Adventures in Azeroth: Chapter 1 (Till I come up with something clever)

~All the usual disclaimers~

The psychological rape of the troll priest Rezzirection was undoubtedly the most deliciously cruel thing Anaemus had ever attempted.
For her part, Zi was in a world of turmoil. She could be certain of the reality of nothing. What truly transpired and what was the result of Anaemus' clever suggestions (and outright dark magic) mixed into an indecipherable account so that Zi no longer trusted her memory for anything. She found herself questioning everything that had ever happened to her. Well, almost everything.
When she had first come to the Lich King's camp and then to the outpost that Anaemus had been assigned, she had been shackled by the neck to a wooden pole while the Death Knight went out to fight or spread her corruption. Zi was left alone, sometimes for days, with no one to speak to. While accustomed to loneliness, the lack of all forms of conversation, joined with being left with only her garbled thoughts and memories were slowly decaying her psyche. Then Anaemus would return and from the way her ice and incarnadine eyes shone, Rezzirection could see a mountain of corpses, bodies mutilated, faces twisted around in agony.
Anaemus kept her constantly off balance by not allowing her any sense of regularity. Sometimes when she returned, Zi would be ignored for a long time. Other times, Anaemus would regale her with bloody accounts of villages sacked, families burned alive, their screams filling the night air. Once, Anaemus had come back wounded and, bringing Zi into her tent, asked if she could help her. It had just been a bone fracture in her shoulder, and when Zi finished (because what else could she do?) Anaemus had stayed lying on her side, faced away and silent. It occurred to Zi to run away but she had no idea where she'd go or what she would do. While she considered, she became aware of a soft sound.
“Are you...are you crying?” she asked, incredulously. Anaemus didn't answer though her lithe body had started to tremble. Rezzirection was torn between opposing forces. Was this another trick? Part of her knew she had been played with before and perhaps this was all part of a larger game. On the other hand, hers was a soft heart, incapable of seeing another suffer without attempting some comfort. And certainly, Anaemus had been considerate to her on their short journey, had never harmed her so far and had even been surprisingly gentle on occasion. Hadn't she?
But then there had been the other times, the times that had made Zi afraid of the dark elf, the times filled with pain and guilt. Had both happened or neither? Unsure of everything, Zi put a hand on Anaemus' shoulder. There was a stiffening but still, no word. Compelled by a mix of compassion and some sense of dependence, Zi laid herself down behind the shivering elf. As she moved her arms around to cradle the much smaller form, Anaemus turned over and buried her face against Zi and cried out a story of forced warfare, a broken spirit and a wish for redemption.
Had that really happened? Zi's head spun as she tried to consider it all.

~~
Anaemus allowed herself to be seen well before she needed to, knowing her unnatural complexion and dark armor would declare her a knight of the scourge. Not her usual modus operandi, but the Lich King had been very clear. She glanced to the side. In her hand, besides the reins of Asmodeus, her hellsteed, she held a leather leash, attached to a magicked felt collar around Rezzirection's neck. The troll priestess hadn't said anything for hours, lost as she seemed to be in her own mind. Anaemus hoped she was overanalyzing her situation, tearing her mind to pieces which would inevitably lower her defense. She was close now, almost ready. Anaemus suppressed a shiver of delight.
A gentle kick and Asmodeus broke into a gallop, Rezzirection's own steed forced to pick upthe pace to keep up. They made an imposing sight, charging into the Eastern Camp. Anaemus ran over what she knew one last time. In the past, she had most frequently been sent to the North, while this former Commander was a strong force in the East. Never one to play well with others, she was most often assigned assassination and “corruption” missions of sabotage and torture. Her jaw clenched at being forced into an alternative role.
When she was certain the whole camp had eyes for her, she spoke in a clear, commanding voice.
“I seek Varog Bonegrendel, commander of the Eastern Forces of the Scourge.”
A burly orc emerged from a dark green tent. He held his head high and carried his monstrous armor well, moving with a steady pace that bespoke both strength and agility. His unnaturally light hair gave him an aura of distinguished disciplined, though he glowered at her, his tusks moving strangely as he talked. Inwardly, Anaemus groaned. Of course he's an orc...
“I am Varog,” he identified himself. Anaemus dismounted, pointedly ignoring Zi, who remained seated on her raptor.
“I am Anaemus, just come from the King's camp. I bear a message for you.”
The orc did a good job of covering his reaction to her previous location, though she noticed his eyes tighten a little at the corners. Something else seemed to surprise him more.
“Arthas sends a Death Knight as a messenger-girl?” He paused, then threw back his head and laughed, deeply, the sound greatly offending her elfin ears.
“You must have done something very wrong.”
Anaemus' eyes narrowed to dark slits, partially out of contempt and partially because he was technically right. Arthas had sent her, one of his warriors, on an errand worthy of a ghoul. “To test her” after her bout with the light. But it was a pretense of a pretense for she was sure that before long he would have an assignment that required her singular talents. Varog's eyes moved past her to Rezzirection.
“A prisoner?” he questioned, his shoulders heaving as he resettled his armor.
“A pet,” Anaemus smiled, tugging the leash just lightly enough to indicate Zi should come down. Varog peered at the troll who glared at him, defiantly, though she was clearly shaken.
“A zombie?” he glanced at Anaemus.
“Oh, no. Well, once, yes. But she retains her free will. She stays with me willingly, don't you, love?” Anaemus stroked Rezzirection's face. For her part, Zi did not believe she was there willingly and she flinched at Anaemus' cold touch.
“Hmph,” the orc grumbled, making it clear what his opinion of free will was. He motioned almost imperceptibly with his hand and the earth starting to rumble benath their feet. A hand shot out, dirt under crooked nails. Then another, both pushing up, until a being that was once a human male but now all but unrecognizable shambled up, limbs held akimbo and eyes lifeless.
“This is the only kind of “pet” I require, elfling. One that conforms to my orders. That's the only kind of soldier I want too.” He looked at her pointedly. She smiled, recognizing the difference in their approach. The sheer poetry of the way she was rewriting Rezzirection's soul was obviously lost on the brutish commander.
“And I'm sure they appreciate having a commander with so many,” she paused to make sure the barb stuck, “MANY years of experience.”
He glowered at her, his braids rustling.
“Age matters less when you're dead,” he pointed out, admittedly accurately.
“And from the looks of you, so does appearance.”
Varog gritted his teeth. He bent so that his face was close to hers, craning his neck because she was so much shorter than him.
“Listen to me, vampire,” he spit the word out like a blasphemy (which, again, was admittedly accurate), “I do not have time for word games played with twigs. Give me the Lich King's message or get out of my way.”
If Anaemus was intimidated, she didn't let it show. Instead, she inclined her head in a slight bow.
“As you say...Commander.” Her voice was a study in layered subtlety as she managed to grant him the victory while at the same time undermining him by ensuring he knew the formality was just that...a formality. He spun on his heels and stalked towards the tent, motioning her to follow. Anaemus smiled impishly at Rezzirection before disappearing into the dark command center.