Chapter 1

It was always frigid within the dank depths of what used to be Lorderan Castle, now aptly dubbed the Undercity. Luckily Sylvanas didn't have a sense of smell now due to her undeath, a saving grace because of all the rotting corpses that walked around. Pert though her nose was, it no longer served any function other than to give the woman some semblance of being even partially alive. However the world knew all too well of the Banshee Queen and the horrors that she'd committed. Gilneas, Silverpine, South Shore and numerous other regions had been devastated by her aimless anger.

Sitting upon the throne of the Undercity, Sylvanas sat in silence while Forsaken generals spouted information that she already knew about. Who did they take her for? Most of this information was old news to the ex-Ranger General of Silvermoon. With most of the more indispensable soldiers fighting on alternate Draenor, matters back on Azeroth had become rather more complicated. While it was true that the Horde and Alliance did have a truce at the moment, that didn't mean very much to the undead.

Since a year ago, Sylvanas had been feeling the irresistible urge to cleanse all life from the Eastern Kingdoms. Always the dark thought had plucked at the back of her mind from time to time, but now it was almost an obsession. New poisons were being developed all the time in the depths of the Undercity and additional test subjects 'volunteered' all the time. For once the remnants of the Scarlet Crusade proved to be a boon rather than an annoying thorn.

As the generals yammered on, her exposed fingers stroked the cold iron of which her throne had been made. Once upon a time the king of Lorderan would have sat upon a magnificent throne atop this very spot. That was before Arthas drove Frostmourne through his heart and then proceeded to ram it through the now frozen heart of the banshee. This throne had been constructed for her after the trial of Garrosh. A queen needed a small comfort, even if it was extremely uncomfortable. Functional but not warm like a mortal rulers.

Soft footsteps caught the attention of the elf, their boots makings clicking noises on the stone floor. No attempt was made to mask their presence. All such attempts would prove useless in the end if they were determined to sneak up on the undead Ranger. Slowly the dark red eyes of the dead elf moved up to see the five women entering the chamber. Dark Rangers all with the stereotypical black cloaks that was now common among all their kind. Each was a welcome sight in the eyes of the Banshee Queen.

Gracefully the five glided over towards the queen, garnering a few intimidated glances from the now silent commanders. While they drew closer Sylvanas waved off the Death Guard and commanders that populated the room. Obediently they exited. Had they not then a fate worse than undeath awaited them. Only the Death Guard gave any pause before making an exit. Loyal until the end, a trait that had earned a small amount of praise from the undead elf, the Death Guard only left their charge under protest.

All five knelt before the Banshee Queen who slid back the maroon hood, allowing her now raven hair to spill forth. In turn each removed their hoods except for the one on the end who wore a slightly altered attire to the rest of the company. Unlike the others who wore traditional black leather armour modelled off the old Ranger armour, this one had a high collar which concealed the lower half of the young woman's face. All that you could see from beneath the hood was the scarlet eyes and pale white hair.

That was Kylande for you. She'd never taken to undeath like her subordinates. Following the example of the Banshee Queen most Dark Rangers accepted their undeath to some degree as inevitability now. Captain Starstrider still to this day searched for some way to undo their curse. So long as it didn't interfere with the eventual victory of the Forsaken, Sylvanas just smiled and allowed it.

"Lady Sylvanas, it is good to see you well," Kylande said in a soft voice that was so familiar to Sylvanas.

"Likewise. I must admit that I'm surprised that you are back so late." They were overdue. The Dark Star Rangers as she called them prided themselves on being prompt. Should she give them a time frame to complete a mission, it was done within any stipulations.

"Forgive us, but we were unavoidably detained. Teelande found a bottle of wine and just had to bring it back." Slowly all eyes turned to the woman who smiled through the decayed remains of her lips. Teelande was an odd one. Every Ranger had bet that if anything would kill Tellande it would be her binge drinking. In the end it was a ghoul disembowelling her. The scars still remained on the taut stomach to show the means of the woman's death.

Brushing the pale red hair from her eyes, Teelande looked to the Banshee Queen. "It's a rather rare vintage, Dark Lady."

"And so you endangered the mission to obtain it?" Sylvanas demanded while keeping her voice level.

"Not at all. I procured it AFTER we finished." From the backpack under the dark cloak, the woman drew forth the bottle. It was a nice crimson colour and the label was fairly old. Suddenly Sylvanas bit her lip. That was a Silvermoon XXXI. That had been Alleria's favourite wine. Slowly a pale hand reached up and touched the sapphire necklace dangling at the base of the neck. A stupid thing that she'd been meaning to throw away, but never got around to it. All it brought forth now was memories of a dark betrayal of love. An emotion that would never be felt again in this dark heart.

Something sparked in the cloaked Ranger's eyes. "Sylvanas, we all remember when Alleria left us," Kylande spoke sombrely. "When I saw what kind of wine that Teelande had grabbed, I immediately thought of that moment all those years ago."

A clinking of crystal against crystal caught her attention as Ostra produced a set of fine glass goblets from her satchels. On the edge of her scarred lips a smile appeared. "Lady Sylvanas, will you join us in a drink to the fallen that will never return?"

While on the outside Sylvanas remained stern, internally the woman was conflicted. Was this right? Alleria was a part of a family that she wanted nothing to do with now. Yet Alleria had always been there for the sisters up until the end. If there was a single thing that Sylvanas would give up this second life for, it would be to just see the caring smile of the eldest Windrunner. Well, second to possibly rewriting time to kill Arthas as a child.

Despite the silence, Ostra and Kylande had already moved over to the nearby table to prepare the drinks. Regardless of answer the women would drink. Standing from the throne, Sylvanas just couldn't help but think of this as the final farewell. Already there had been a funeral for the missing High Elf, but now would be the hour that the last tie to life would be severed forever. From now on it would just be the Dark Lady Sylvanas.

Ostra handed her lady a fine glass with the care a Ranger would be expected to take. Over by the table Kylande pulled down her collar to reveal the badly mauled mouth that would never heal. Always a bit of a loner. Holding up her glass, Sylvanas felt a slight hesitation. With this, it would be the end of the Windrunner sisters. All that would be left would be that backstabbing Vereesa.

"To those who will never come back. And to you women too. You have made undeath...bearable," Sylvanas said with a smirk.

"Thank you, my lady. Now, forgive me," Kylande said before a pain erupted from Sylvana's back. A gloved hand covered the lips of the undead elf as fiery pain coursed through every part of the woman's body.

It felt as though someone had poured litres of molten iron down her throat, incinerating everything on the way down. Pain exploded hottest from her chest which made every gasping breath all the more excruciating. Each fibre screamed in agony which in turn caused a muffled scream to leave the covered mouth. Only the strong arms of Kylande kept Sylvanas upright as the glass fell from her hand, Teerande leaping forward to catch the falling article. Her queen was being assaulted and all she could think about was the glass!?

Then Sylvanas, in the haze of pain, saw the sombre expression on their faces. They were all in on this! Whatever was happening now was on the heads of five of the most trusted Dark Rangers at her disposal. Kylande, Ostra, Teerande, Vilaen and Princette. All of them had betrayed their commander! Finally Sylvanas was allowed to collapse, hitting the floor with barely any sort of recognition as the pain subsided.

Numbness ran throughout every part of the banshee's body. Only the heaviness in her chest was registered and that was just faintly. Vilaen removed her black glove to reveal the decaying hand beneath, Sylvanas's fading eyes not leaving the woman as she took her wrist in hand.

"It worked!" Vilaen breathed in a hushed whisper that could have been mistaken for the eerie breeze that travelled the Undercity.

A small golden orb etched with ancient symbols and dials fell to the ground as the traitor's leader knelt down next to Sylvanas. "Forgive us, Dark Lady. This is for your own good. Whatever punishment awaits at the end for us, we will endure for this crime."

Poisonous words wanted to form on the Banshee Queen's lips but whatever she'd done to her had worked its accursed magic well. Limply the woman was torn from the ground by two of the Dark Rangers who glanced around cautiously. Yes, be very careful traitors, Sylvanas thought as her mind began to go blank. I will have my revenge on you as I did on Arthas! Eventually darkness clouded her vision until all that was left was a faint drumming sound. Raping her pointed ears was a sound that was oddly familiar yet so alien. A sound that she couldn't place as darkness consumed her.