User:Joshmaul/Artimus Devaneaux/Despoiling the Scarlet Enclave



Artimus Devaneaux's retraining as a death knight of the Scourge began in the halls of Acherus: The Ebon Hold. Humiliated but unbowed, Artimus put more of himself into his retraining as a warrior of death, striving to make himself far more powerful than he had been before.

Acherus: The Defiling Begins


Acherus arrived in the skies above New Avalon and Havenshire and was fully prepared to begin the assault on the last bastion of the Scarlet Crusade. But first, Artimus had to obtain a weapon, and the Lich King himself ordered him to speak with Instructor Razuvious, the feared death knight instructor of Naxxramas.

Razuvious instructed Artimus to create his new runeblade, selecting a bloodstained, battle-worn sword from the weapon racks and taking it to one of the runeforges that were located throughout the room. The blade was properly runed and now could be used in battle. Artimus was also instructed in the use of special glyphs that would enchant his weapon as he desired. Now that he was properly armed, he was tasked with slaying an unworthy initiate who had been chained in the center of that room - which Artimus did gladly. Now he was prepared to do the Lich King's bidding...

Spying on the Crusade
The Scarlets had clearly not forgotten Artimus, as he was considered their most prized target. However, Artimus was far from unprepared. Utilizing the Eye of Acherus to his advantage, Artimus was able to spy on the Crusade and obtain valuable data for a potential siege of the towns of New Avalon and Havenshire, the last bastions of Scarlet power in the Eastern Kingdoms. With the information in hand, Artimus reported to the commander of the Scourge legion in Acherus, Highlord Darion Mograine - the son of Alexandros, the legendary Ashbringer.

No Haven in Havenshire
Highlord Mograine instructed Artimus to take a skeletal gryphon to the encampment of Death's Breach below, where he would report to Prince Valanar. The darkfallen lord of Borean Tundra instructed him to begin raising hell and creating chaos within the town of Havenshire, slaughtering both the Scarlet soldiers and the citizens of the town fleeing for New Avalon. At the same time, he was given other tasks to solidify his position as a death knight of Acherus. From Orithos the Sky Darkener, he was tasked with retrieving arrows - made from saronite, a metal found only in Northrend - from the Havenshire farms. From Olrun the Battlecaller, he was given a chance to partake in a ritual known as "Death's Challenge", inspired by the Lich King's victory over Illidan Stormrage at the gates of Icecrown Citadel. And from Salanar the Horseman, he was ordered to steal a horse from the Havenshire stables, avoiding the notice of Stable Master Kitrik.

After stealing a fine stallion, Artimus was granted the opportunity to obtain an Acherus deathcharger. Sent into the world of shadows, Artimus confronted a dark rider of Acherus and defeated him, claiming his mount and returning to Salanar with it. The deathcharger became his to command, and took him everywhere he needed to go. The next task was to raise Scarlet miners as ghouls for Scourge service. To that end, he received a minature plague generator from Gothik the Harvester, a necromancer Artimus had met in Naxxramas. Though a few ghosts were created instead, five Scarlet ghouls were eventually raised for the Harvester.

Light's Point: The Slaughter of the Fleet


Valanar's forces had set out a mine cart for delivery to Light's Point, to one of the Scarlet vessels waiting off the coast. In order to demolish the Crusade forces there, Artimus hid in the mine cart, which was carried by one of the Scarlet miners to the waiting ship on the coast. Once onboard, Artimus took control of one of the cannons, waiting for an opportune moment...then opened fire, killing dozens of Scarlet Crusaders. When they swarmed onboard the ship, Artimus set off an electric pulse that threw them off, and in some cases killed them. Once his quota was made, Artimus called for a Scourge gryphon to retrieve him, returning him to Prince Valanar at Death's Breach.

The Dead Do Not Rest Easy: The Fall of New Avalon
Artimus took Valanar's report back to Highlord Mograine, who instructed him to return to Valanar. While he was above in Acherus, Havenshire was set to the torch thanks to Artimus weakening the defenses. Valanar sent Artimus to meet with his brother, Prince Keleseth - the overlord of Howling Fjord - at the Crypt of Remembrance to prepare to attack New Avalon, the town that neighbored Havenshire. On the way, he met with Noth the Plaguebringer, who asked him to help create a plague cauldron in the pumpkin patch in Havenshire - stealing a cauldron from the tavern, a chain from the blacksmith, and skulls from both Scarlet Crusaders and civilians alike.

Upon his arrival at the crypt, Artimus was surprised to see Baron Rivendare standing next to Keleseth. The Baron requested that Artimus slay more civilians and Scarlets alike (theorizing that the Scarlets lacked higher brain function, as one only had to mention the Light to them to turn them into frothing madmen), while Keleseth called on him to assassinate Mayor Quimby and steal the town registry. Artimus ran his blade through the Mayor's heart, all the while taking skulls and collecting the items that Noth wanted - and slaughtering humans the whole way, as Rivendare had asked. With the plague cauldron built, Artimus extracted vials of a special brew that Noth had created for death knights.

In the town registry, Keleseth discovered that the Scarlet Crusade was moving to Northrend, and there was mention of a "Crimson Dawn". With that in mind, the darkfallen Prince gave Artimus an ornately jeweled box containing two "persuaders" - red hot pokers to extract information from Scarlet Crusaders on what, exactly, this "Crimson Dawn" was. Entering New Avalon once more, Artimus tortured (and killed) many Scarlets before one finally broke and revealed what it was. Evidently, the Light had spoken to High General Abbendis, the last surviving leader of the Crusade, and told her to come to Northrend. Before the Crusader died from the torture, he revealed that there was a courier coming from Hearthglen.

Behind Enemy Lines
Artimus was dispatched by Keleseth to the Scarlet tavern at New Avalon's orchard to meet with Orbaz Bloodbane, who commanded a small detachment of death knights searching for the courier. He sent Artimus to Scarlet Hold, to locate the patrol schedule to ascertain exactly when and where the courier would arrive. At the same time, he was approached by Thassarian, a death knight who had accompanied Orbaz, and made a request of him: A comrade named Koltira Deathweaver, a blood elf, had been captured by the Crusade and was being held in Scarlet Hold. Orbaz was apathetic to Koltira's plight, but Thassarian firmly believed in the brotherhood of death knights. After listening to Thassarian's request, so did Artimus - who believed in strength in numbers.

Going upstairs first into the Hold's conference room, Artimus confronted his old comrade Rodrick, a Scarlet paladin who commanded the Scarlet army in New Avalon. With no regrets whatsoever, Artimus slit Rodrick's throat and - as a cruel gesture to prove that paladins were not immune to undeath - raised his corpse as a ghoul under his command. Then he went downstairs, where he found Koltira on a torture rack in the basement. Koltira's injuries were horrific, but the blood elf death knight was still able to defend himself and Artimus sufficiently enough to battle High Inquisitor Valroth, an insane interrogator in a legion of sadistic torturers. Unleashing unholy fury, Artimus defeated the High Inquisitor and ripped his head off with his bare hands, then charged upstairs covering Koltira's escape.

Echo of the Past


Seeking vengeance for Koltira, Thassarian sent Artimus to the Chapel of the Crimson Flame, to meet with Knight Commander Plaguefist - leader of a contingent seeking to free any death knights imprisoned by the Crusade. What they found, though, was surprising: A group of Argent Dawn prisoners captured by the Scarlets and imprisoned in a house not far from the church. Plaguefist remarked that there was a prisoner that he would probably enjoy slaying - a human.

Entering the house, Artimus was surprised to see that the prisoner was in fact Ellen Stanbridge, a young woman who - before the fall of Lordaeron - had been a courier and aide when Artimus was Magistrate of Tirisfal. Attempting to appeal to his morality, she caused Artimus to hesitate for just a moment - before ramming his blade through her heart, killing her instantly.

Ambushing the Courier
Upon his return, Orbaz revealed that he had located the courier - he was approacing the Scarlet Overlook, the lighthouse overlooking King's Harbor. Handing Artimus a makeshift cover (a fake tree), Orbaz sent him to the road along the Overlook, east of the tavern. Artimus didn't think the courier would buy it, but sure enough the fool decided to look - and that was when Artimus made his attack, killing the courier and taking his message and his outfit for use in a deception - delivering the message to none other than High General Abbendis herself. The message was from High Commander Galvar Pureblood, who reported that he was leading an army from Tirisfal and Hearthglen (Artimus was surprised, considering he thought Saavedro had destroyed both of those standing forces...then again, Saavedro had presumably killed Baron Rivendare, and here he was) to fend off the Scourge at the Scarlet Enclave.

Rise of the Onslaught and Death of the Crusade
Disguised as the courier, Artimus rode from the orchard to King's Harbor, noting that these Crusaders were apparently either stupid or blind not to notice the glowing eyes, the mount or the glowing sword he wore at his back. Reporting to the High General, Artimus felt butterflies in his stomach, a strange nervous feeling he had not felt since he was alive...

Abbendis instructed "the courier" to return to Galvar, to turn back and prepare for the transition to Northrend, and gave him a copy of "The Path of Redemption", Abbendis' personal writings revealing her revelations from the Holy Light. The Scarlet Crusade, she said, was no more - now they were the Scarlet Onslaught.

With the information in hand and the orders to turn back not going to Galvar's troops, the final stage was set. Orbaz provided a gate back to Acherus to report this to Mograine. The task was done quickly and efficiently; Artimus' actions in New Avalon (which was now in ruins) earned him the rank of Scourge Commander. Artimus had obtained a reputation among the death knights and even the leadership as a cold-blooded, sadistic monster who enjoyed inflicting pain on those who had once been his brothers. Now the Lich King himself had orders for him: To finish off the Scarlet Crusade.

The armies from Hearthglen and the Scarlet Monastery had arrived and set up positions around Death's Breach, and the Lich King gave Artimus a horn to summon a frost wyrm that would bear him into battle, using its powerful frost breath to destroy both Scarlet soldiers and their siege weapons. Like the victorious conqueror he was, Artimus destroyed legions of Scarlets and returned to the Lich King's side, where he was granted the greathelm of the Scourge champion.

Full Circle: The Battle of Light's Hope Chapel


With the Scarlet Crusade annihilated, the Lich King ordered Artimus and his fellows to report to Highlord Mograine at the Browman Mill near Light's Hope Chapel. By command of the Lich King, the Argent Dawn was next to be destroyed by the forces of the Scourge - and the death knights of Acherus would lead the way. Artimus joined a detachment of death knights commanded by Battlelord Velenkayn, a draenei who had been corrupted by Joshmaul and sent to the Scourge to appease the Lich King (and keep the Scourge off the warlock's back) and served as one of Mograine's lieutenants. As the warriors were raised to lay siege to the church, Artimus epected it to be easy pickings.

The Argent Dawn had not forgotten about Artimus, either - he had been considered dangerous during his service with the Scarlet Crusade, and now he was singled out by both Lord Tyrosus and Duke Zverenhoff. During a duel with Eligor Dawnbringer, Artimus was slain, the presence of the Val'kyr the only thing keeping his life from ending for good. Even though the Scourge had a numerical advantage - ten thousand against only three hundred - the battle suddenly turned against them when Tirion Fordring, Highlord of the Silver Hand, emerged. During that entire battle, Highlord Mograine - wielding his father's corrupted blade - fought to maintain his control, but the corrupted Ashbringer fought against the Highlord. Realizing he had no chance to defeat the Argent Dawn on holy ground, Mograine surrendered. Orbaz Bloodbane fled the scene, but Thassarian and Koltira both kneeled along with their Highlord.

Artimus, enraged, was about to strike out at Mograine in fury when he was blinded by a flash of light and the appearance of a familiar figure - Alexandros Mograine, the Ashbringer himself, in spirit form. The spirit of a younger Darion Mograine emerged from the corrupted Highlord, and a heartfelt reunion between father and son took place...which was interrupted by the arrival of the Lich King. Mograine had realized that the Lich King had intended to sacrifice them to lure out Fordring, and charged - only to be knocked back by the Lord of Death, who freely admitted that he had indeed considered them nothing more than cannon fodder. The Lich King lashed out against the Argent defenders who charged in, and kept Fordring within a constricting spell that sapped his life. Mograine, realizing what his father had meant by "This day is not today", tossed the corrupted Ashbringer to Tirion, who caught it. The holy energy coursing through the paladin purified the cursed blade, allowing Tirion to regain his strength and call upon the Light that permeated the place, forcing the Lich King to retreat.

With the actions at this battle at Light's Hope, the Argent Dawn and the Silver Hand became one organization, the Argent Crusade, pledged to take the war to Northrend and bring down Arthas. Mograine, now free from the Scourge along with his brethren, also pledged his death knights, the Knights of the Ebon Blade, to the same cause. With the battle done, Mograine instructed Artimus in the use of the "Death Gate", which acted as a teleporter to the Ebon Hold from anywhere in the worlds - but once he got there, he became embroiled in conflict once more...