Mog'kash had his blade around Malerie's neck, threatening to take her head off in one slice. Sok'tarn bared his teeth, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
"Let her go," roared the Death Knight, "This fight is between you and me!" Mog'kash laughed, as Sok'tarn tried to blink away the pain radiating up and down his spine. His shockwave of power had severly weakened him, to a point where he was drawing power from his runeweapon.
"What's one more human life," asked Mog'kash, grinning, "After all, she's far from innocent." The Blackrock Orc let out a sickening laugh, and then a cry of pain. Malerie bit down hard on the Orc's hand, as Sok'tarn unleashed a bolt of unholy energy. As the Human slipped from Mog'kash's grasp, the bolt pierced his shoulder.
He scrabbled away as Sok'tarn ran to Malerie's side. Instead of running from the canyon, he scurried to his nearby hut, overturning things until he found a vial. Inside, was a bright green, glowing fluid. His advisor had said it had come from his demonic father.
Mog'kash unstoppered the vial, drinking the blood and smearing it all across his face until his skin sizzled, steam rolling off from his body as his bones snapped and his muscles twisted. He let out a roar of agony, as he changed.
"I'm not your enemy," growled Sok'tarn as he caught the Human's spear, nearly being impaled on it. He looked over to his right, at the cages. Inside, were children, Human children, that looked a lot like Malerie.
"Get those children out of here," he said, and the Human's eyes narrowed. She sneered at him, ripping her spear back.
"This is as much my battle as it is yours," she spat back. Sok'tarn was about to argue, when he saw movement behind her, a massive red figure.
"Du-!" The Human rolled away, as the Death Knight took the full brunt of the blow. He flipped end over end, flying away from the giant-like punch. He slammed against the cliff, letting out a cry of pain.
'Fraud is to lie to another. Lies are when we steal the truth from another. There is a place of eternal torment for those thieves, for the corrupt politicians, and for all that would steal the truth from the innocent.'
Sok'tarn pushed himself out of the hole in the cliff face, stumbling as he hit the ground. Through his pain, he could see a hulking behemoth, skin breaking over too-large muscle, and shattered bones poking out of rent flesh.
"You are my brother no longer," hissed Sok'tarn, as the beast that was once Mog'kash roared, it's white eyes filled with hatred. It charged Malerie, who drove her spear into it's eye.
The Beast roared, trying to rip the spike out of it's eye. Sok'tarn threw his axe, and it bit deep into the Beast's shoulder. It lashed out blindly, overturning huts and striking at the cliff face.
Sok'tarn moved faster than he thought he could, tackling the Human out of the way of a mighty, earth-shaking blow. He pushed her off, pointing at the cages with the children.
"Get them out of here," he roared. Malerie cried out a warning, and Sok'tarn looked up. A mighty club came down, casting him into shadow. The blackness swallowed him up, as his pain intensified one hundred times.
The Humans threw him into the cell, his back flayed open by the day's whipping. New flesh and old had been torn open in new, painful ways by the metal tipped whip.
Cybai knelt beside him, running her hand across his wounds. He flinched from the pain, and she stopped. Quietly, the Orcess pressed her lips to his wounds, soothing them anyway she could.
Sok'tarn pushed himself into a sit, running a hand over her round stomach, their youngling lurking inside. She smiled, pushing herself into his arms. Even with their hands manacled, they found ways to show their love for eachother.
"I'm the one who did it," Cybai whispered quietly, and her mate frowned, "Please, don't tell them." Sok'tarn nodded, kissing her cheek.
"I won't ever tell them," he responded.
The next day, he was thrown in the cell, in absolute agony. The Humans took her, screaming and kicking. They burned her so the other slaves could see, at midday on Sunday.
He had told them everything.
Malerie dodged another massive fist, as the Beast scooped her up with its other hand. It began to squeeze her, laughing darkly as the children screamed in their cages. Malerie's eyes drifted over to where Sok'tarn had been, and where there was now a cloud of earthy dust.
A shadowy hand struck out, punching the Beast in the jaw. It stumbled backward, releasing Malerie as another hand slammed it in the stomach. Two glowing, blue, hate filled eyes stared out from the cloud, as the hands continued to pummel the Beast.
Sok'tarn stepped out, as the Beast slammed into a mighty tree, snapping it in half. The Death Knight grabbed out with his 'hands,' struggling with the monster. Somehow, impossibly, he lifted the Beast into the air roaring with hate.
"THIS ENDS IT," he roared, crushing the Beast with his hands. The audible crunch of bones, and the coppery scent of blood filled the air, as Sok'tarn slammed the monster down.
With a shuddering finality, the animal was impaled on the tree, going up through it's body to pierce it's skull. The Death Knight allowed the energy to dissipate, falling to his knees.
He felt an unbelievable weakness come over him, almost forcing him back into unconsciousness. Malerie impaled her spear right next to his head, a sneer pasted on her pale face.
"If I ever see you again, I'll kill you," she warned, wrenching the weapon from the ground. Sok'tarn forced himself to stand, looking at her.
"You and I aren't so different, Human," he said, "We're both warriors, we're both defenders of our people." The Human snarled.
"You monsters killed my paren- No, **** off," she said, turning to walk away. Sok'tarn narrowed his eyes.
"Human," he said, his voice echoing off the canyons. Malerie turned, baring her teeth.
"Do you want me to kill yo-?" She stopped as Sok'tarn rolled up his sleeve. Branded on his arm, was the horseshoe, with chains linking one end to the other. It looked like a chained Horde symbol.
"Your people made a slave of me," he said, "Killed my mate and unborn child. They are the demons I see in my dreams, who kill my Clan, my parents over and over again. They orphaned me at the age of five. Your kind has ruined my life, yet I can stand across from you, and not claw out your throat like you deserve."
Malerie blinked, her eyes wide as she took the Death Knight in. Something between them changed, tangible in the air. The Orc rolled down his sleeve as she turned away, unwilling to let the Orc see her all too human emotions.
"No," she said firmly, "Nothing changes." With that, she walked away, leaving Sok'tarn alone in the canyon.
