The Glacial Pass (Ally)

Allysia Ragewrench once believed Dun Morogh was the worst place for her to be, "That light-forsaken snow that made even an afternoon stroll a struggle," Allysia thought back, now finding herself bogged yet again in sheets of peaceful snow. Around her, men and women trudged wearily through the snow, the thick-plated armor of the Stormwind Guard literally dotting the landscape in the cramped pass. Pockets of mages and the like of other mana-sippers fiddled through within the unit as well, the numbers in all a small twelve.

Eltren, a young priest, was everything that a soldier shouldn't be. Timid, feeble-minded, and an over-all coward. But despite all this, the boy had heart, and with that, people could go far in their lives...

The Borean Tundra for example.

The previously declared Eltren the Timid made his way through two guardsmen, his thick black hair often blocking his wide, brown eyes. "Sergeant! Sergeant Allysia!" he shouted, afraid the gnome wouldn't hear him over being preoccupied with the task of making her own path.

"What is it, Eltren?" Allysia said with more than a little annoyance, not bothering to look back. Eltren dodged clumps of snow as he tried to keep up with the white-haired gnome, trying his best not to stutter.

"Ma'am, I h-have some questions about this mission, sorry, concerns--you could say," he stuttered, beyond his will, looking frightened. "Speak your mind, Eltren," and another clump of snow nearly hitting Eltren's head. "Yes, ma'am, thank you," he bowed, seeming to forget that Allysia still had her back turned as she strode through the snow endlessly. "Erm, yes! Alright, first off...why on Azeroth are we even here, ma'am? We're scouting an uncharted pass, a dangerous one at that!"

Eltren was right, the pass was indeed dangerous. A small strip of a path zig-zagged through, each side covered with towering, frozen mountains dotted with caves, a natural gigantic crack in the mountainside, simply.

He looked around fiercely, weary beyond comprehension. "Why--why not get a flyer from that gnomish base westwards to host the reconnaissance? It would be quicker--and safer!"

"Eltren, are you blind? Look around you, who knows what could be in here--I won't even give examples, there's just some things you can't find out from the air. Plus, we need a stable ground passage to get to the eastern side of the Tundra, and this place fits the possibilities," Allysia said, stopping every few words to kick a few feet of snow out of her way.

"The eastern side? But why not go south instead, through the plains?"

"The Red Plains, Eltren? Be my guest, get some of the dragons to heat up a cup of tea while yer over there, I'm freezin'," a larger clump of snow pummeling Eltren's shoulder, as Allysia finished, still moving onwards. Eltren stopped, mouth agape. "Dragons?" he mumbled to himself, looking back at the way they came as if a drake was going to swoop across the group at any moment.

A night elf dressed in a white, leather outfit walked lithely up to Allysia, a grin coating her pale face."Ally, always so delicate with words" she drawled, shimmering eyes daunting. Had this been most anyone else speaking to Allysia Ragewrench in such a casual tone and even daring to use her nickname, they would have been quick to find a plated fist meeting their head. The bright rogue, Akaruk, was one of the very few people Allysia trusted.

"I'm only stating facts here, Ruk. I could tell him lies 'n see him gutted from carelessness if you preferred," Allysia snarled, her emerald eyes glaring up at Akaruk.

The elf only raised her hands, the gesture enough to calm Allysia. She took a deep breath, releasing it in a fume of chilled breath. "Ruk, what do you think are our chances of even finding anyone here? Do you think we could be seeing the Scourge this early?" Allysia inquired, still looking up at Ruk, but her expressions softened.

"It's very possible," Akaruk said, tapping her finger against her bottom lip in contemplation. Allysia sighed, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see". "No, we won't," Akaruk said with a sigh, jerking her chin in the direction of her eyes.

Allysia looked back up at Akaruk with a quizzical gaze. She saw that the elf was glaring a ways forward. Following her gaze, Allysia saw it.

A nearly skeletal figure, with decade-old tattered armor, staring at the group, his sockets each having small clumps of snow in the empty skull. It opened its mouth, releasing a wicked screech heard throughout the whole pass. Everyone gripped their ears, the inhuman moan blurring the senses. The image of the skeleton's grotesque face dissipating in an explosion of ash and ice, the whole section of the pass literally crumbling into itself, ice falling, splintering and shattering in the tightly-packed area, the sound of breaking ice even batting back the undead scream that had now become resonant throughout the whole pass, breathing and crawling its unholy presence in every hole, every crack in the frozen death bed.

Before the unfortunate unit could even gather senses, another crippling explosion crashed down. But this time, the rain of ice was from the behind, more deadly shards piercing the ground below, caving in the portion behind them, trapping the unit.

Allysia was quick to take in the situation, scanning her surroundings. None of the men were dead, all accounted for. Even Eltren the Timid still drew breath, as much as he looked as if he was about to die, the young priest simply lay on his back, staring at the only retreat in utter disbelief. Around him were the other men, who in truth, didn't have much more of an impressive expression than Eltren.

After the last crackles of ice faded into the mist created by the particles of the frozen material, there was a blood-stopping silence. A gesture from Allysia and the unit silently crept into a defensive circle: fighters in the front, mages and the like behind them. Why were they even creeping? The smashing of the ice shocked birds miles away, they crept because of fear. They were silent to listen to another trap, the last explosion of mountainside to end them all.

Allysia mumbled over to Akaruk, standing nearby. "It's good fortune the shards didn't hit us", Allysia said, staring at Ruk's calm demeanor. She looked down with ghostly eyes, smiling. "Are you so sure of that, Ally?" she mused, quirking a brow.

Allysia only grimaced, staring outwards, visibility only reaching past twenty or thirty feet. The snow came down lightly, the freezing temperature was only bearable because of a lack of wind in the pass, and the sun managed to let down a ray of light into the crevice that was the mountain's top, reflecting off of the bright armor of the soldiers, the image a beacon to mortal survival.

The moments pass, and a single roar is heard. Bloodthirsty, fearless, and menacing--it rang long and desperate through and through, vibrating through the deadly walls. Dismay ran through the small number of hopeless humans, elves, dwarves, and gnomes as the shout was echoed--no, multiplied through the pass, the undead presence surrounding the mortal fighters. The sole paladin who was with the unit happened to be a draenei. Allysia noticed the hate in his blue-orbed eyes sparkled fiercely in the face of the Scourge threat. Akaruk, Allysia, and the other fighters drew their blades, mages crackled protective spells, and even Eltren gathered himself enough to whisper prayers over the unit.

Then, out of the mist, they began piling through, their shrieks piercing endlessly. Droves of the filthy servants of Arthas seeping through every direction, as if appearing out of the air itself. For Allysia, the grains in the sands of time slowed to the speed of a planet's revolution as they tumbled down the hourglass. Even the snow seemed to freeze in place as Allysia fathomed the attackers, stared at their rotted or skull-bleached faces, their ornate armor, their fetid stench. They had the means of death, they wanted to kill, they wanted to kill "her", and this drove Allysia insane, letting her rage seep through her body.

And then, time came back in a bright flash, and everything acted at once. The mortals defied with a battle shout, the elements piercing forth from the defensive line. Fireballs crackled off from an elder gnome by the name of Fendwit, eradicating scores upon scores of the undead, their frozen bones steaming and melting under the intense heat. Arcane explosions erupted all around, an invisible force tearing bone and flesh off of undead, and throwing them back into the icy grave, only to be replaced by more.

At least a hundred lay dead before the defensive line met the Scourge, the initial wave crumbling outright to the strong line of fighters. But more came, pummeling into them, and all out fighting had broken out, in every direction there was someone fighting for their life.

Swords dancing, guns firing, and spells erupting were heard throughout the entire pass, the shouts and roars of struggle and pain even matching the deafening sound. Allysia knew the situation would be grim from the start, yet she leaped into throngs of undead, crushing, pulverizing, and cleaving undead with every spin of her mace, which was easily a foot taller than her.

The mist encroached upon the battle, swirling lustfully as it hugged the death. The mortals managed to keep together as ever slowly they backed towards one of the glacial walls. Fendwit threw open his arms, fire spraying out of them, boiling down waves of the undead. Allysia turned her head as the unit backed away, checking to make sure no one had fallen behind, they hadn't. She started making her way across the fog and vomit-bringing smell of burning Scourge, stumbling through the fallen. But then the forces were encroached by yet another wave, tireless numbers charging the mortals, their backs against the wall.

Allysia barely dodged the cleave of an axe easily twice her size, turning to see one of the gigantic abominations. "How in the nether did they all get here!?" she yelled to herself, leaping to the right as another meaty arm came down, crashing and splintering the ice where Allysia was the previous moment. She took no time to falter, rushing up the ghastly being's stitched arm and up to his head. Her mace came thrashing down on the monster's skull, the bone caving in on itself in an explosion of green slime, but not before one of its smaller arms thrashed at Allysia, a wicked hook cutting a deep wound in her side as she was spun away, smashing into the glacial wall.

The pain was white hot as the hook cut into her, the frozen metal easily slicing through plate armor and flesh. It hurt even more as Allysia joined with the wall, rattling her whole body and momentarily losing consciousness, her eyes gazing thoughtlessly forward as remainders of the Scourge wave throttled forth.

Two heavily-armored Scourge took this opportunity to rush at the fallen gnome as she was briefly paralyzed, swords raised high. Just steps away a dagger was thrust into the head of the first one as it fell forward on impact, the latter turning, roaring at the elf that approached. Akaruk was quick and precise, the Scourge's head lopping off softly into the blood-drenched snow with a single motion of her dagger.

She kneeled down before Allysia, looking her over. "Ruk, you're bleedin'", Allysia said with a laugh, pulling herself up painfully with her mace. Ruk gazed down at a wound that had passed over her thigh, her white armor already drenched in the blood of her enemies. "I'd wager gold you got hit first", she said with a smirk, tugging Allysia along to the others.

Only six of the unit had survived as Allysia looked them over, one of those being Akaruk. The men and women were battle worn, all bloody everywhere, impossible to tell how heavily anyone was wounded--Allysia assumed they all were. Eltren was the first to speak "Is it over?" he pleaded more than inquired, quivering eyes staring down at Allysia. She sighed, rubbing her temples with her heavy gauntlets. "I'll go ask 'em and tell you what I find out, Eltren", Allysia said with a grimace, striding over to the previously destroyed retreat.

Another piercing roar echoed through the pass, weapons drawn, spells readying once more, the unit prepared for another attack. As the howling approached, it came right over them, a darkening shade.

Air Corporal Silversprocket looked down in disbelief from his flyer at the carnage that had taken place below. Holding back the lunch consisting of an odd meat from Northrend, he soared down through the twists and turns of the pass, difficultly landing in a glade of a forest of dead.

Soon after the retreat of the pass was blown open by dwarven tanks, survivors were evacuated and given proper healing, and Allysia was left afterwards back at the gnomish base camp that the help had come from. She thought to herself, this is going to be a nether of a ride.

- Written by Ally