to the bag. "You don't need it, dear, you are beautiful, in and out. You know how they will shun your kind. Even so, some accept you, don't they?". The ghoul carefully pinched her cheek. Without exceptions, Epsilon always felt like a small learning kid when with the ghoul. Not that it bothered her, but she couldn't tell why she felt like this.

"What are you gonna do now, Eppy?". The ghoul asked.

"I wait... Septimus is... Fixing his blade...? We can return to Stranglehorn... And I to Stormwind... Later... I would like to talk to him first... He seemed... Worried...". She said.

"Very well dear. Mind if I 'sleep' now? Working is tiring at times.". Lambda asked and the knight nodded. The ghoul went into the Acherus and Epsilon turned back around.

Epsilon thought of the last days. After a long time, she had sang, Kazuru, another death knight, had asked her to do so. She had liked it. Another friend, Harvey, also said it was good... "Fine" was the word he used, but maybe Epsilon wanted to cling on it, thinking it had a good meaning. She rubbed a hand over her throat, thinking, then began to hum a tone. "Maybe... I can still do it... Right... Katherine...?".

It had been a day by now.

Epsilon sat in her bed, still wearing part of her armor, a small hole to her side which was closing as hours passed. It didn't bleed, despite the abnormal gathering of blood at the wounds' entrance. It had been a dagger, blessed dagger, reason why the flesh under her right breast seemed charred, though the burned skin was slowly falling, giving place to new skin. She barely had the time to arrive home and sit on her bed. She had meant to strip off naked of the bloodied armor, but hadn't even the time to. Her "condition" kicked in.

"They were three... Killed them... All innocent...". The knight muttered, her eyes unfocused.

It always happened in those cases. Whenever Epsilon killed someone who was in fact innocent, she would revert to this state. Not dead, not alive, she would sit somewhere for hours, like a stone, not even blinking. Sometimes she would let out a few words to herself, trying to tell herself it wasn't her fault.

It didn't work either. Epsilon would sometimes cry all the same.

True, the fourth kill, the self-titled Supreme Chancellor of the Lightsworn, Bernard, he was one that deserved her anger, but the three before him were actually against his insane plans. The moment she realized, and was told about it, she felt that problem of hers would kick in. She couldn't understand why. Death Knights like her were meant to please themselves with death and suffering. Oh, she did felt good the moment the three died, but it only lasted until the battle was over.

Then it came, the depression.

"Wasn't my fault... Didn't know... Were innocent...". Epsilon muttered again, sobbing a bit.

"I'm not a monster...". Something inside her said the contrary. You ate his heart Epsilon, Bernard's heart. He deserved it, yes, but that does not make you less a monster.

Epsilon finally moved, first an inch, then two, as if moving was painful and difficult to her. She stood and fell from the bed, on her side, without balance. Her legs didn't seem to work. She would be surprised if they did, with her brain in that condition.

Again, it wasn't a physical condition. It was something Epsilon, or Katherine, you call it, sworn to herself. Don't kill another innocent. Not after the control. The Lich King had made she and too many of her brothers and sisters shed innocent blood, and even today they paid the price for it, they were shunned, feared, unwanted.

Ironically, Epsilon had killed the three paladins and drained their bodies, converting their blood in energy for herself. Her skin tone even looked fine, finer than it already did usually. It looked as if she was alive, except for the runic blue eyes. She would be happy and enjoying it if she didn't feel so guilty.

Epsilon sat on her knees, sometimes giving a crawl towards the door. She managed to reach the stairs, but once tried to climb down she instead rolled, falling all way to the bottom of the stairs with a heavy impact. Epsilon faced up, staring blankly at the ceiling, most of her armor spread around the house and only the cotton clothes she wore under it now covering her body. Bruised body. Falling from a set of stairs didn't leave you unharmed, even if you were a knight.

And perhaps she deserved it, she thought for herself, closing her eyes and feeling the warmness of her tears on the sides of her face.