Chapter Text
It is getting dark upon my return to Sinfall.
Or, to be more accurate, even darker than usually.
It never really gets bright here in this part of the Shadowlands, except for the Ember Ward and there- well. Not really the kind of bright you'd find pleasing.
Not that I'd like the light much anyway. Especially not since the incident at Telogrus that changed us all forever.
Revendreth as my covenant of choice fits like a glove. The perpetual twilight, but also the purpose of the realm itself. I can't help the feeling I will probably end up here, too, one day. I have a thing or two to atone for.
For the time being however, I am alive and my help here will hopefully serve as a bonus for later. It can never hurt to be in the good books with the right people.
As expected, my daily chores aren't done with nightfall, and Renathal already waits for me with another request.
He is a proper prince and the ruler of the Venthyr since the Master has been deposed, but they're practically all nobility here- a whole court of fine lords and ladies, as haughty and eccentric as any you'd meet in the world of the living and places like Silvermoon, if not even more so.
Amicable though, most of them. And certainly Prince Renathal. It is not difficult to work for someone who calls you "fellow doomed friend" in that dark, sad voice dripping tragedy and noble sacrifice.
Today, he tells me of an opportunity obtained by our successful attack on Castle Nathria-a soul that we freed from the Master's grasp. Which now awaits their atonement at the hands of the Accuser, who in turn awaits my help with that in the lower levels of Sinfall.
The Accuser, whose mortal name had once been Harriet of the Crimson Shade, is someone I have worked with before and thus I know better than to keep her waiting. She is powerful and wise, but also relentless in her mission to drain her "victims"from all their sinful pride. I'm not sure if I should envy or pity the new unknown soul in her care.
But no, not unknown.
She hints that I will probably know him, and that's exactly why she has requested my help with his redemption.
A powerful man he was in his lifetime, she informs me- and much to his own detriment because it was this lingering power that attracted the Master's attention.
"In his current state he is nothing but a danger to everyone," she says with a frown, " but every soul deserves a chance at redemption. And I have experienced that in difficult cases like this, the faintest familiarity could prove crucial. Will you help me?"
It's not that I have much of a choice, but her words surely leave me with a bad feeling. If the project fails, that's what I seem to read between the lines, it will be as much my fault as hers.
I nod and follow her to the place where the dangerous soul in question is kept chained by two gargoyles.
He is hanging there with his head down,the long, pale hair falling over his face. Despite this, I don't have to look twice to know exactly who he is.
His ( admittedly impressive ) torso is bare except for the chains that hold the object on his back firmly in place. His sinstone, and unsurprisingly, it is huge.
The prisoner is no other than Kael'thas Sunstrider himself, former prince of my former people.
Betrayer of my people.
He looks up when I approach him, crimson eyes burning into mine with unbridled fury. "Come here, subject!" he yells. "I command you to unshackle me at once!"
Now, technically I am his subject no longer but his demand coincides with the Accuser's instructions so I move closer and ask the stone sentinels politely to release him.
The left one turns his cold gaze at me. "Are you sure about that?" he inquires with a doubtful frown. "An obstinate fellow, that one. Never shuts up about the injustice of fate that brought him here and how he will have his revenge once he is free of his shackles."
"I'm sure." I sigh, even though I'm really not. But a job's a job. The Accuser will know what she's doing.
"Out of my way!" Kael'thas yells as soon as he is freed from his shackles. "I shall avenge my people!"
I cannot suppress a small snort. It seems, the tales of his haughtiness weren't exaggerated.
"A simple thank you would have done" I mutter under my breath, but the Accuser is not amused. She grabs the chain that holds his sinstone in place and yanks the fallen prince back before he can even begin to walk his heroic talk.
"Impudent child!" she rebukes him harshly. "You do not give orders here!"
She looks down on him and shakes her head, disapprovingly. "The very arrogance that doomed you in life-" she sighs. "It will not be easy to redeem Kael'thas Sunstrider, but we must attempt it nonetheless," she tells me. "Denathrius has infused him with an unimaginable amount of anima, each carrying with it the sins of others- and he had enough of his own to begin with. You will help me identify the sins that are truly his burden to bear."
The Accuser waves her hands and convokes a blood-red cloud of anima magic that slowly transforms into a series of images.
Kael'thas throwing envious glances at a fellow Blood Elf in the first. The second, him looming larger than life over his subjects. The third, him sitting upon a pile of gold.
"What character flaws most hindered Kael'thas Sunstrider?" she asks me. "Jelousy? Arrogance? Or greed?"
Okay, this is fun.
I'm quite sure I know the correct answer but I can't help myself and point at the image that shows the jelous prince.
"Jelousy?" Kael'thas comments on my choice with an incredulous laugh. "Oh please. I was superior to him in any way."
And even though this reaction makes it even more obvious, I then walk over to the image of him taking a bath in his treasury. "I never had need for gold," he snorts derisively. "I had riches and power to spare!"
Well. To the surprise of no one, this leaves only the third option.
"Your arrogance swells within you, like with so many other tyrants." Harriet confirms, and quickly proceeds with the next quiz question. "When the Sunwell was destroyed, and Kael'thas was desperate to find a new source of power for his people, who did he turn to for help- the Lich King? The Old Gods? Or the Burning Legion?"
This time, I waste no time with wrong answers just for the pleasure of seeing Kael's reaction. The memory of the worst tragedy of our people is still too painful.
"Kil'jaeden exploited your arrogance, paranoia and obsession to bend you to his own will," the Accuser says to Kael'thas, who bows his head and stays silent for once. This is hardly something he can deny.
The last question is whether he abandoned, betrayed or corrupted his people and again I rush straight to the correct answer. I'm not cruel by nature, and after all, there's no need to let him suffer more than absolutely necessary.
"You committed all these crimes against your own people," the Accuser concludes after I made my choice.
Kael'thas raises his head and gives her a defiant stare. "You cannot judge me!" he protests. "I did what was needed to defend my people!"
"You did what you wanted, and everyone had to bear the consequences of your actions." Harriet says mercilessly. "Kael'thas Sunstrider, you failed your people."
She turns to me. "To be clear, we did not absolve Kael'thas of any of these sins. We never might. It is his decision, and his alone, to change."
She sighs. "But at least, we have now given him the chance to make that choice. I will personally tend to the task of his absolution, but I would be glad about your assistance. I sense a bond between Kael'thas and yourself, and I think your presence may help inspire him down a better path."
"Oh...yeah?"
Truth be told, I cannot quite share her optimism.
But who am I to question the Harvester of Sins' judgement? She has millenia of practice in her profession and is undoubtedly better suited to access the situation than an outsider like myself.
"His soul will continue to unravel if we do not extract the excess anima from it," she explains in a serious tone. "Meet me back here in the morning. We shall take him to a place where we may- expunge that anima in a productive way."
She gives me a last nod, then pulls the chain and drags her unwilling ward with her, down the dark halls of Sinfall, presumably to be secured with chains once more and spend the night in the company of ghosts of the past, and the faint hope of atonement.
It won't be a pleasant rest, of that I am quite sure, but then again, neither will mine.