No Gods, Only Lords
As she dismounted outside the ruined structure, Yrel recognised it as a cathedral.
It wasn't a draenei structure, either in form or aesthetic. But then, there was no equivalent of the draenei in the Nexus. The closest beings she had seen to her own in this place were the protoss, and even to her, they were alien. No, this structure had been designed and built by humans. Its stone, its stain-glass windows (what was left of them), its overall design…of all the worlds that had been drawn into this cosmic storm, humanity appeared to be the one constant in all of them. In this world, she was completely alone. Or would have been if not for the Light. Even in the Nexus, the gifts of the naaru could reach her.
Thus, with thanks given to the Light, she walked up to the structure. Whatever this structure had to been built to worship, clearly its gods had given it no such protection. The doorway had only one of its two wooden doors still intact, the other had been ripped off and smashed into firewood. As she entered the place, she made a mental note to get some before leaving. It might have been sacrilegious, but the nights of Raven Court were as cold as its days were hot. Though as she walked into the cathedral, she supposed that this might be a good place to rest. Most of the windows had been smashed, but it was still protection from the elements. If a realm lord needed her, she would be called to battle in an instant, but between those battles, the 'heroes' of the Nexus were left to their own devices. Left to fend for themselves. In her case, she provided what aid she could, but life in the Nexus was one of perpetual war. There was only so much she could do.
Yet had war taken this place, she wondered? The cathedral was set well outside any of the traditional battlegrounds of this realm. Of course, a cathedral could easily serve as a small fortress, but somehow, she didn't think so. It was instinct, but instinct and prophecy had guided the draenei for thousands of years, so even in this place, she hoped she could rely on hers.
"Hello?" she called out.
No answer came. She walked on, her hooves on its cold stone surface, walking between two rows of pews, all smashed. There was a symbol at the dais at the far end, and squinting through the gloom, she could just about make it out. Its colours were blue and white, its shape a hexagon. Sickle shapes within it gave the sense that they were spinning. Unlike the rest of the cathedral, the shape had been untouched, but as she drew closer, she could see writing on the walls above it. Either the inscriber was a giant, or time had been taken to make its message clear. A message written in Common (or the Nexus's equivalent of Common), but one that she could translate.
NO GODS, ONLY LORDS
She frowned. It made little sense to her, but she doubted that the people who had built this place had appreciated it.
"Who goes there?"
She unslung her hammer. If someone was here before her, she was technically the intruder, but in the wastelands of the Raven Court, notions of right and wrong could evaporate very quickly. From the far end, down a series of stairs, she could see an approaching light, casting its shadows on the walls. With a prayer to light of a very different kind, she clenched her hammer tighter and-
"Yrel?"
"Uther?"
Her hammer was unclenched, and so was his. She stood in place as the paladin made his way up the stairs. Watched as he put his lantern to one side. His armour shone as bright as ever, but she could see it in his eyes. Age. Weariness. Sorrow. The look of one who had been in the Nexus far longer than she had.
"What brings you here?" he asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," she said. "But to answer your own question, I was simply riding by, and saw the cathedral. I was thus compelled to enter."
"Then our stories are the same, though I daresay mine began a few chapters earlier." Uther smiled. "Are you hungry?"
She nodded, and let Uther lead her down the stairs to what she recognised as a crypt. Compared to what lay up above, this place was comparatively pristine. Filled with dust and spider webs, but the dead had not been defiled.
"Here," Uther said, handing her a piece of salted meat.
"Thank you." She took a bite. It was hard, it was tasteless, but it filled her stomach, if not her heart. She watched as the paladin sat down and poked at a small fire – the only source of illumination in this forsaken place. She frowned – she had met Uther only a few times, usually as allies, sometimes as an enemy, and had always been formidable. Here, in this place, in this time…he looked broken. Sad. Lost. A reflection of what she might become. Not necessarily krokul, but something as terrible.
"Do you know what happened here?" she asked.
He looked up at her. "Can you not guess?"
"I can guess many things," she murmured, thinking of the tales the crusader Johanna had told her. Of a place called Tristram, and of its own cathedral defiled at the touch of man'ari. "But if you have knowledge, I would prefer it imparted."
"Well said," Uther murmured. "Very well – what happened, do you ask? The Raven Lord happened." He returned his gaze to the fire.
"I don't understand."
He looked up at her, a fire of his own in his eyes. "Did you not see the writing? No gods, only lords?"
"I did. What of it?"
He sighed. "There are ways of the Nexus you will have to learn, Yrel. Facts that cannot be changed."
"Such as?"
"Such as that the realm lords are cruel and capricious. That the Raven Lord is the oldest and the worst. That like the others, he will broker no rival."
"I still don't understand."
Uther sighed. "If you were lord of an entire realm, Yrel, and its people called you master, would you broke them giving praise to a higher power? Would you suffer such indignity?"
"I…of course I would!" She blurted out. "The Light is in all of us. I may master it, but I am still its servant. But of what lies beyond, why should I declare what people believe, as long as those beliefs do not harm others?"
Uther smiled, yet looked bereft of happiness. "Kind words. Kind, but wise." He poked the fire again. "You do yourself and the Light credit Yrel, but the realm lords are not so generous." He gestured to the ceiling above them. "What these people believed in, what they gave praise to, I cannot say. I don't think I ever will. But of what I have learnt, the Raven Lord sent his knights here. Those who stood were cut down, and those who fled have not passed down the tenants of their faith. All that remains of them is this place. This warning to all others of the Nexus – that no-one is above the realm lords, and that they will suffer no rival."
"That's horrible," Yrel whispered.
Uther grunted.
"Lord Uther?"
He looked at her. "Hmm?"
"I said it's horrible."
"It is."
"And?"
"And what?"
"And what shall we do about it?" she asked. "These people…the Raven Lord…it…this cannot go unanswered for."
Uther laughed. Laughed quite loud, the sound echoing throughout the crypt. She frowned.
"There are more crimes to be answered for than I can count," he said. "In my world, in this world, in all worlds. But if you seek justice in the Nexus, you can forget it."
"I can't, and I won't," Yrel said. "I didn't flee the ravages of the Burning Legion to stand by and watch-"
"Watch what?" Uther asked. "Something you weren't here for? If, by some miracle, you felled the Raven Lord, and succeeded where all other usurpers have failed, would the dead thank you?"
She clenched her fist. "You've changed," she whispered. "I cannot believe that you are the Lightbringer. Knight of the Silver Hand."
"Much can change over eternity," Uther murmured.
"Apparently it can." She finished off the rest of the meat. "I shall reside upstairs. I would not sleep among the dead, or among one who refuses to speak for them."
Uther didn't say anything. He just sat there, staring into the fire. Thinking of Light-knew what…if it knew at all.
In silence, Yrel went back up the stairs. As she re-entered the main body of the cathedral, she glanced again at the symbol above her. At the declaration.
"No gods, only lords," she murmured. "Well, you're at least honest, realm lord."
Gods could not be usurped. Lords could.
And as Uther had said, much could change over eternity.
A/N
It was actually the announcement of Whitemane that sparked this idea, and I originally planned to have Yrel and/or Uther meet her, for her to discuss 'cleansing' the Nexus. However, didn't go through with it. Main reason is that I'm not sure I could write for her, since I've barely played WoW, whereas at least with Uther, Warcraft III (and other sources) make it easy to write for him, and Yrel is at least a major character enough that I can write for her.