AND IT'S DONE. Wow,turned out as a quite long story I've written this far,I think (a total of 120 pages in my Word-document) but it doesn't feel that long looking back at all the chapters.120 pages doesn't actually sound like a lot at all,from a professional perspective.

Read more at the end? :3

Epilogue

I don't feel frightened. I don't think I'll die either, simply fade into nothingness and pass on to the other side. It just… doesn't feel that way. But I have a feeling, that this place is safe. Wherever THIS is. Something tells me that nothing will hurt me here, and that this is where I belong. Can I open my eyes?

I slowly tried to do so. But they might as well still be closed, because I couldn't see a thing. Perhaps I still had them tight shut. I felt too relaxed to even move. Every thought that entered my head quickly slipped away before I could even develop it further. But I wasn't scared at all. I felt no pain, though I knew that for some reason I should do so. It was like I didn't even feel my body at all.

But something approached me. Something that would try to take me away from this mysterious slumber. Was that something good or bad…?

The new approacher reached out to me, and my mind was at once soiled by darkness. I felt even more paralyzed now than before, but this time I knew that it wasn't positive. And the darkness holder was familiar. The Lich King's cold voice echoed out to me.

"Such pity that one of my best knights would turn from me so quickly. I even thought that you came to rejoin me when we met at the Cathedral of Darkness. And then you acted in a way more foolish than I ever thought you could do."

Anger bubbled up inside of me, but I couldn't break free of the grip he had of my body. Now, fear slowly started to creep over me and mix with the hatred I so hard tried to throw at him. But I couldn't see him.

"But why don't you think about it again? Shut out the voices of Mograine and the others, and remember why you once fought at my side."

Why did I ever join forces with him? Suddenly, it felt like a huge weight I didn't even know had been cast over me was lifted from my mind. My thoughts started flooding freely through my head, and memories from entire life flashed before me.

I remembered when I woke up, confused and shocked, in the cold, dark room in the Acherus. Lady Alistra examined my mind thoroughly and gave me my lost name, Galbana. Razuvious snorted at her lectures and threw me a sword to handle. We fought and he approved me as a new death knight disciple.

I remembered when Nadaala and I first met, and when I met Thassarian, Highlord Mograine, Koltira, and Orbaz Bloodbane. All had shown so much talent and I had admired them so much, ever wanting to achieve as much as they had.

The pleasure I had in killing the New Avalon citizens that tried fleeing in despair, in the name of my master. How I without asking or thinking had followed his orders, slaughtering for him to have a better world. Yes, a world without that wretched light.

Somewhere, his voice echoed in a cold laughter. My mind started to feel heavy again, but it felt like it was already made up. I had no right to turn my back to the Scourge, which had given me this new life. I had no idea why I ever even did so, because they all tried to eliminate the one thing that threatened my very existence. The Argent Crusade, they would all try to stab me in the back, in the end. Why would they ever trust someone like me?

"Give in to your darkest will, Galbana… Become one with me again…"

As something cold started creep upon my feet, like I was being buried in ice, a gentle breeze brushed my face, and the numbing weight left my mind again. The cold laughter stopped.

A blinding light filled the darkness around me, but I could not shut it out by closing my eyes. Still, the light didn't dazzle me. It was more than welcome ----

I cried out in pain when what seemed like thousands of death screams pierced my ears. The light was washed out by a flood of blood, and the sanctuary that had been built for my turned into a nightmarish battlefield, between the empowered darkness and the soothing light. I had murdured. For a greater cause. I had destroyed an entire city. That would have hanged me as a monster if I hadn't done so. I had spat in the face of the Light. That had abandoned me and left me to die. I had been betrayed…

Tirion Fordring. Light's Hope Chapel. Jorda Runetouch. The Argent Dawn and the Brotherhood of the Light. The order of the Silver Hand. The Ashbringer. Nadaala. Thassarian. Koltira.

The battle that took place around me grew more and more intense. My heart started pounding hard.

My heart??!

The heart that they took away from me, and had ripped of all memories I had of my beloved ones. My mind that they had tricked into following orders that would eliminate me eventually.

I wanted to scream, but no sound was heard. I wanted to cry, but not even sobbings would rise from my throat. I was either deaf, or no sound could exist in this place. But still the raging war was so loud, that neither of those explanations made sense. And still, there was no escape from here.

Suddenly, like sent from Elune herself, a friendly hand touched my forehead, and told me wake up. But I could not do so.

"Yes you can," I heard him say. A nostalgic voice that stirred even more memories inside me, causing the war between the Light and the darkness to grow even louder. I knew that voice from my childhood.

"You are strong, and you know yourself what answer is the right one. You have always done so."

From somewhere around me, a harmonical song started to block out the intense battle. And at once, I knew who it was that was speaking with me.

"Father?!!" I burst out, and it seemed like my voice had returned to me.

I heard him laugh gently. "So you do remember me after all."

There were a million of questions I wanted to ask, but suddenly the pain in my chest reminded me why I was here. My father gripped my shoulders.

"Listen to me, Galbana. Your time has not come yet. You have to rise and reclaim your right for revenge, to avenge everything they ever did to you!"

"But the pain…." I groaned. I clutched at the wound Frostmourne had brought me, as if it would ease the agony, but it rather made it worse. "I feel so tired…"

"Don't worry," a woman said, and I realized that it was Yazmina, who softly layed her hand on my other shoulder. I stared at her, as glowing as she was. A white light surrounded her and my father.

"I'm sorry…" I said in agony. She shook her head, but still gave me the widest smile. But then she furrowed her eyebrows, giving me a determined look.

"Please…" she pleaded.

The deep wound made itself reminded again, and I cried out. I shook my head, I felt so weak. I started to sink down, but a third hand stopped me, joining my father and Yazmina. The three of them aided me in standing once again.

"Elisara…" I gasped in sorrow. She didn't give me any time for apologies. Instead she nodded at me, smiling.

"Don't worry," she said, her voice echoing together with the others'. "We are with you, all the time. Fight, fight again!"

Their combined strength and determination flooded into me, and when it ended I felt stronger than anyone. I could do this, and I WOULD take revenge for my own death, for the death of my friends and everything else that the Scourge had caused me. With the three of them watching my back, I would succeed.

I gave them an appreciating smile, knowing that we would reunite one day. "Thank you…"

And with that, I regained conciousness.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Galbana! You have to wake up! Galbana? Galbana!!"

Father? No, wait a minute… didn't that voice belong to Jorda?

I opened my heavy eyes, but instead of finding darkness again, I met the sunshine of a new day, searching its way through the window. Still in a sort of daze, I recognized the banners of the Silver Covenant hanging from the walls. The room was richly furnitured with neatly decorated beds with sheets of blue satin and low tables in dark wood. It looked like a bedroom of some sort.

Then, my eyes fell on the person standing leaned over me. Jorda looked relieved to see that I was awake, but he was still concerned about the state I was in. He repeated my name to see if I reacted.

"Galbana? Galbana? ..."

I tried focusing as much as I could on him, and then burst into a smile. My head hurt. But still, Jorda's relief spread to me, and I felt even more that everything was going to be alright. He sat on the edge of my bed, it appeared like someone had stripped off my armor and instead put a blue linen shirt and pants on me to function as sleeping clothes. Jorda leaned his head back so that he was facing the ceiling, or perhaps the sky, and he started praying.

I looked down on my body. The strong pain that I had felt just a minute ago was practically gone, and under the linen shirt I caught a glimpse of bandages around my chest. It still seemed so unbelievable that I had survived the Lich King's wrath at all. Maybe the reason was just the fact that he still had use of me, judging by the way he had tried to recruit me again earlier. Reminded by that, I felt a renewed gratitude for not only Jorda, but also the three persons that had aided me.

Trying to find my armor with my eyes, because it had to be stuffed away somewhere in the room, I attempted to sit up, but Jorda stopped me, as did my injury. "Please, rest until you've recovered fully."

He was right about that and was only being thoughtful, but I still felt handicapped. I hoped that with the help of Elisara and the others, the damage Frostmourne had caused me would heal up as soon as possible, so I could go do what they had all asked me to do.

But for the time being, I knew that I had to rest, for my friends. So I asked Jorda; "What happened?"

The concern returned to his face. "From what the others told me, the Lich King cut you. They managed to get you out of there, after Nadaala distracted him by throwing something… something like that, I… a normal person wouldn't have survived. But then again," he added, after I raised an eyebrow, "You and the other Ebon Knights aren't exactly normal."

"I see," I said quietly. After a moment, I asked; "How long ago was this?"

"Two days."

"And when did you get here?"

"I came to Valiance Keep about four days ago. When I heard where you had gone, I followed and went to Dalaran. There, they told me that you had unleashed an attack on the Cathedral of Darkness, and by the time that I reached Icecrown, Highlord Tirion filled me in on the rest and allowed me to stay on the Argent Tournament, and that is where we are now."

I blinked. "Argent Tournament?"

He sighed, as if too tired to explain it. "The Highlord… says it is some kind of practice for what's to come. Heroes from all over Azeroth has come here, it is actually quite big."

"Ah, so some sort of competition then?" I asked, and he nodded. I looked around, to see that what I earlier thought was walls of stone turned out to be the wooden walls of a barrack, used as what seemed like the bedhouse for the Silver Covenant.

"Lady Vereesa and her captains were kind enough to let you rest up here," Jorda continued, noticing my confused expression. "She and Rhonin were here themselves, just a moment ago."

I was moved. "Really? To see me?"

Jorda looked puzzled. "No, to come see the tournament, of course."

"Oh." I sank back into the pillows of the bed, and suddenly realized how tired I was. My eyelids felt too heavy and my head started pounding whenever I moved it. Following Jorda's earlier advice, I tried to just lay back and relax. The captain sat beside me quietly. Almost half an hour passed, without any of us saying anything. From outside, I heard the cheerings of the tournament visitors, the clashing of lances and the sound of running hooves. Eventually, I broke the comfortable silence; "Where are the others?"

He met my stare. "I'm not sure. It's been a while since I last saw a few of them, and that was hours ago. But I'm guessing Mograine wanted them to take care of some of the Scourge that dwells around here. There's more here in Icecrown than I've ever seen before!"

I nodded slowly. "I would guess so. This is where he hides, after all." Jorda returned my nod, though a bit gloomier.

I fingered a bit on the sheet. It wasn't unlikely that Mograine might have sent the others to the Cathedral again, just to try capturing one of the Cultists. But then again, this last incident might have caused him to rethink. At least Tirion pierced the Lich King's heart… Staring out of the small window, I hoped that Koltira and the others would come back soon. After telling them that I was alright, I wanted to discuss our new strategies, since this attack had not been for nothing.

My positive thoughts were interrupted by Jorda's depressed sigh. "It seems not even his former knights can bring him down, then."

Eyes widening in anger and shock, I turned to look at him. "What do you mean by that?!" I snapped.

Jumping back, he blinked at me. Then he gained an irritated expression of his own. "But you were there yourself! You were cut down! We doubted that you'd ever even wake up!"

"But I did wake up! I'm fine, see!" Wanting to prove him wrong, I pulled the satin sheets away, threw my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Almost directly I began wobbling, and red and orange stars dazzled before my eyes, but I did regain my balance as soon as the captain lunged forward to help me. He started protesting, but I waved him away.

"I'm fine," I repeated, feeling even more exhausted now. Then I gave him a determined stare. "And even if I died, I'm just one soldier. The rest of the Ebon Hold is just as strong without me; they all have their strengths and weaknesses, just like any other person! Just like any other army! Didn't sir Turalyon's forces have flaws too?" Jorda furrowed his eyebrows at the mention of the sacred paladin, but I ignored it. "It doesn't matter. If a good leader can hold his fighters together, then we complete each other like one, single man. You if anyone should know that, captain!"

He stood silent for a while, still holding my arm in case I'd start falling down again. "Galbana…" He shook his head, looking away. "You sounded almost exactly like you did before anything of this happened."

My irritation lightened up a bit. "Huh?"

"Nothing." He studied me one last time. "I guess I should go find the others. To tell them you're okay." I nodded. He gestured towards the bed. "You should lie down again." And with that, he left.

I followed him with my eyes as he passed out of the barracks, and then through the window when he walked with quick steps on the tournament grounds. Did I go too hard on him?

On shaking legs, I started to turn around, and then my gaze landed on my helmet, placed by the end of the bed, together with my pauldrons and my remaining armor. I fingered on its features, the horns, and the open gap for the eyes. From another perspective, it was very monster like indeed. I remembered the Lich King's words the day he had placed the helmet on my head; "Any that dare look upon your dark countenance will know that death comes. Let none stand so boldy against your king so as to face your merciless wrath, Galbana."

I wondered if any of us could ever have foreseen this twist of fate, as the pupil turned on her master, and now it was him that would face my merciless wrath.

Quick steps sounded outside of the bedroom, and I got up just in time to see Koltira storming inside. His glowing eyes were wide, and his mouth open. Without a word, we rushed into each others arms. He held me so tight, whispering my name over and over. I shut my eyes and sank into his embrace, smiling in joy of being with him again.

"I'm so happy you're alright," he said, but before I could answer, the rest of the group ran inside. Nadaala's face was shining as she ran forward to join the hug. Thassarian and Mograine each gave me a short nod of appreciation, as Jorda and some of the other death knights having followed simply stood behind them in the entrance, looking a bit embarrassed.

I smiled at all of them, thanking when they hoped that I'd get better soon, laughing when Thassarian practically had to bend both Nadaala and Koltira off me, as Mograine wanted to talk to me alone. Though my head still pounded, and I felt so darn exhausted, I didn't want to fall asleep just yet. I had kept my friends waiting for me all too long. And somehow I knew that this time, this was it. This time we would all meet the Lich King together, and we would win. We if anyone would do it. And I believed that we would bring him down, to make him pay for the thousands of lifes he had taken.

What we would do after that was up to fate to decide.

The end.

Thank you for bearing with me through all these chapters and thanks to all reviewers,thanks to my sister and friends for coming with feedback and grammatical corrections (though often too late -.-'),thanks to my remaining family who at least started reading it even if they didn't play WoW.I praise the internet and my former english teacher,if it weren't for them I wouldn't have been able to write a story 'this long'. Next time,I swear I'm going to make a longer story!! Also thanks to WoWwiki, since it was mostly there that I did my research.

The reason I left an open ending is if I want to make a continuation (which I really don't know if I want to .) and having killed the DARK ONE would maybe have pissed many off ^^' Icecrown Citadel WAS released quite recently,after all. Exciting...I just have to get my friend to help me gear up.

THANK YOU AGAIN AND SEE YOU! //cArPeNoctis.