Chapter 14: The Power Of The Sunwell

"This is your last chance, Arthas. Leave our kingdom now and never return," shouted Anasterian and pointed Felo'melorn's tip at the death knight.

Evil laughter escaped the human's lips, his blue eyes rested on the old king and his much younger wife. The queen was wearing a blue robe while the king wore full armour. Only his head was unprotected.

Arthas regarded the king's runeblade curiously. He sensed that it was very powerful but not as powerful as Frostmourne. However, he didn't intend to underestimate the king and his wife. They seemed to be pretty powerful but Arthas assumed he would still be able to defeat them.

"It took me a lot of effort to get to this island. Your people have done a great job of stopping me and buying as much time as possible. But you can't escape the inevitable. I offered your Ranger-General to surrender and let me pass but she refused. Hundreds of thousands of your people died because of her arrogance. Because of her pride. Because she didn't want to accept that she can't outrun the inevitable. Your defeat was certain from the beginning but little naive Sylvanas refused to accept it. Now your people are suffering because of her mistakes."

Anasterian gritted his teeth, his widened eyes still rested on the death knight. "Sylvanas did what she thought was right. She tried to defend her kingdom and save as many lives as possible. She died holding up your army as long as possible. She was not naive or arrogant. She sacrificed herself for her people. She died like a heroine and will always be remembered as a heroine. The only one who is naive and arrogant is you, butcher."

Arthas laughed amused but didn't say anything in return.

It was Melisandra's turn to speak. "You offered the Ranger-General to surrender, so we will offer the same to you. Surrender and stop this madness and we will promise that we will spare you. You will be locked in prison but you will live. If you refuse, we can only guarantee you a quick death, even though you don't deserve it."

Arthas laughed again. "The only ones who will die today are you. Normally, I would offer you to surrender but your arrogance pisses me off. I'm not going to make you the same offer I made Sylvanas. You will die if you are dumb enough to get in my way." He lifted Frostmourne and pointed its tip at the royal couple, signalizing that he was dead serious about what he had said.

"We won't allow you to get to the Sunwell and do whatever you want to do with it. We're not going to let you turn your perverted, dirty ideas into reality. Turn back NOW. That's your last chance, Arthas," shouted Anasterian.

Arthas didn't respond to the old king, instead, he ordered Invincible to move forward slowly to provoke the king.

"You chose death, I see. You leave me no other choice then," said Anasterian with a dangerously quiet voice and started to cast a spell. His wife lifted her wand and started to do the same. Arthas didn't hesitate to wrap a green glowing barrier around his body which would protect him from any spell.

Anasterian's fireball and Melisandra's arcane blast were neutralized by the barrier that dissolved a few moments later. Arthas didn't hesitate to command his horse to move forward, taking a swing with his cursed runeblade. Anasterian saw the attack coming and jumped to the side, avoiding the hit at the last moment.

Melisandra sent another arcane blast at the death knight but he avoided it at the last moment. He rode back to the royal couple and attempted to attack the queen this time but she wrapped a barrier around her body that blocked the attack and protected her that way.

Arthas was unable to hide his frustration, causing small smiles on the lips of the royal couple. But the smiles vanished quickly as Invincible galloped towards them again. Arthas focus had fallen on the queen again because he had the impression that she was a bigger threat than her husband. He intended to kill her first before she would hit him with any of her spells. He was glad that Invincible was pretty fast, so hehad much better chances to dodge their spells.

He swung his sword after the queen but she teleported away at the last moment. Anasterian was not idle in the meantime and executed a precise swing with his sword, separating Invincible's forelegs. A painful neigh escaped the undead animal's lips as it collapsed, unseating Arthas in the process.

The death knight landed on the ground but got up pretty quickly. His face reflected pure anger. He was not amused that Anasterian had separated the forelegs of his dear horse. It hurt him to see Invincible suffering. The loyal animal tried to get up but that was impossible without its forelegs. Seeing Invincible like that made Arthas pretty angry. He swore to make the king pay for letting his dear horse suffer.

He ran towards the king but he got hit by a shock wave before he reached him. The shock wave sent him away and made him land hard on the ground. He hit his head hard but ignored the pain as best as he could. He gritted his teeth as he got up, rubbing the back of his head.

He noticed that blood stuck on his glove. It was his blood. He was bleeding. He was wounded, but it wasn't just his body that had gotten hurt. His ego too. He had expected to be invincible and invulnerable but the queen had just proved the opposite. He was not invulnerable. He was pretty angry and looking forward to making the queen pay for hurting him.

He turned his head, looked at a certain, still living person and received a nod from him. The man stepped next to Arthas, his sky-blue eyes rested on the death knight. "I found a way for you to prove your loyalty to me, Xenarion. Keep the queen busy while I take care of the king. If you do that, our pact is sealed."

The blond priest nodded and turned to the queen. His eye colour changed from blue to purple and his hands started to glow in the same colour. He was a normal priest, a servant of the light, but at the same time, he was also a shadow could use the light to heal and shadows to hurt others and that made him pretty powerful for a high elf.

Melisandra regarded the man with narrowed eyes. It was clearly visible that she couldn't believe that another quel'dorei willingly betrayed Quel'Thalas and its people. Dar'Khan Drathir had handed Arthas the three mooncyrstals and killed most members of the Council of Silvermoon. But then there was also this once famous priest who had been put in prison because of his crimes. He had been freed by someone and was now working for Arthas.

Melisandra couldn't know that Arthas went to the prison of Silvermoon and freed everyone who joined his forces voluntarily. Those who had refused to join him had been killed and raised. Their souls had been absorbed by Frostmourne and made the death knight stronger.

"I won't disappoint you, master," Xenarion responded and sent a void bolt at the queen who protected herself with a barrier at the last moment. He began to cast another spell but the queen countered. Not only had she negated his spell, but she had also made him unable to cast a spell within the next few seconds.

She took advantage of that and hit him with an arcane blast, throwing him away and wounding him. Xenarion got up, blood was flowing out of a wound in his chest and anger was reflected by his narrowed eyes. The high elf didn't hesitate to cast a different spell that purpose was to assault the queen's mind.

The queen pressed her hands on her sleeves as her head started to hurt pretty badly. The pain was so strong that she was unable to focus on countering her foe's spell. Painful cries escaped her lips but the pain didn't endure for too long. It stopped suddenly as Xenarion was lifted in the air and thrown back on the ground where he remained for a few moments before he got up.

Melisandra looked at her husband who was fighting Arthas in close combat. She wished she could help her husband but she knew she had to take care of the traitorous priest first. She would have to kill him before she could support her husband.

She cast a frost blast, freezing the priest's hands. That way, Xenarion was unable to cast a spell and there was no chance for him of getting free alone. He was not a mage, so he couldn't melt the ice. He couldn't crush the ice with another technique because the risk was too high that he would seriously hurt his hands or crush them in the process. Without his magic he was defenceless.

Melisandra didn't hesitate to cast another spell. She showed no mercy for the traitor who had already betrayed their people one time in the past, sending a sharp and long ice lance at him. The ice lance pierced through his chest and his heart.

The traitor spat a large amount of blood out and collapsed. He didn't stand up this time because he was dead. Melisandra didn't feel bad about killing him. He had let Sylvanas' brother die sixteen years ago. He had let him bleed to death instead of helping him. And now that he had betrayed the high elves again, he deserved to die.

Melisandra turned around, looking at her husband who was still fighting Arthas in melee combat. The two runeblades were clashing, their wielders were fighting fiercely but it was clear that Arthas had the upper hand. The old king was weaker than the death knight despite the effect of the potion he had consumed before Arthas' arrival at the Sunwell Plateau. He wouldn't be victorious in the end, Melisandra was sure of that. Fortunately, she had gotten rid of her foe so that she was able to help her husband.

The two runeblades clashed again but unlike the last times, Felo'melorn didn't withstand this time. It broke in two pieces. A pleased smile appeared on Arthas' lips as the king's eyes widened in surprise. He recognized disbelief and shock in Anasterian's face.

The high king would have never expected that the cursed runeblade would destroy the blade that had belonged to his family since it had been forged. Half of the sword fell on the ground, the other half remained in the king's shaking hands. The effect of the potion was diminishing much faster than he had expected.

But Anasterian felt no fear. He didn't stop fighting, burring the remains of the blade in Arthas' left upper thigh. A loud painful cry escaped the former prince's lips but the pain he felt didn't stop him from striking back. He managed to sever the king's right leg, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. The screams that came out of Melisandra's mouth were much louder than the painful cry of her husband.

Anasterian laid on the floor, a puddle of blood formed beneath him. His widened eyes rested on the former prince who wrapped an anti-magic-shell around his body and blocked Melisandra's next spell. He pulled the rest of Felo'melorn out of his upper thigh and looked at the old king one last time before he thrust Frostmourne through his chest, ending his suffering and his life at the same time. Anasterian's eyes stopped glowing and his body became limp after the last sign of life had left it.

Arthas intended to absorb his soul but he was hit by an arcane blast that caused him to stagger backwards before he was able to do that. He was hit by a shock wave that sent him away. Melisandra lifted up her husband's body, the separated leg and the broken sword with a spell and made them follow her before she stepped through the entrance to the palace that had been built around the Sunwell.

Arthas ignored the wound and followed her after he had ordered a few cultists to take care of Invincible. The wound was slowing him down but he didn't care. The undead followed him and even passed him, pouncing on the few dozen defenders that were left in the palace. They fought hard but they had no chance against the superior number of undead creatures. They died and most of them were raised by Arthas' necromancers.

One of the cultists used their necromantic powers to heal the wound in Arthas' upper thigh, allowing him to walk as fast as he usually could. Arthas followed the undead creatures that made their way through the palace and killed everyone who crossed their way. Arthas came to the end of the long corridor and entered the bordering room, noticing a significant aura that was radiated by something. The further he got, the more convinced he got that the origin of that aura was the Sunwell itself.

The Sunwell, a large circular shaped fount of mystical power, was in the middle of the room. Arthas spotted Anasterian's corpse behind it. Melisandra was floating above it, half of her wand was dipped in the Sunwell. Her eyes were no longer glowing blue but golden instead. There were golden shining tattoos on her face, neck and chest. These tattoos could be seen on every piece of skin that was not covered by clothes. Her usual brown hair also shined golden.

Arthas sensed that her body radiated the same aura. He had a bad feeling about what this would mean. He turned his head, looking at Dar'Khan whose piercing blue eyes widened. He was surprised to see her in this state. He was as surprised as Arthas was but unlike the death knight, he knew what was going on.

Arthas wanted answers but Dar'Khan was dead before he was able to tell him what he knew. Melisandra had used the power of the Sunwell to lift him in the air, throw him against the ceiling and then back at the floor. Dar'Khan's body was crushed and his undead life had ended. He was nothing more than a motionless, broken corpse.

The queen had just killed the second traitor who had betrayed her kingdom that had been left in ruins by the death knight and his undead creatures. He had killed most of her people and her beloved husband. He had devastated a kingdom that had lasted for nearly seven millenniums. It had been founded by Dath'Remar Sunstrider and his wife. They had reigned for thousands of years before the reign had been passed to the next generation. Melisandra knew that she might be the last ruler of Quel'Thalas.

Melisandra assumed she wouldn't survive the encounter with Arthas but she wanted to make him pay for the crimes he had committed before she would die. Her goal was to kill him and weaken the undead army that way. The undead army wouldn't know what to do without a leader, so she had made it her mission to kill the former prince of Lordaeron.

Arthas was visibly surprised by her power. He wouldn't have expected that she had access to so much power that she could lift Dar'Khan in the air and throw him against the ceiling. He would have never expected that she could kill Dar'Khan without touching him or hitting him with a spell. She had not been as powerful as she was now when she had fought him outside the palace. He assumed that she was draining power from the Sunwell. This assumption would explain why her hair and eyes were as golden as the Sunwell and why her wand wasdipped in it.

The Sunwell had empowered her to protect itself. It gave her enough power to stop the death knight and prevent his evil plans. Arthas guessed that the wand functioned as a transmitter that provided her with power. He also assumed that the transmission would stop if he would pull the wand out. There were no gargoyles or other flying beasts in the room that could get the wand for him. He had to get to the centre of the Sunwell and take it by himself.

Arthas sprinted towards the Sunwell but he was thrown away and collided with the wall behind him. His entire body hurt as he got up but he was able to bear the pain and tried it again. A shock wave hit him and sent him away for the second time. The fallen prince needed much longer to get up this time but then he found out that he was unable to move. His feet were not frozen to the floor but he was still unable to move. An incredibly strong force prevented him from moving.

His blue eyes landed on Melisandra whose lips were moving. She was muttering phrases as she cast the next spell which threw Arthas against the opposite wall. The death knight tried to get up by every means but the same force pressed him against the floor, causing unbearable pain to him. He felt his bones aching, a loud cry escaped his lips as his right arm broke suddenly. Frostmourne was lifted up in the air and thrown to the other side of the room.

The pain the fallen prince felt got much worse over time, his right leg broke and blood flowed out of freshly caused wounds in his torso. Arthas realized that she was killing him slowly and he was unable to do anything about it. Melisandra was too strong while she drew power from the Sunwell.

He realized that the source of power he had come for would be his undoing if he wouldn't do anything about it. He wished he could do anything but he was powerless and he hated that feeling. He hated to be powerless. He had felt powerless when the plague had corrupted and killed his people. He had picked up Frostmourne to kill Mal'Ganis and to never feel powerless again. But there he was, heavily injured and close to death while his cursed runeblade was far out of his reach.

All he could do was to look at the queen who was still muttering phrases. Blood was flowing out of her nose and her skin colour had become grey. Her eyes, her hair and the tattoos still glowed golden. The more time passed, the more blood flowed out of her nose and even out of the corners of her eyes.

Arthas realized that her body was not accustomed to the seemingly unlimited power. It was not designed to be able to use so much power. He realized that the power she was using to kill him would kill her in the end. The power will be his undoing but also hers.

Arthas felt his other leg broke under the pressure the inconceivable force exerted on his body. He coughed out blood and his chest began to hurt massively. He was sure he wouldn't hold out for long. He would die soon if nobody would help him. There were no undead creatures in the room because Melisandra had killed all of them. Nobody was there to help Arthas.

Numerous thoughts went through Arthas' mind. He thought of the events of the past weeks, of his campaign, of Tichondrius and the task he had received from him. He thought of the wicked necromancer he had to bring back to life and of the urn of his father. Then he thought of his father and finally of Jaina. He was wondering what Jaina would say and do if she would see him now. He was wondering if she would feel sorry for him or if she would be happy about his end. He was wondering if she would try to save him or let him die.

He was about to silently apologize to her when he suddenly realized that the force no longer held him down. His body stopped hurting and his head no longer felt as if it would explode the next moment. He was unable to get up because his legs were still broken. A group of cultists entered the room, walked over to him and started to treat his wounds, healing his broken bones first.

Arthas looked at Melisandra, noticing that she was no longer floating above the Sunwell. She was on all fours next to the Sunwell and was spitting out blood. A banshee was hovering next to her and held her wand in her spectral hands which she had broken in two pieces.

Melisandra's hair had become white and the glowing tattoos had disappeared. The power of the Sunwell was like a double-edged sword. It gave but also took in return. It had given Melisandra the power to kill the death knight but it had taken her life essence in return. She could have killed the death knight but she had decided to make his death as painful as possible. If she would have killed him immediately as she had done with Dar'Khan Drathir, she would have completed the mission she had given herself.

But she had allowed grief and thirst for vengeance to overwhelm her, and now she had to pay the price for not having been able to control herself. She hated herself for not killing him when she had gotten the chance. She regretted that she didn't kill him immediately. She was mad at herself that she hadn't been able to control herself.

She wished she could kill him at this very moment but she was no longer powerful enough to do that. She felt too weak. Her power was leaving her. She was unable to cast any spells because she had no mana left. She was unable to drain power from the Sunwell. She was defenceless and couldn't stop the death knight from walking over to the other side of the room to pick up Frostmourne.

Melisandra focused the last remains of her physical strength and crawled over to her dead husband. She collapsed next to him but managed to pull herself closer so that she was able to press a kiss on his lips. Tears ran down her cheeks as she regarded his motionless body. He was dead. Arthas had murdered him and now he would murder her too. She looked at the butcher, noticing that he was coming closer and closer.

Arthas stopped next to the banshee and nodded at her, a satisfied smile appeared on his lips. "You served your master well, Verena. Now leave the palace and kill the remaining living. Kill as many as you can."

Verena nodded. "As you wish, my master." She didn't hesitate to fly out of the room, leaving Arthas alone with Melisandra and the cultists.

Arthas' gaze fell on the heavily injured queen. "Now it's your turn to die."