trans_9 | In Honor... [Open - before Under Siege]

Ronnae had been fairly silent the past few weeks. She didn't do anything out of the ordinary; went to work every day, did her time, came back home, spent some time with loved ones and made dinner before bedtime. If anything, it all felt like it was going too well recently, which meant it was high time for her thoughts to drift into more unpleasant memories.

There was a lot that had been nagging at her head, the missions, their 'sponsors', the ship, the enemy... It all felt as if more and more weight was being put on everyone's shoulders and she wondered when she too would succumb to the overbearing feeling that it was to be a member of this crew.

This is why during one of the days that she had off, she packed her bag, grabbed her massive weapons and set off towards Religion Row. She had never been one to pray, or hope, or rely on the gods of yore. But she needed something familiar, something that held a very important place in her life... And when she had scanned the files on the City a long time ago, she had made a mental note of the location of a place that struck true and sounded very familiar.

Light's Hope Chapel.

Even as she neared the location, she could see the singular bell tower that made up the front of the Chapel and instantly recognized it. It really was it wasn't it? Her steps took on a hurried pace of urgency, as if she expected to see familiar places in the location. but she knew better... Even as her heart raced, her steps slowed down once the place came into view. The old and war torn building still bruised and battered, just as she remembered during the wars she took part of. Even now, in this close proximity, Shadowmourne hummed violently as if warning her to not go there. And she couldn't blame the runeblade... Light's Hope Chapel had once held the most holy of grounds in Azeroth. Even the Lich King failed to take it down with almighty Frostmourne, so it was no surprise that Shadowmourne felt the same way about entering.

But this was both hers, and its destination, whether on the ship, or back in Azeroth. It was here that she had intended the final resting place for the Runeblade to be at... She made her way slowly towards the Chapel, each step causing the Runeblade to curse at her in her thoughts, to hum violently and begin to glow in that eerie purple aura from the thousands of damned souls inside the blade and yet, the counter balance that had been gifted to her aboard the ship by Daja and Aibghalien seemed to be working to keep it from becoming too overwhelming. While the legendary Runeblade was vastly more powerful, the opposing forces and elements canceled each other out a great deal, enough to make it easy for Ronnae to continue on even against the powerful influence of the blade. Ironic that she had named her new weapon Light's Hope, in honor of the place she was just visiting.

Tattered Argent Dawn banners still decorated the Chapel and the stained windows seemed to be intact. Images of the heroic acts of the great heroes of the Light depicted on them. Images of stories that she grew up on. Stories told by her father, an elven Paladin of the Silver Hand and devoted follower to the Argen Dawn. This was a place of peace for her, and it was exactly what she needed.

The young, half-orc girl knelt in front of the altar and placed her Runeblade in front, much to it's dismay and hatred. It almost seemed as if the blade was burning just from being in the hallowed place. It was here that Ronnae closed her eyes and placed her hand upon the cold burn of the angry Shadowmourne, wincing a little as the pain from the freezing burn began to leave it's mark on her hand, but it mattered not, she knew of the pain, and she had carried the burden for long enough, it would heal over soon enough... After a deep breath, she began her prayer;

"I come here to honor those who have fallen, and for those who will still fall during this war. Allies and enemies alike. I bear the burden of thousands of lives and if fate deems it, there will be countless more until I fall... It's the way of my trade, of my people, the ways of a world where war is never ending and it seems as if those ways will follow me wherever I go. As such, I pledge my blade once more to keep those I care for safe, those that are unable to fend for themselves, those that are caught in between the warring sides even as I do my duty for my own.

I see my foes as equals. Souls intertwined in this on-going war, same coin, different sides. They deserve as much honor as those who fight beside me for it is them who my blade is meant to cut down just as it is theirs that is meant to end my journey.

I see my allies as my wards, meant to be protected and defended against those that mean to harm them. They deserve my protection no matter how different we my be for it is them who are at my side and my back, protecting me just as well.

I see my friends and loved ones as my strength. They deserve my everything for without them I'd be lost, alone, and caught in the void that is inside. They are the ones who I fear for the most, they are my life line, they are my driving force and I'll do anything for them.

It is for all of them that I will continue to carry on the burden bestowed upon me when I pledged my life to this until I fall and cannot get up no more.

Today I reinforce my pledge, my promise, my dedication, my word given when I first became a warrior. In honor of the fallen the past, and the future."

With that, she gripped the cold, burning Shadowmourne once more and strapped the massive axe to her back once more before standing up and staring at the large stained glass image of the bearer of the Ashbringer. One of the many heroes she admired.

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Zouichi frowned. "Okay, I'm not really sure what either of those are, but it does sound... unfortunate. So what ended up happening to him?"

Ronnae crossed her arms and looked up as she recalled how the events happened;

"Once he was raised as a Death Knight, he served under Kel'Thuzad, the most trusted general to the Lich King and one of the most powerful liches in Azeroth inside the dread citadel Naxxramas. There he became the leader of the Four Horsemen and lead the armies of the undead against Azeroth from inside the citadel."

She sighed before looking back at Zouichi, "During an assault into the citadel, he was killed by his youngest son who was trying to free him from his new curse... Must be painful to die to your sons twice, one seeking power and betraying you, the other seeking to free you and save you..."

He looked grim. "Well, I guess if I were in the same situation, I'd rather be taken out before I could do any more damage than avoid getting my feelings hurt. I hope his last moments were peaceful, at least."

Zouichi had never really had to worry about being compromised back on his own world; he was more or less immune to N5S, and thus unlikely to become some kind of unholy, ridiculously strong Synthetic Human zombie.

Edited 2011-11-16 04:52 (UTC)

"Far as I know, his last moments weren't. Not until his true release during the Battle of Light's Hope Chapel..." She nodded towards the altar, "This very place where you now stand. It's a holy building from my world. And it used to house the bodies of a thousand heroes of the Light underground in a crypt. But it looks like that part wasn't brought along into Stacy."

Which cause her for a bit of worry... that all those holy bodies where decimated along with the world.

Zouichi frowned. "I was under the impression the ship took some part of the underground portions of buildings. You've checked already? Why would it take the chapel, but not those enshrined beneath it?"

Although a thousand bodies was kind of a lot.

Ronnae shrugged and pointed at the stained glass window. "There's a secret staircase that led to the catacombs. But it doesn't look like there'd be enough space under it for the actual crypt, even if the hill's still here. It was rather big you see, specially with all the honorable burials done under it."

Zouichi raised an eyebrow, giving the window a good once over. "I suppose you'd know better than I would. Well. At least this chapel is here? It seemed as though it has personal importance to you."

Ronnae nodded in turn. "It does... It means a great deal to me, both in duty and emotionally. This place holds a close place in my heart. I grew up listening to the tales of the heroes of the light that my papa used to tell me about this place. Then, when I joined the war effort, this place became one of my places of peace."

As well as one of the few places that could help her keep her sanity after she took upon the task of wielding Shadowmourne.

"So in a way, it's a reminder of your family, too." Zouichi smiled slightly. "That's... a comforting thing to have. It's lucky this place survived." Azeroth certainly seemed like a place full of conflict.

"What was that earlier? An oath?"

Ronnae nodded at his response and smiled in turn, "It is, and I'm really glad that it survived."

At the second question she looked down thoughtfully for a moment before opening and closing her already healing hand. "It was a promise, a reminder and an oath. I don't want to lose focus of what's important to me and my beliefs."

Zouichi nodded. "It's important to keep sight of who you are. Especially in the middle of a war. And, I guess, when you're so far away from the world you knew..."

"In any case, the war's eventually going to be over, one way or another. How we fight it and how we hold onto our principles in doing so is important."

"It is, which is why I really needed this... And to do so in a place that holds much importance to me emotionally, I feel as if I've strengthened my resolve considerably." she replied with a much more confident smile this time around.

"Oh yeah?" Zouichi asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "So, what's your first action as the newly resolved you?"

"Eat." She said with the most sincere smile ever, and to anyone who didn't know her well, it might have seemed like something silly, or even meaningless. But the fact that she wanted to openly eat as much as her body needed was already a nice step towards being at least a little bit more confident.

Zouichi tried to hold back a laugh. "Sounds like a plan. Have anything left over from the last shore leave or two? I could bring by a piece of watermelon, if you like. There's still a little left over."

Ronnae grinned a bit childlike and nodded, "I always stock up like crazy during shoreleaves. Especially things that will last a long time since you never know when we'll be getting one you know?"

"But! I'd love, love, love a piece of watermelon for sure! I haven't had one in... well a very long time!"

He smiled back. "A sound practice. I picked up a couple things myself, now that I actually have access to a kitchen. Alright, then. Er... where do you live again? I don't think I've ever come by."

"I live over at the Sun and Moon Twins near the river." she pulled out her comm and did a few inputs that brought up the known map of the city and then it zoomed in on the location of her place.

"There, that's the one" she said happily.

"Ah, yes. I've gone past there a few times, but never actually stopped by to see who lived there. I'll bring some melon by tomorrow, then."

He straightened a little, checking his Omnicomm. "And now, I think I'd better leave you to your chapel; I need to make sure Howard's cat hasn't tried to eat Alan."

Ronnae giggled and bowed low, smiling as she straightened up. "I'll be lookin' forward to it! Tell my regards to Howard and Alan, and Howard's cat, didn' know he was into animals really."

Zouichi smiled and gave her a little wave. "I will. And feel free to give Howard a hard time about it next time you see him."

With that he turned, found the exit of the chapel, and also hopefully Emergency Rations was behaving herself.

In Honor... [Open - before Under Siege]

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