The Hunt Begins

[Seraphim]

• Undercity, The Royal Quarter

The Banshee Queen stood in the shadows of her chamber, as she did for many hours of what could hardly be called days. Her eyes pierced the darkness as two molten blades, constantly projecting a tale of woe to those who would approach.

Today, that individual would be Corey Giles. The Forsaken had been something of a mousy librarian, in life. In death, he made a serviceable runner between the capital of the Forsaken empire and its outlying settlements. The Sepulcher, Tarren Mill, the Bulwark.

"The Bulwark!" The undead man panted as he came into the heart of the city, and was immediately accosted by elite Deathguards. "Lady Sylvanas, the Bulwark!"

The dark ranger slowly turned her blood-tinted gaze to him. "Release him." Since her transformation at the hands of the traitor-prince, her voice echoed in an unsettling, otherworldly tone. The guards let Corey down, and allowed him further entrance, albeit under their watchful, yellow eyes.

"Speak, Giles. What has happened."

"The Scarlets, my lady! The thrice-damned crusaders have attacked the Bulwark!"

Sylvanas narrowed her eyes into angry crimson slivers. "What?"

"Yes," Corey said, nodding woefully. "Our Tauren and Sin'Dorei allies were overwhelmed. A small group of the zealots passed through to the Plaguelands while our forces and the Dawn's were inundated with fire and dogs."

"Useless pacifists," Sylvanas growled, barely audible despite the significant echo in the chamber. She balled one cold hand into a fist. "I want those humans stopped, messenger. And I want the Bulwark reinforced."

"Reinforced...?"

"Never again will those bearing the symbol of our oppressor pass through to safety," she stated, looking to another banshee floating to her side. The tormented soul nodded, and drifted to the side to relay the message. "As for the crusaders. Place posters throughout the city, and in Orgrimmar, and Silvermoon."

She looked about the gathered representatives in the room. "I want them to feel the heated breath of the Horde upon the backs of their necks. I want them to feel true fear."

"Yes, my lady."

"And when they are put down, as the dogs they are, they will serve us." A cruel smile split her lips, darkened not by oils or paint, but by the chill of death.

"Yes, my lady."

* * *

• Stormwind City, Cathedral District

Arineme Serisfal sat at the desk in the Argent Dawn building, leafing through a pile of books and sheafs of paper. She was always diligent in terms of taking notes, but the woman's organizational skills left something to be desired.

She was in the middle of scribbling down a note on Stormwind's rubbish removal schedule, when a knock came on the heavy wooden door. Looking up, she closed the book and dragged her sword and shield off of the floor. The heavily-armored paladin crept toward the front of the room.

Arineme gripped the door's handle, and suddenly ripped it open, sword pointing out at the man on the other side of the entrance.

"... Miss Serisfal?" The brown-haired soldier asked, an eyebrow raised. He wore gray chainmail, and an Argent Dawn tabard. The woman sighed, and dropped the tip of her weapon to the floorboards.

"Yes, soldier, what can I do for you?"

"A letter for you, from Light's Hope." He stiffly held the envelope into the room, not daring to step inside. Arineme ripped it from his gauntlet, and wasted no time in unfolding the rough parchment, yellowed before its time by the very nature of the Plaguelands.

Her blue eyes scan the message, instantly absorbing everything its words had to offer. Toward the end, those sky-colored orbs widened, and the paper fluttered to the floor.

"Miss Serisfal? Is everything alright?"

"The Trade District," she whispered. "Quickly."

"But why?"

Arineme sheathed her sword, and latched her shield onto her back. "Because there are good men and women rushing to their deaths, and the Alliance needs warriors, not corpses."

The Argent knight nodded, seeming to understand, and watched as she hurried out the door and into the streets. Upon reaching the corner of the orphanage, she broke into a run, her expression showing more than a hint of worried desperation.

"Scibryn... Hang on. Please..."

* * *

• Acherus, The Ebon Hold

"Highlord," came the cold, echoing voice of a huge, muscle-bound Death Knight. A pair of broken horns jabbed into the air at the sides of his helm. "I have news, from the beach-head at New Avalon."

Darion Mograine reacted as he usually did- An irritated sigh sent a puff of cold air out from under his intimidating, horned helm.

"The Bloodbreaker, sir. It's been captured."

"Captured."

"By... Scarlet Crusaders, sir."

The Highlord glared ahead, his eyes seething with a constant, icy blue smoke.

"Find them," he stated, leaving no room for argument. "I will not allow this insult to stand."

"Yes, my lord."

The Ashbringer's son looked out to the darkened skies beyond the floating citadel as the hooves of his soldier clattered away against the frigid stone floor.

"And I will honor Renault's grave with a personal visit," he growled.

***

[OOC: For those looking to become involved with the Scarlet Event-Chain, this is your chance. If you'd be interested in having your group come in contact with the players in the chain, feel free to send me a PM, and keep your eyes on the Exodus thread, also in this forum.

Alliance players would become aware of the events through Arineme and the Argent Dawn, who seek to bring the Crusaders into the fold of Stormwind, given the chance. Meanwhile, Lady Sylvanas has put up posters in the major Horde cities to rile up nationalistic fervor against the Scarlets. Said posters hint at a reward for their deaths, though it is not explicitly described.

Happy hunting.]

[Xigo]

(Where might we be headed to meet for this battle, Horde side?)

[Aphetoros]

( WANT )

[Seraphim]

(Sorry for the delay. Moving and job-hunting and internets not working and bleh.

Your characters can encounter the Scarlets at any point along their path, which is currently leading them East through the Plaguelands. If you'd like to have a battle, just PM me beforehand to let me know, so I can plan around it during the event.

If you plan to show up alone, however, regardless of race- Character warnings are active. The Scarlets have a zero-tolerance policy for outsiders.

I am planning on large-scale, pre-planned battles later on in the event-chain, which I will make note of here and in the Exodus thread, so keep an eye on both.)

[Seraphim]

(Double-post. I am winnar.

If you'd like a chance to redeem or destroy the Scarlets responsible for the attack on the Bulwark, the stealing of the Ebon Ship Bloodbreaker, and generally being Scarlets, please make your way to Onslaught Harbor (Icecrown) this Sunday, November 28th, at 1:00 PM (server time).

Everyone is welcome- The Horde is looking to kill or capture, the Alliance and Argent Dawn would like to convert the Crusaders. The Ebon Blade is somewhere between. Either way, there are reasons a-plenty for your character to be there.

For information on how combat rules will work, check out the Scarlet Crusade: Exodus post in this forum.)

[FlyingSquirrel]

The Hunt has began.

Sadly, I have no characters that would be there, nor any scarlets. D:

[c0rzilla]

Yaaaay, and...I will so fail at combat. D:
But, what about Horde characters that are part of the Argent Dawn? Can they try to save the Scarlets?

[ToxicFrozt]

(Gray will 'PEW PEW' all you nubs for even considering attacking the Crusaders. D=< )

[Seraphim]

Yaaaay, and...I will so fail at combat. D:

Trust me, you can't possibly roll worse than the Scarlet Crusaders themselves.

... Seriously. You can't roll lower than a 1.

But, what about Horde characters that are part of the Argent Dawn? Can they try to save the Scarlets?

Good question. Yes! Yes, they can.

[Bovel]

I'd consider RPing a relative of the scarlets being RPed that has already become part of the Forsaken.

[Seraphim]

Well. Feel free to PM one of the Scarlet RPers, in that case, and see if they're interested in having a Forsaken relative.

I'm not opposed, necessarily, to Horde characters trying to save the Scarlets, or even Alliance ones trying to kill them, as a note. What I listed previously is what the leadership of each faction is aiming for.

That said, it's going to be generally known that the Argents and Alliance are looking to take these people in, if they lay down their weapons and surrender. Attacking those Scarlets (if there are any) will probably result in Horde vs. Alliance conflict, which could give the crusaders an upper-hand.

Juuust sayin'.

[ToxicFrozt]

Attacking those Scarlets (if there are any) will probably result in Horde vs. Alliance conflict, which could give the crusaders an upper-hand.

This excites me, I'm soooo pumped for what's to come. I just hope Gray doesn't do anything stupid and get himself killed.

[vovve7]

I'd love to have a forsaken relative for Hal, but the only fun relative I can think about was killed somewhere in the plaguelands quite some time after that the Forsaken broke free, so he'd probably be a mindless undead by now. D: