Unstoppable and Immovable

((During our time on Wyrmrest, Hylaudius and I noticed a disconcerting trend among raid guilds.  They only recruited people who had done the content they were doing, which essentially meant that raid guilds were recruiting people out of other raid guilds, and no one else was gaining the experience necessary to see content.  Being possibly two of the only unguilded raiders who had actually seen progression at that point, we set ourselves to a task: Find eight other people who had never done this stuff before, and walk them right up through the first four bosses.

We usually one-shot them with people who had never done them before, quite an achievement on Wyrmrest Accord in those days.  Many of our raiders later went on to join raiding guilds, and Hylaudius and I were recruited into the newly-reformed Stormrise Warband as main tanks, where we earned the join title Unstoppable and Immovable.  This is an IC recount of one of our initial clears with a raider named Chichi-something, who disconnected and pulled an entire trash group by autorunning into them on accident, to the massive vent cry of "Chichi?  Chichi?!  CHICHI, NOOOOOO!"  While everyone else ran for their lives, Hylaudius and I did... This.))


You cannot help how you meet someone.  When the inevitable course of all actions and reactions, "fate," as some call it, leads your path to intertwine with that of another, then you must accept it.

One such meeting was a man whom I consider more brother-in-arms than a friend.  His armor is his skin, forged from his own sweat and blood.  His weapons are more like his hands- a part of his body, forged into his second skin.  He is a terror to behold, more alarming than any Scourge abomination I have ever seen.  I am convinced that he is seeking out Death, so that he might strike it down.

His name is Hylaudius Dorennen.

* * *

Side by side at Ashen Verdict forges stood Xynrael Frostbane and Hylaudius Dorennen, their hammers each pounding steadily.  They had been working for two days with no rest, and thus far, Hylaudius had shown no sign of stopping.  Xynrael was fairly impressed- this man was the first mortal to show such discipline.  From one of the Knights of the Ebon Blade serving with the Verdict, he expected such dedication, but Hylaudius had matched him swing for swing, and paused not a moment.  They had been repairing bladed and broken armor for the last week, and of the two, the living Sin'dorei's craft was proving better.

Strangely enough, just as Xynrael had, Hylaudius had kept his armor while working.  The cause was obvious- the two were plying their trade in the Crusade camp that held the gate of the Citadel itself.  However, the other smiths tended to rest or remove their armor and rely more heavily upon the guards for protection.

The two had met the months prior, during the initial incursion and the establishing of the camp inside the gate itself.  An especially heavy push by the Scourge ran the risk of overruning Light's Hammer, and so a few brave soldiers had waded into it, the ranks of skeletal warriors and Nerubian spiderlings breaking around them like a rushing river around a few stones set in its path.  When the assault has withdrawn, only Xynrael and Hylaudius remained.

They had said nothing afterwards save to exchange names, and from that point on had been working together.  No pointless conversation.  No awkward silence- though it certainly seemed to frighten the other men and women of the Argent Crusade, and even unsettle a few Death Knights that these two stalked about the Citadel, not speaking and unflinching at the sounds of battle and death coming from deeper inside the structure.

And always they were at the forges, hammering away.  Their two day marathon extended to three, and it was on the third day that they received orders to escort another set of reinforcements deeper into the Citadel.  The invaders had unlocked the teleporter leading to the nexus of the Citadel- the Halls.

Xynrael laid down his hammer and waited a moment.  Hylaudius lost no time- he needed fuel and knew it.  Without much ceremony, though also without indignity, the Paladin produced some bread, cheese, dried fruit, salted pork, and began to eat, balancing his meal on one arm, while using the other to tug his horned helmet into place.  The living Sin'dorei also began strapping on his weaponry, finishing his meal by tossing the rag that had contained it into the forge's fire.

The Paladin showed little concern for his companion as he moved towards the gates of the Citadel- Xynrael's nourishment would come from battle, he knew.

They lost no time in making their way inside, finding a small group of Crusaders and Knights of the Ebon Blade awaiting them.

* * *

The disorientation from the teleporter faded quickly after it deposited the men upon the balcony of Icecrown Citadel's upper spire, a place where, not long before, Saurfang the Younger had been slain.

Beside him, Xynrael could see Hylaudius forcing away the last of the dizziness from the teleporter.  Though the other man was standing perfectly still, his hesitance indicated the agitation caused by the magical displacement.  This was replaced quickly by determination, as Hylaudius called over his shoulder, "Move!"

Xynrael fell in beside him as they headed through the gates leading deeper in.  Rather than walk, however, Dorennen set the pace at a brisk run.

The Crusaders and Knights kept up as best they could, however, one broke pace and ran ahead; an impetuous young ranger whom Xynrael knew was affectionately referred to by his comrades as "Chichi."

The pair gave it no heed, but as they rounded the corner and entered the Citadel itself, bypassing a non-functional transporter, they could see "Chichi" getting too far ahead.  Hylaudius was the first to notice the geists crawling along the underside of the walkways leading to the great center teleporter.

"Chichi, no!  Stop!"  Hylaudius commanded.

"Hold, everyone hold!"  Xynrael called out, the group grinding to a halt just as a swarm of geists erupted from beneath the walkways.  "Chichi" was immediately enveloped and dragged over the edge, his head ripped from his shoulders and falling separately from his body.  The site was gruesome, but not nearly as worrisome as that which spread out from the Plague quarter to greet them.

Hylaudius  eyed the geists, then the pair of abominations and several plagued monstrosities that were rapidly advancing towards the group.  He looked at Xynrael, then back at them, as if balancing something in his mind.

Xynrael already knew what the result would be.  "On to the Hall of Blood!  The champions of the Crusade will meet you there."  He snapped this in an instant, and the Crusaders and Knights moved onwards, producing a tremendous clattering as they ran across the catwalks.

The two stood abreast, Hylaudius's armor creaking as he relaxed in preparation for the coming onslaught.  Without glancing at his companion, he asked, "Geists, or abominations?"  The question was impassive; likened to an inquiry as to an inquiry as to whether one wanted cream or sugar with their tea.

"Half and half," Xynrael replied, lifting Skyshatter up towards his chest.

The paladin nodded and ran forward setting his shield upon his back and coming to a sudden halt by dropping to one knee and sliding the rest of the way, producing an insufferable grinding noise and sending sparks flying as the metal of his armor connected with the walkway.

Xynrael was close on his heels, but kept going.  Just as Hylaudius planted his palm to the ground, the death knight's boot connected with Hylaudius' back, providing him with leverage to leap over the geists and land deeper into their ranks. 

The paladin rose, restoring his shield to its rightful place just as the first of the geists came in range to jump towards Hylaudius.  For its efforts, it recieved a light-charged bash to the face.  The entire effort had taken less than a second,, executed in one fluid motion, and when Hylaudius lowered his shield, he saw Xynrael had cleared the stairs upon which they had been elevated, and landed on another geist, crushing it to death.  Had he had time, the paladin might have grinned.

Instead, Hylaudius made his way down the stairs, no battle cry accompanying him.  An aura of burning light surrounded the paladin as he cut and smashed his way through the geists with axe and shield, every connecting blow from him leaving a light-charged burn or eruption on his targets.  Every strike landing on his armor produced no effect but a reactive jolt from the aura about him, sending his opponents sprawling.  He was making his way towards one of the pair of abominations, which was wading its way through the falling geists, one swollen eye fixed on Hylaudius.

Xynrael swung his weapon like a wrecking ball, every geist that leaped upon him soaring backwards into its compatriots.  Hylaudius' method had gone well; sending the death knight flying into their ranks had disrupted the Scourge's assault, forcing their troops to divide and focus on both at once, or be slaughtered from one side.  The geists did not last long, the size of the walkways having required them to clamber forwards in a wave, rather than split up and swarm their targets.

Hylaudius' abomination was drawing closer, obscuring the paladin's vision of the havoc being wreaked by his companion; a potentially deadly inconvenience if something went wrong.  The abomination roared and hollered, swinging the massive meathook held to its left arm by a chain.  Rather than prepare to defend himself, Hylaudius raised his axe.

The abomination drew its arm back to send the meathook flying.

Hylaudius released.

The axe connected first, landing squarely in the center of the abomination's head just as the fleshbeast lunged forward.  Rather than throw the meathook, however, it stumbled a few feet and crashed to the ground, its grotesque head landing directly in front of Hylaudius' left boot.  The paladin retrieved his axe and immediately stomped his way over the abomination's head, heading straight for Xynrael.

The death knight seemed to be toying with his fleshy construct, content to smash in each of the abomination's various arms as it swung at him.  Hylaudius watched for a moment as the scene had unfolded, but ceased to be amused when Xynrael had disabled all five limbs.

"We must go, Frostbane!"  Hylaudius reminded, moving forward to assist.

The abomination writhed and twisted as it fell to the ground, broken limbs flailing.  Xynrael moved around the creature, ducking one swing of an arm that was twisted at even more awkward an angle than it had initially been.  Hylaudius paused his advance as the death knight jammed one hand into the patchwork creature's eye, producing a gurgling howl, then silence.

When Xynrael withdrew, a bloody mess of what had probably once been brains, blood vessels, and nerve endings came out in his palm.  "Sorry, took me a bit longer.  No axe."  He said, hurling the mass over the edge of the walkway and down towards the Forge of Souls.

"We'll have to fix that," Hylaudius replied, as they left the carnage behind them, heading for the teleporter.