Taylor Alison Swift is the daughter of Timone, and Theresa Swift making her a member of House Swift through her father and a member of House Crane through her mother. Taylor has three siblings in William, Hilary, and John Swift of which Hilary is a powerful Magi that is growing in influence in the Order of the Blue Dragon, her brother William is a member of the Order of the Red Dragon, and her other brother John is in control of the House Swift military forces and is extremely well known due to his completion of a Dragon's Dream. Taylor is engaged to Josh Hirsh at the end of the Rise of Lucerne but the engagement ends after it becomes clear which of the brothers the menipulative Lord of House Hirsh was actually marrying her off too. With Emile Hirsh she has one child in the form of Tolhmen Snow of whom is a young child at the time of Burning Dreams.
Taylor Swift is a member of the Order of the Dragon, where she sits at the head of the table in terms of power in the town of Brill. Inducted into the Greybeards for her devotion to the Dragon she has found herself growing in influence and power ever since. Following her time with the Greybeards she was uplifted by the Dragons and given the ability of Dragonspeach which is a type of Magi, and in this she grew more powerful as the days went by.
As she was involved in all these things she was also having a rather important thing happen to her as following her promotion to the leadership of the Brill Order of the Dragon she was invited to High Hrathgar where she would travel to almost immediatly after the invitation as she knew what the Temple meant. When she arrived there she was inducted into the school where she was taught many of the secrets of the Greybeards including being given a rank in their order which is very important. Emile is the brother of the man that she has been made to marry in the form of Josh Hirsh. Josh is in love with the noble daughter Anna Kendrick of House Kendrick which has created some large problems in the coming political marriage as Andrew and the leadership of the houses will not allow this kind of drama to continue. Her first appearance in Westros comes when she is visited by Edward Cullen who is travelling eastward to deal with Arthas Menathil and he gives her orders from William that she is to come with him to Lorderon to help convert the natives. Knowing this is just to get her away from Emile she only relunctantly goes along with the command, but her duty to the King and Glaurung force her to go. In Lorderon she is caught in the madness that occurs when Arnor is assaulted by the forces of The Empire. She remains behind with Edward and joins him in his search for the anwsers behind the mysterious activities of Arthas Menathil, and she is with him when they discover the gigantic cathedral built under Lorderon where the cultists of Arthas have massed attempting to destroy the city. Captured by the cultists she is forced to endure captivity for hours before Edward is able to gather enough forces to destroy the cultist force. Following this she returns to Lucerne and comes to believe that life is too short and thus she can't be worried about the consequences of being with Emile, and at the end of her chapter she kisses Emile in front of a crowd full of people.
Taylor Swift is one of the two major POV characters in the short Story The Dragon and the Wolf where the lives of the two rival nobles in Taylor Swift and Anna Kendrick are detailed.
An extremely kind and loved girl, she is very well known for her talented singing and her devotion to the Dragon amongst the multitude of strong friendships she has made due to her kindness. This devotion and general kindness have led her to being menipulated several times by men in Brill, and also throughout her youth she was heavily bullied by the other girls of her school. Her bullying was the main reason that she became so involved in the Dragonoph religion in Brill, and also became so gullable to men tricking her. This number has included the nefarious Stephan De'Marco and most recently she has become involved in an affair with Emile Hirsh of House Hirsh.
"My loneliness was something I got used to as time went on. My parents on the other hand constantly attempted to fix what was so wrong in my life. Not that I didn't love them for it, but my life was exactly what it was, and I couldn't change it whether they wanted me to or not."
-Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift was the youngest child of Timone, and Theresa Swift which made her extremely different in age from her siblings. For instance her oldest brother William Swift was aged 20 on the day she was born, and her other brother was nearly as old as he was at that time. By this point her one brother John Swift wasn't even living in Brill anymore and the two would meet only rarely during their early lives. This meant that she had little in common with her siblings though her relationship with her somewhat older sister Hilary Swift was close during their early days in Brill. But even this was a different kind of relationship then most siblings would have with their siblings, and for this it was as if Taylor was surrounded by a number of parents and no actual
siblings. As a young girl she took the lack of siblings as a penalty to herself and her mother noticed early that she appeared sad, and quiet in comparison to their other children, and especially Hilary who had been the queen of the girls her age in Brill. They watched as Taylor didn't bring friends home in the same manner as Hilary, and for much of her youth had done, and through this she was constantly judged based on what her sister Hilary had accomplished.This worried her parents but Hilary and her became closer until she left, and this closeness meant that her parents noticed the change, and thus stopped worrying about Taylor as much. It didn't even matter to Taylor because all she knew was that her parents had once again not cared that something was going on in her life. So despite the fact that her parents believed silently that Taylor was a complete failure she was quite happy with the life that she was making for herself.
The Noble Girls
"I tried to get these girls to like me, but it didn't seem to matter what I did they didn't react the way I excpected they would. I tried being nice and they reacted with harshness. I tried to learn things they seemed to enjoy and they suddenly riculed me as a follow. Time and time again my efforts were met with the most extreme, and harsh tormenting I could have imagined. Anna Kendrick may have led them to their goals but she just gave them direction towards what they all were clearly prepared to do anyway.I hold no more grudge against her then any of the other dozen girls that tormented me for years."
-Taylor Swift
In this lack of sibling relationships she attempted to find friends her age but as her parents made her to spend time with the other noble girls in Brill she quickly discovered that she didn't like them, and the way they went about their lives. Watching them from afar meant that at first she didn't know what to think of them, and silently she like every other girl her age just wanted friends so she would at first she attempt to be friends with them. In her attempt to make friends with them she was never willing to become the girls that they were and for this reason they begin to bully her. The bullying would escate and in fear of what
Taylor Swift became defined by her rejection of the normal ways girls of her class acted.
they might do to her she begin secluding herself from them and on the days she was meant to spend time with these girls she came to enjoy visiting the Dragon's Temple in Brill. At first the Temple was simply the only place she thought she could visit without anyone finding out what she was doing, but after she witnessed a prayer meeting, and then subsequently watched a sermen by the Grand Priest of the Temple she became more and more interested by the Dragon. She asked her parents why they didn't go and they said that they worshipped the dragon in other ways, and after she asked the priest at the temple she came to understand that many of the nobles simply pretended to believe in the Dragon as a means of gaining closeness to House Lovie who were devout historically as believers in the Dragon.
"I wanted so badly to escape the pain of it all. I wanted to escape so much that I ignored all the warnings my body gave off about Stephan. In the end he gave me a brief respite from the pain of living in that world. He gave me the briefest of smiles in a world that had filled me with frowns. While in the end his behavior would cause me a lot of hurt, I can't help but look upon the other times fondly."
-Taylor Swift
When Taylor was sixteen years old she became involved in a physical affair with the House Swift honor gaurd Stephen De'Marco. Stephan was the first boy that had ever shown a real interest in Taylor and since she had very little experiance with boys due to the fact that she was bullied, and spent most of her time in the temple this meant that she was inclined to believe him. She had read the Dragon Book and in it was clear that the Dragon had no inclination towards saving yourself for marriage and thus for this reason more then anything elce she became physically involved with Stephan before she was ready to deal with the consequences of what this change meant for her. At first he was very calm and calculated about waiting for her, but once she gave in he became a more dominating figure that demanded more of Taylor then she was ready or willing to give willingly.
"I knew the general layout of the act, but for a girl who had been bullied her whole life being wanted wasn't something I had any experiance with. I tried my best for him, but there were times when I felt like it was just never enough for him. It felt so embaressing to be that exposed to someone that deep down you felt didn't care anything for you. At the same time it felt so good to be wanted."
-Taylor Swift.
This affair went on for months as the extremely charismatic Stephan took advantage of the kindness shown to him by House Swift and continued to sleep with Taylor who trusted him with her heart during this time. When her parents discovered this she was ordered to stop seeing
Taylor Swift would have a terrible relationship with Stephan and this relationship would come to define her for many years.
him, and Stephan was as well put on warning for violating their daughter. With Stephan out of her life for a time she returned to the world that seemed to despise her and everything she did, and realized that being basically used for her body was better then not being cared about on the best day, and abused on the worst day. This made her mind up, and thus she went to Stephan and begin reangaging him in a physical relationship of which this time she attempted to get him to emotionally engage her, but he just resisted this. As their affair continued she became more blatent about it and eventually she was caught by another noble family in Brill and they were not friends of House Swift so they released the information into the public who was very against this kind of interracial relationship. With this scandal he was sent away from the town and thus the only way for Taylor to let him go was upon her as she found herself with nothing to hideherself from the darkness.
"The Dragon gave me everything I thought I was getting from Stephan. Where he demanded something deeply emotionally taxing from me phyiscally the Dragon simply love me. The Dragon didn't want anything except my love. The Dragon was fair. The Dragon loved unconditionally."
-Taylor Swift
As Taylor's interests in the Dragon had increased so to had her importance to the completely worn down Temple in Brill found their perfect protoje to take control of the situation. At the time the overall leader was an elderly women who had begun to lose her sight, and due to this was obviously increasingly unable to run the Temple and this was especially true since Brill had so many problems on top of just running the temple. She slowly spent more and more time with Grenda Lowly of whome begin to on top of her failing sight become unable to even walk as she was afflicted by a particularly virulant form of gout to her legs. With Andrew's centralization of the Kingdom, one of the many new orders that he created was the Order of the Dragon. This order would provide the administration for all Dragon Worship in the Kingdom of Lucerne. With the creation of the Order, the new leadership of the Order placed members of the Local temples in charge of their specific areas. In the area of Brill Taylor was chosen to lead the Order of the Dragon. Since she was already running the local temple she found the only change was the increase in organization which allowed her to further increase the reach of the Dragon.
"'Everyone talked daily about the prince that had risen to King. They talked of his love of the people of Lucerne, and more importantly to my aims was the fact that he was open about his belief in the Dragon. As my elders at the temple made perfectly clear the reign of Bill Lovie had been nearly heritcal in that he seemed to believe in nothing, and surely the Dragon lost the support of House Lovie while he reigned. I longed to meet William as he seemed like an inspirational character. If nothing more then to say thank you."
-Taylor Swift
With the increased support from the goverment she was able to repair much of the disrepair in the temples, as well as support the hiring of three new priestesses of the Dragon to further expand her order in Brill. This effort really allowed her to get over the drama that she had created with Stephan De'Marco and was a source of great pride for her house who had been down in support following her affair. She came to travel the surrounding area and during this time whatever she thought of herself she proved herself to be a
“Send me to Berne father. The King will need me at Berne, and I can be of much greater purpose if you send me there.”
— Hedrik Clegane III.
It is while they are occupying Castle Grestife following The Grestife Affair that the first news comes to the loyalists in the form of William Swift of whom arrives nearing passing out from exhaustion to tell them that the Jestife's have taken control of Brill and are raising the flag of the True Sons of Lucerne. Forced to act Rupert Clegane commands Mathew continue west leading a small portion of the Clegane forces, while alongside Hedrik Clegane III. the majority of the forces moves against Brill to take back control of the city from the Jestife's who have taken it. For their part the Jestife's had gained complete control over Brill making the population believe that William had been killed by traitors in the government and thus allowing them to buy time for their hopeful assassination of William Lovie III. of which they did not know had already failed.
Retreating Behind Walls
“You have a few choices in front of you Lord Jestife. You can fight here, and take your chances. You can retreat and keep hoping that a king who abandoned this land long ago will come for you. Or you can do the prudent thing and save your family. Surrender now Lord Jestife and save the lives of so many innocents.”
— Hedrik Clegane III.
The chapter ends with the Clegane forces nearing Brill to find a force led from Brill waiting for them outside the city, and Hedrik joins his father in meeting with their leadership, and following a long discussion between the Clegane's and the Jestife's the Jestife forces retreat from the battle pulling themselves within the walls of Brill.
Failing Negotiations
“Give me a sword. Give me a sword and I will open the gate for your forces. They will never suspect a girl to be of such threat to them.”
— Taylor Swift
It would be Taylor Swift during the failed negotiations would be away form the main discussions with Hedrik Clegane III. of whom had been kept away due to the last time when he had argued with the Jestife's and during his time with Taylor Swift she would whisper to him about wanting to assist the loyalist element.
Arrival of Anthor
Vanessa Cleef would accompany her father and brother and a large force of Anthor towards Brill where they went in order to deal with the affects of the Gestife Affair and get Candice Anthor back of whom they new had been rescued but were unsure of what situation she would find herself in. Arriving there Vanessa was hurt by more manipulations from her handmaidens of whom convinsed her that Robin was engaged in an affair with Candice Anthor.
Losing Control
“It was the busiest time of my entire life, and I felt like everyday I became more valuable to those around me. Each day it seemed the people I surrounded myself became kinder, and more loving towards me, and that was the best part of that time.”
— Taylor Swift
While the forces of House Jestife were surrounded in the city of Brill by the forces of House Clegane, and the other reinforcements much of the happenings in the city would become chaotic as the Jestife's struggled to maintain order. In this moment it would be Anna Kendrick that would finally make a move against Taylor Swift of whom she While Taylor was in the House Swift estate she was attacked by Stephan De'Marco, who attempted to kill her after he had been bought off by the leadership of the Kingdom of Bolten.
“It was the busiest time of my entire life, and I felt like everyday I became more valuable to those around me. Each day it seemed the people I surrounded myself became kinder, and more loving towards me, and that was the best part of that time.”
— Taylor Swift
The Dragon's Game - Conversation Incoming
The price you pay is nothing. I have given you the world. I have introduced you to the love of your life. I have pushed at the strings of fate and created the children that will save this world. You see this is about creating a better world for all of us. My people will be dead soon if nothing changes. We are slowly picked apart by those people who forgot it was us that pulled them from the mud. Your people will survive for a time. You have a great ability as a people to survive horror. But even with that skill the truth is that unless you move now you too will die. You need us just as much as we need you. I can show how to save us both. All you have to do is listen to me. I will give you power. I will give you love. I will give you everything. In the end how can you you ignore the words of your god?
"I was just walking through the house when I dropped my glass. As I bent to pick up the glass I felt the sword fly through the air right over the top of my head and exactly where I just was. As I fell to the ground on the impact I looked up to see Stephan staring down at me with a blind rage. There was a look in his eyes that I had seen before, and knowing how hateful I knew he could be I started crawling backwards away from him, but he ran at me dragging me back to him.
As he raised his sword to strike me, I kicked him in straight in the groin with everything that I had. He fell to the ground, and I used the moment to run upstairs."
Stephen's initial ambush failed to hit her so he chased her around the house until he was finally stopped by Emile Hirsh who happened to be arriving at the estate to meet with William Swift. Emile and Stephan engaged in a duel and Emile was victorious but wasn't able to kill Stephan who managed to escape the estate.
Exile, and Execution
Political Marriage
"It was a shock to me to meet the King of Lucerne. As he approached me I was awe struck by him, and in that moment I saw him for everything that everyone ever talked about him being."
-Taylor Swift
At the end of the Civil war Andrew was moving quickly to gain further control over the houses of Lucerne, and in this way he turned to his most loyal houses in order to create alliances with those with perhaps less interest in the rulings of a Kingdom that had failed them for so long. In House Swift Andrew saw a house that had always been loyal and for this reason he decided to pair up the unmarried son of the rebellious House Hirsh with the loyalist daughter of House Swift. This marriage after some back room dealings ended up being with the heir of House Hirsh in Josh Hirshe, and this caused a lot of problems as Josh was at the time involved in a rather serious relationship with Anna Kendrick of House Kendrick but she was engaged so noone knew about their relationship. So with the engagement decided on Taylor and Josh came to live together, and this living arrangement became uncomfortable as Taylor found that he had little interest in her, and the verbal abuse that he leveled her way made the situation go from bad to worse very quickly. During this dark time where Taylor attempted to gain the affection of Josh who was in love with Anna a new interest entered the frame in the form of Emile Hirsh who was the man that had saved her from being killed by Stephan.
“It was a strange period for me. On one hand I was meeting and becoming friends with the King of Lucerne of whom was granting me great power and influence. I was getting a chance to go to High Hrathgar where everyone who was a believer wanted to visit. But on the other hand I was falling in love with someone just out of my reach.”
— Taylor Swift
As she was involved in all these things she was also having a rather important thing happen to her as following her promotion to the leadership of the Brill Order of the Dragon she was invited to High Hrathgar where she would travel to almost immediatly after the invitation as she knew what the Temple meant. Arriving at Ivastead she was met by Iganian Prout of whom was the leader of sorts of Ivastead, and thus was going to take her to the staircase of the Throat of the Mountain. As they walked together he told her about the true scope of the staircase, and that it would take her many hours to reach the top, and that on top of this it would be through her faith alone that she would survive what was not a simple task. She asked if she would need her weapon, and Iganian Prout simply said that only her faith would keep her not any weapon of man. Taking this knowledge she travelled up the stair where she would stop at each of the Tablets that she found along the road, and it was on the
third Tablet as she was meditating that she would feel a great fear overcome her, and when she looked around her she found herself staring at three very hungry looking wolves. In that moment gripped by fear she prepared to run, but remembered the words of Iganian Prout who said that only faith would keep her safe on the stairs. Believing her only chance was to ask for help from the Dragon she would pray to the Dragon for assistence and found that her hands begin to crackle with what appeared to be small lightning bolts, and she heard a small whisper in her mind telling her to speak to the wolves. Skeptical she did it anyway, and found that the wolves reacted to her voice, and did what she asked them too. The voice in her head finally disappeared and she was able to think clearly again, but as she relented her mind she found the wolves looked at her hungrily again, and she realized that she had to concentrate in order to keep them under her control. Putting her mind back to the act of controlling the Wolves she found it became easier as she moved up the stairs.
"I had never been something special before walking up those stairs. I was just a regular girl that people trusted because I was devoted, but in the end there was nothing truly special about me. After letting the Dragon take control I found myself able to do many things over the course of the days that followed."
-Taylor Swift
Now in control of the Wolves she had them follow her up the stairs and she was able to control them as she read three more tablets, and meditated at each of them. At the ninth Tablet she would begin meditation when she heard a massive howl in the distance, and when she looked at her wolves she discovered they moved towards her in a sort of defensive position. The howl was far enough away that she attempted to read the tablet, and by the time she had sufficiantly meditated she and her wolves made their way up the remainder of the stairs where by this point she begin to see the outlines of the vast Temple, and the stairs themselves were in better condition, and flanked by black walls. As she walked through the walled pathway she was suddenly struck by a blow to her side that pushed her against the wall, and when she recovered from the blow she saw a gigantic Troll staring at her from a top the wall. In her mind she commanded the wolves to attack the Troll, and they did so suddenly but she watched as they were clearly no match for the Troll and the Troll picked one up and broke it nearly in half. Seeing this she heard the whisper in her voice again telling her to help them, and once again she saw her hands crackling with lightning and this time she aimed her hands at the Troll and thought of pushing it
away from the Wolves. When she did this the Troll moved at her will, and flew against a nearbye pillar. Knocked to the ground the two remaining wolves were able to get at its throat and were able to kill the Troll. She would prepare to bury the fallen wolf when she heard a voice behind her and the growling of her wolves.
"You have passed the final test young Taylor Swift, and it is time for you to enter the Temple of High Hrathgar. Leave all attatchements at the door girl."
-Borri
A man cloaked in grey robes told her to leave the wolves and follow her into the Temple, and knowing this was what she came for she followed behind the man into the Temple of High Hrathgar. As she walked up the last of the stairs with the man she was struck by the size of the Temple and when the man pulled on the gate and it opened she walked inside what was a massive open hall. In the center of the room stood several men all clad in the same grey robes, and she followed him to stand in front of the men. One man would step forward and introduce himself as Arngrier, and he would go about introducing her to the rest of the greyrobed people in front of her. Explaining that they were the Greybeards she fell to her knees in front of the men that were the spiritual center of the Dragonoph's and only when Arngrier helped her up did she look at them in the faces again. They explained to her that they knew of her devotion and wanted to teach her the ways of the Greybeards so that when the time was right she would be able to assist the Dragon in the way they knew she wanted to be able to.
Demons on the Loose
Main Article : Lorderon Civil War
Demons on the Loose Arthas was the source of so much evil, and we had just allowed him to walk around in front of us.
“It was beyond anything I could have imagined. This man was the Arch Lord of a grand state within the Kingdom of Lucerne. There was only one man in the kingdom who held more power then an Arch Lord, and that was the one man I knew would believe me when I told him about this letter.”
— Edward Cullen
Gemma Cullen would be in a meeting for Order of the Blue Dragon alongside her cousin Edward Cullen when she was told that a letter had arrived at the Tower labeled for her. She would remain for the meeting and not immediately get the letter but following the meeting with the Order of the Blue Dragon she had received a letter from a Magi from the Kirin Tor that she had met long before named Medivh and had wished to known if she had an audience with the King. He asked her that if she did have an audience with the king that she needed to use that right away to give him word of something terrible happening in Lorderon. When Gemma responded questioning why Medivh wanted to speak with the King, and what terrible thing this was that was happening in Lorderon he would respond with the truth. He told Gemma in the letter that Arthas had lost his mind, and was forming a chaos cult of which was growing more powerful each day within the walls of Lorderon, and that unless he was stopped he was going to destroy the entire state.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
Lady Gemma Cullen,
I am sorry about the rushed nature of my last letter, but the news was not good, and you and your cousin were the only people I knew well enough in Lucerne that were close enough to the king to effect any kind of real change. I am sorry for the history lesson, but you must understood all of this if you are to believe me.
Arthas Menathil was born, and from that moment forward he was destined to be the king of Lorderon. The people cheered his every move for he was noble, and just in all things that he did. Then like the wind flowing through everything disapeared in him. Where once there was nobility there was now only darkness. His parents would send for a paladin in the north to train him, and we all thought the paladin had been succesful. He wasn`t the same true knight as he was before, but he wasn`t the same violent monster he was before either. I returned to my studies believing all was well, but I have learned it was all a lie.
You must understand that men have lost their lives to bring me this information, and now he is chasing me as well. I am not some traitor to the cause of the Menathil`s. I do not wish for gold, or power. I have learned that since he handed over Lorderon to Lucerne he has formed a chaos cult, and is planning to destroy the state in a bloodbath. I do not yet know his end game, but whatever it may be you need to understand only one main thing. It will not be positive.
My former prince wants the world to burn in the same manner as he burns. He hates all things now and he wants it all to disapear. I cannot stop him alone, and as I said you and your cousin are the only ones I know close to the king. Use what influence you have and speak to the king. If failing this go to your cousin. I warned him years ago of this, and I only hope he is the same person he was when we last spoke.
Take a leap with me Gemma Cullen and we can save the world together.
Medivh, Counciller of the Six for the honorable Kirin Tor
Gemma was moved by the letter but she knew that she had no business speaking to the King of Lucerne even if she had been rather friendly with him during their youth. She knew that this couldn't be left unsaid so she responded to Medivh that she couldn't help him but if he talked to Edward Cullen her cousin then he would be able to tell the King himself. She would go to find Edward, and when she did she showed him the letters, and when he saw who they were from he too believed their content. Knowing they were in a very tricky situation Edward would leave immediately with Gemma for the capital where he would attempt with all that remained of his clout with William to do something about this situation.
“Taylor Swift was the perfect cover for me and what I had to do. Noone believed that she would be someone that would become central in the discovery of what Arthas was. Had I been quicker. Had I listed the first time I was told and not worried about the consequences, it is impossible to imagine how many that are dead might live.”
— Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen following the meeting with Medivh would go to Lucerne to meet with William but when he arrived he discovered that William had traveled up the mountain to meet with the dragons. Most believed they had seen him for the last time based on the tears flowing from both Alice and Emma, and so he made the decision that he couldn't sit idle while his friend risked everything to save the people of Lucerne. He would travel alongside his wife Tanya to Hilary's home and while there they came up with the plan of going to Lorderon under the pretend mission of growth of Dragonoph while in fact investigate the supposed chaos worship of Arthas Menathil. During this time his relationship with Tanya is collapsing, and she shows him little to no affection of which he responds to Gemma he isn't surprised about. Meeting as well with Alice Lovie, and Emma Bell they would make the suggestion that Taylor Swift be the one they use as the center of plan, as she was known far and wide for her Dragonoph beliefs and would be more accepted then the very influential Edward Cullen. Alice would later in a discussion with William admit that she was trying to distance Taylor from the romantic drama she was beginning to have with Emile Hirsh in Brill, but she didn't want them to know that was a major reason for her being sent. Also realizing they needed more Dragonoph involvement they went to Erica Steinmare of whom Edward knew of from school, and they got her to lead a contingent from House Steinmare to Brill where they would then move to the Port of Stormwind on their final stop before they went to Lorderon. Erica Steinmare agreed to go, but her brother forced himself into going as her brother hated Edward as he was a close friend of Jaspers and he also took his wife with him of whom had always wanted to see Lorderon and the massive Rhine. Alongside this would also be Emma Bell who would travel with Edward to give their Dragonoph mission further credence as she was a member of the royal family as the cousin of William Lovie III. and joining Emma would be a force of some thirty House Bell guards, and her husband Fredrik Highmore.
“We had to make it look convinsing. If we went there and it looked like we were there for the real reason we were there then who knew what these cultists would do. I wanted to save lives, I didn't want to be the direct cause of the deaths of thousands.”
— Edward Cullen
Taylor Swift would make her first appearance in Westros when Edward Cullen, and the group would arrive in Brill and when they did they would immediately travel to the Brill Keep where they met with Timone Swift, and John Swift and they would explain to the two that they needed Taylor for an important mission and this would be agreed to and then they were told that Taylor was at the Temple of Brill praying. It would be while praying in the High Temple of Brill when she would be approached from behind and was shocked to find those who had joined her in prayer were none other then Emma Bell a member of the royal family, as well as Dylan Steinmare and Edward Cullen two man who she had never met before but she knew to be extremely promient members of the kingdom. Continuing to pray now joined by this group her mind would be overcome by questions of what could have brought such a group to her temple, and after fifteen minutes of prayer she finishes and at her ending she and the group finally speak. Emma tells Taylor that she is being tasked with leading a Dragonoph contingent to Lorderon where they will be attempting to make further inroads into converting the new state to the Dragonoph, and when she questions why her they are reluctant to give her a straight answer instead Emma hands her a letter directed to her signed by Alice Lovie who is the acting regent of the Kingdom of Lucerne while William is away.
It would be as this was happening that Anna Kendrick would be watching through the window of the temple as Taylor speaks to the group, and she is disgusted that Taylor is being given such an opportunity while she is once again passed over for Taylor. As she continues to watch she is discovered by Freddie Highmore of whom she talks with for some time, and eventually is able to convince Freddie to put in a word for her to travel with them to Lordeorn. Following this discussion Anna would return to the Freddie Highmore does put in a word for Anna but this overruled by Emma who was aware of the situation between Taylor and Anna and did not want the trouble of those two being together. Following this conversation with Freddie she returns to the Kendrick estates where she convinces her brother Tyson Kendrick to travel with her to Lorderon where she uses his desire to regain his honor following his failure at the Nortburg tournament during the events of the Journey, and with this hope he jumps at the opportunity. Following this she returns to the keep and finds Freddie Highmore of whom apologizes to her telling her that she cannot come as Emma had indicated the group was full but clearly there was more to it and Anna takes this as Taylor interfering and thus decides to go around Emma Bell to Dylan Steinmare of whom she had known during her time at the academy. Finding Dylan spending time with his wife she feels sadness at how happy they look and longs to see Orival again which shocks her that she doesn't think of Josh Hirsh for even a second when she sees there happiness. Speaking to Dylan she is able to trick him into taking her with them offering her families forces in assistance against Edward if the chance arises, and he agrees to not tell Emma about this as the two conspire that they will keep it a secret until it is too late for her to go back, and Anna promises to Dylan that she will support Dylan if the opportunity to kill Edward Cullen arises.
Having manipulated her way into going she goes back to her families estate with no plans to tell Josh Hirsh of her departure but when she returns home she is told by her sister Melinda Kendrick that Emile Hirsh has been banned from going due to what everyone knows to be the affair happening between him and Emile, and thus attempting to get back at Taylor and cause problems she travels to the Hirsh estates. Arriving at her home she meets with her husband who she realizes she hasn't seen in almost three months and tells him that he will need to accompany her and lies to him that this was a command from Emma Bell, and wanting to be loyal he adheres to what he thinks is a royal command. Wanting to sow further chaos she also tricks them into believing that Josh is also to come despite him also not being one of those who was too come. Thus having created what she believes is a great embarrassment for Taylor she returns to the House Kendrick estates and prepares her things for the journey to come. Following this they would travel to Lole where they would take a boat all the way east to the Port of Stormwind in order to make the final part of their trip to Lordeorn. When they did arrive in Lole they discovered Tanya Cullen awaiting them in the city, and she refused to be left behind, and while this should have been a happy moment for the married couple instead they just argued along the way from Lole to the Port of Stormwind as there marriage had clearly fallen apart. While in the Port of Stormwind Edward would be joined by Candice Anthor of whom would say that she had been planning a trip to Lorderon in order to arrange a series of trade deals, and this would be the perfect opportunity. Convinced by Hilary, and Gemma that the more people they brought with them with civilian purposes the more real this whole thing looked he would agree to have her come, and Candice brought with her a large contingent of troops on six ships from the Port of Stormwind.
On the Path of a Demon
“Reaching the top of the tower wasn't was I expected. I thought I would meet some chaos worshipper and we would find the truth I wanted about Arthas. Instead I only found my own weakeness. Instead I was forced to deal with the failings in my self.”
— Edward Cullen
Edward, Taylor, Hilary, Tanya and a small entourage of troops from House Swift, House Steinmare, House Kendrick, House Hirshe, and House Cullen would join the six strong fleet of Candice Anthor and her large force as they traveled to Lorderon and after making the trip from the Port of Stormwind, and Edward would set Tanya to the task of making Taylor believe that she was actually there for the purpose they told her she was. Tanya was by this point nearly constantly fighting with Edward, and Edward knew that barking orders at her was only going to make it worse, but a part of him knew the marriage was over and really just wanted to save lives. While Taylor and Tanya visited several Dragon Temples that were under construction in Lorderon, it was Edward and Hilary that visited the Kirin Tor. When they arrived they were met by Medivh and several of his loyalists and they went about the conversation of how to prove Arthas's madness. Medivh told Edward that in his investigation he had discovered the existence of a group calling themselves the Sons of Lorderon of whom were being portrayed to the public as a revolutionary group wanting independence for Lorderon, but under the surface he discovered that in fact they were a chaos cult founded by Arthas. Edward needed more proof and so Medivh took him and Hilary to a small Kirin Tor Magi tower south of Lorderon where he kept one of the cultists captive.
“It wasn't until I saw the devotion that the Steinmare's had for the Dragon that I knew I had to tell them the truth. Dylan was irate. Erica was just as angry. Laera though was confused as to why they been lied too. I didn't blame them for any of those feelings though.”
— Taylor Swift
Taylor, Tanya, Anna, Josh, Emile and the Steinmare's would travel throughout the capital visiting the different Dragon Temples on their first day, and during this time Taylor and Emile would sleep together nearly the first moment they had alone, and Anna was nearby and she confronted them on it, and neither would even apologize and she would leave shortly after with Josh in tow. With those two gone they were met by the Steinmare's of whom Taylor watched look with amazement at the newly constructed Temple, and in that moment being held by Emile she knew she had to tell them the truth, and she would reveal to them the true purpose of the trip to Lorderon. Dylan would leave to go find Candice Anthor in order to warn her, and the rest of them would decide they would make the best of it, and expand the Dragonoph as much as possible. Taylor Swift would reveal to Erica Steinmare that she wasn't going to continue with the marriage to Josh Hirsh and planned to marry Emile while the two were here in Lorderon, and Erica gave the two space and left to go and find her brother in the port. Anna would get into an argument with Josh and went off her own finding herself in the Lorderon market where followed by Emma Bell she and Emma who had for so long fought to keep Anna out of this whole trip found Anna crying and finally saw the real person beneath the rumors. The two would discuss openly the situation and for the first time Emma heard about the lies that Anna believed in regards to Taylor and revealed the truth to Anna of whom would be horrified to know what the truth was and how horrible she had been to Taylor over what now amounted to nothing more then her mothers manipulations. Emma would tell Anna that she was heading north to Westbridge and knew that Orival Crane was there if Anna wanted to go with her, but Anna would politely refuse saying now that she knew the truth she had to make things right with Taylor and once she had done that she would end things with Josh and go north to find Orival.
“If you had told me the truth back then, I would have done so many things differently once I was here. I felt like I was being watched this entire time, but I ignored that because you told me everything was on the up. You lied to me Edward Cullen, and I won't forget that. Don't count on my support again.”
— Candice Anthor to Edward Cullen
While the main group was looking into the cultists or working to expand the Dragonoph influence in the Lorderon capital Candice Anthor was working at her trade agreement in the port itself. When she begin making her deals and talks with the leading houses in the port she begin to feel that she was being followed, and watched wherever she went, and this led to her going to find Edward of whom she found while he was on the way to the Kirin Tor tower south of the Magi fortress, and he was dismissive wanting to go quickly, and thus he lied to Candice and told her nothing was going on. This made her feel like she was being ridiculous in thinking she was being watched, and thus she let her guard down as the cultists - who were actually watching her heavily as she had brought a large military force into the port - spied on her, and prepared for an assassination attempt on her. During this time though her cousin Hedrin Tolhmave II. would become concerned after he saw several men watching Candice and he followed them, and watched them enter a tavern of which he followed them into, and when he did they entered a back room which after following them led him into a large tunnel system where he would have to kill both of the men after they discovered him following them. Leaving the tavern as quickly as possible he met Dylan Steinmare on the street and together they raced to find Candice Anthor and arrived just as cultists attempted to assassinate her.
“There has been an attack in the port milady We have heard word that cultists have attacked Lady Anthor,a nd even now fighting is still going on. What is your command Milady?”
— Main Hunder to Calia Menathil
The cultists had surrounded the port with nearly thirty men, and once Candice arrived they killed several sentries watching for violence, and then with the way clear they would move forward. As the cultists went to attack Dylan Steinmare, and Hedrin Tolhmave would arrive and scream to the guards that cultists were about and an attack was going to happen, and realizing they had been discovered the cultists would let off a horn and charge forward into the maelstrom. The fighting was intense but the guards now aware were able to repulse the horribly outnumbered cultists of whom had been relying on the shock of their arrival to succeed and Dylan captured one of the cultists but as they were taking him away the man was shot with an arrow from another cultist on a rooftop of whom then was able to escape.
Finding Information
Gemma, and Edward Cullen alongside Hilary Swift would have no idea what kindof nightmare they were walking into when they entered the tower of the Magi Medivh.
“That was the first time I saw evil in its purest form. Medivh was right. It was only after speaking to that one that I understood how limited I had been.”
— Edward Cullen
Arriving at the tower it was Medivh, Edward, Hilary, Gemma, Markus Flowers, and several of Medivh's men and Medivh would lead them as they moved to the top and discovered a single man chained to the floor and roof. Medivh explained to him that this man was evil, and that no matter what he believed after talking to the man he needed to understand that fact alone. He told Edward that everything in life was a choice though and he had the decision to make if he was going to be the man that was tricked by evil, or if he would be able to see evil in all of its forms and be able to defeat it.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
I walked into the room and was shocked to find a man clearly brutalized chained to what was seemingly every piece of the room. "Why has he been chained so many times?"
"Do not be taken in by what you see on the surface. This man is beyond contempt. He has done things, and planned things that no rational human would ever do." Medivh walked to the man and raised his head so that we could see his face. His eyes remained closed but I saw nothing in his face that screamed that he was a monster. "His mind is completely the domain of a demon now. Nothing remains of what was once someone's child."
I moved closer to the man and as I did he must have realized my presence and opened his eyes. His eyes were sad, and despite the reservations I had due to what Medivh had said I found myself wanting to help this man. "How could you know that?"
Medivh walked away from the man and stood against the wall for a moment before speaking again. "Edward this is the moment you are going to learn about the demon within all of us. Your demon is slight but still there. You don't know the demon yet and that is something that you need to understand if your going to help your people through this. Talk to the man. Prove me wrong if you can."
``How are you so sure that you are right. Surely this could all be some kind of misunderstanding.`` I looked to Gemma and Hilary and when I did they had the same look of shock and confusion on their faces that I did.
``Edward there is going to come a moment when you are going to have to truly understand evil. You believe you have seen evil because you knew your friends brother. Sean Lovie was just one form of evil. Evil takes many shapes, and forms and it is very important that you understand that not everything evil will appear it at first.`` He didn`t say another word just walked away and left me to stand there with this injured man who didn`t look like he could harm a fly.
I stopped for a moment unsure of how to move forward, but when I looked around for Hilary I saw her waiting. Her eyes showed that she believed in me, and I knew I couldn't fail that kind of trust. Moving closer to the man I kneeled on the floor and spoke. "What is your name?"
He coughed a bit before speaking "Tilder Meanist of House Meanist."
He spoke with an aura of nobility despite the surroundings he was in or the condition, and that made me know very quickly that he was either a well of noble or one used to pretending he was. "What have you done to make my friend believe you a demon?"
He coughed again this time for a longer period of time before being able to speak. "I woke up and found myself in this tower with that monster doing...doing unimaginable things to my friends. He won't let me explain but I know you'll hear me...you'll believe me won't you?"
The man sounded utterly frantic, and the way he spoke of his friends made me wonder how much of all of this that Medivh had left out. "You need to tell me before I can say anything."
"This man believes me some sort of demon, but I just want the freedom of my people. Your a Lucernian I can tell. Your people were not meant to come here. This land..."He stopped and coughed again before speaking. "This land isn't yours. Listen to me none of that is important right now. That monster has killed all of my men, and left me alone while my family waits for me at home."
I looked at Medivh for a moment wanting to understand what was happening here. "What proof do you have Tilder that you are not a cultist?"
He looked hopefully at me, and I felt a slight tinge of arrogance come from him "The same proof I told the monster about. Talk to my wife. She will show you that I am who I say that I am."
"And if I speak to her and find a different outcome?" I could see Medivh in the corner shaking his head, and for a moment I looked at this young man before me and wondered if he truly was a demon. If he wasn't a demon then Medivh was a liar and that meant all of this could be some sort of trap.
"Then I am lost and you should kill me."
From the look on Medivh's face he told me silently that he knew where his wife was, and would take me to her. "Your putting a lot of faith in how one conversation will go arnt you."
"I have faith in what I see your eyes. You are a good soul, and I know you will try and do what is right."
"I will speak to your wife, and when that is done we will all know the truth."
"The truth will be known by all."
Edward would be told by Medivh where Tilder's wife lived and the group would leave the tower and go to find the women that Edward silently had no idea what would happen with. On one hand if she was truthful then he would know Medivh a liar. If she was a liar then he was a fool who had been tricked by a demon. On the way to the wife he spoke with Hilary who told him that she felt a horrible taint coming from Tilder Meanist. She wondered how he did not feel it, and he wondered why he was unable to sense what clearly so many around him were feeling. Medivh told him that his demon wasn't revealed yet, and when Edward finally understood he would know exactly why he couldn't see what was just beneath the surface.
“His wife was nothing more then a ruse meant to kill me. He knew his life was over and yet he wanted me to see death, and I suppose somewhere in his chaos mind he wanted me to see the death that filled that home.”
— Edward Cullen
Arriving at the house Medivh forced Edward to wait until thirty men from the Menathil's arirved, and then he allowed Edward to enter the home. Entering the home he found the skinned bodies of untold number of people all over the walls, and the decaying bodies of a young women, and two children sitting a table in the middle of the home with a giant hole in the ground. Medivh said he would explain everything after the ambush, and moments after this happened cultists came through the roof and a fight broke out which ended with the death of the cultists as the reinforcements were too much for the weakly armed, and trained cultists. Medivh would then explain as they carried away the bodies to be buried that Tilder was once a Magi of the Kirin Tor but had been removed due to the reading of banned Magi's and this had eventually led him to becoming possessed by a demon which had then proceeded to murder his wife and children and become a dangerous serial killer of whom killed dozens in Lorderon before the Kirin Tor finally caught up with him and took him under their custody.
Arthas Leaves
See Also : Capture of Jaina Menathil
“I had hoped that you would want to come willingly my love.”
— Hur-Arthas Menathil IV.
Arthas by this point was being told by his leadership core that the Kirin Tor had captured Tilder Meanist and with his capture any hope of keeping the Lucernian contingent from discovering the truth about The Scourge gone he begin plans to leave Lorderon for the north, and his true goal of getting Frostmourne. Gathering his commanders to him he would decide on leaving behind Elu-Kael Thuzad and it would be the objective of Kael to delay the forces of Lorderon and cause as much chaos as he possibly could, but then to make his way north to link up with Arthas who would wait for Kael at Fornost. Over the days that followed this decision they gathered to him his entire command structure outside of those who were staying and travelled north out of the city during the night keeping it as secret as possible, but unfortunatly despite this attempt there departure was discovered by the Dragonoph loyalist Per-Ruenya Menathil who would without delay bring this information to Sur-Talia Menathil. Arthas had left being information that he had travelled north in order to assist Marcel Lovie and thus when Talia went to the throne room she found this note detailing where he was saying he was going, but Talia had seen the change in her brother and didn't believe it instead sending Karl Donovan to bring information to the Lucernian contingent of what had happened. Karl Donovan would travel to their ships where he found the Hirshe brothers there and told them that Arthas had left the city and they both realized what this meant and thus they moved without haste to tell Edward about this. As this was happening Arthas as he moved out of Lorderon had a large fleet of dozens of ships transporting his men and in this movement they would travel to Kul Tiras where Arthas had unfinished business with his wife Jaina. Arriving with his fleet just south of Boralus they had slipped by the naval defenses as they were inside what was seen as safe waters when they left Lorderon and thus landed on the coast south of Boralus without alerting anyone to their presence. Landing his troops there he channeled a spell with his Magi leadership which gave him the location of Jaina who he discovered was located at the Tower of Toralus located west of Boralus, and with this knowledge he would march on the Tower of Toralus. The Tower of Toralus was lightly defended as it was a sort of estate for House Proudmoore and thus when Arthas's several thousand strong army arrived it was Jaina who sensed that it was Arthas and ordered her men to flee the tower before they were killed, and then she waited for Arthas to come to her. Arthas came to her alone inside the tower and seeing him clad in the evil armor he had been crafting for some time she prepared herself to die and refused to speak to the man in front of her as she knew in her heart that this was not her Arthas, but he did not strike her down instead he took her staff from her and placed Magi restraints on her restricting her magi abilities and then summoned troops who took her hostage. With Jaina in his hands he would return to the ships where by this point the troops of Jaina had not yet warned the main Boralus forces of what had happened and thus when Arthas's fleet passed Boralus they were not resisted by the large Kul Tiras navy thus allowing Arthas to escape with Jaina.
Taylor's Discovery
“Your grace my time there was filled with so many things, and I want you to know that the Dragon shall be heard throughout all the land soon. The cultists though were dangerous beyond anything I had ever heard of. They had infested the largest Temple in the entire capital and turned it into a den of demons and evil men.”
— Taylor Swift
Following the discovery by Edward that the cultists controlled the massive Great Temple of Lorderon he and his group would travel with Medivh back to the capital where they planned to attack the temple. As this was happening Taylor Swift and the Steinmare's would be told by a Dragon Priest that several Dragonoph worshipers had come to him to admit that they had been members of a cult in Lorderon and that the Great Temple of Lorderon was their headquarters of sorts. Disgusted that a Temple would be used for this purpose and despite the attempts by Dylan and Erica to stop her she would travel to the Great Temple and alongside Laera Steinmare would enter the Temple and using key words learned from the traitor cultists were able to enter the Temple. Entering the Temple they went through a recruitment process of sorts, but things begin to go bad after the cultist leading them around attempted to rape Laera and she stabbed him through the eye killing him and forcing them to hide his body while they escaped the Temple. Finding there way out wasn't easy though, and outside Dylan would meet with Edward telling him what had happened, and learning from Edward how serious the situation was they believed they had the proof they needed but Emile, and Josh Hirshe arrived to tell them that Arthas had left the city with a force in order to supposedly help Arnor, and Marcel Lovie. Edward told Emile, and Josh to go to the keep and force them to recall Arthas, and at the same time attempted to send word to Marcel Lovie of what was happening, but unknown to him the cultists were watching them, and the letters, and ravens were all intercepted meaning Marcel was not warned.
“We were but moments from showing him as the monster he was, and yet he slipped between our fingers. I would have killed him myself if I had thought it was possible to get through that kind of layer of guards.”
— Dylan Steinmare
Taylor Swift, and Laera Steinmare at this point would finally make their way out of the temple, but as Laera exited the door Taylor would be knocked on the head and the gate shut causing a siege of sorts as they attempted to break there way into the Temple. Forcing their way into the temple using the troops they had brought, they would fight against dozens of cultists of which forced the involvement of more troops and a battle broke out, but despite victory after the dust had settled they also found that there was no sign of Taylor, because she had been taken to the real home of the cultists of which was a large tunnel system beneath the temple itself. By this point the cultists were aware they had been discovered, and they would begin plans to launch the overall assault on Lorderon, and those traitor cultists would in these last moments release this information to the Menathil loyalists, or the Lucernians, or also in many cases the Magi of Kirin Tor.
Captured
“Edward I am being told that you kept all of this a secret from the people you brought with you, and I guess I wonder now in the privacy of this group...why did you not warn them of the dangers? Do you honestly think Taylor would have gone into that Temple had she of known what awaited her.”
— William Lovie III.
Captured by the cultists Taylor is forced to endure captivity for hours, as the cultists by this point are simply stalling within the tunnel system, and Taylor witnesses the leadership of the cultists flee the grounds to safety, while the few that remain behind in order to show resistance are weak old men, and ones they question the devotion of. During this torture she is somewhat protected by a young cultist of whom stops an older man from raping her, and she is saddened as he tells her of his life, but despite her attempts to get him to surrender he sees no life past this, and leaves her as Edward's force finally breaks into the tunnels. The cultists that are left are weak and are easily defeated leaving Edward in control of the temple, but as soon as he releases Taylor's mouth coverings she reveals to him that nearly all the cultists already fled, and those left were expendable to them. With the cultists destroyed Taylor reveals that the cultists are a part of a chaos cult led by Arthas Menathil of whom has not taken any true forces north to assist Marcel but is in fact taking monsters and demons of whom are planning great destruction. As they attempt to make their way out of the temple they find the route blocked by design, and they are unable to escape by means of the entrance, and instead must make their way through ancient tunnels out of the city. After days of travelling through the tunnels they find themselves in the fields far to the south of Lorderon and a note is left on the edge of the entrance on the body of a soldier with the sigil of House Scarlet on him.
“Congratulations on discovering the great secret of Lorderon. You are to be commended for seeing what many before you failed to see, but I must be the one to tell you that is the only thing you did right. You have failed to stop me, and now that failure shall play out in the destruction of Arnor. Perhaps if you had moved quicker. Perhaps if you had been smarter your people in Arnor wouldn't be dead.”
— King Arthas Menathil
Edward became infuriated by this and the realization that it was already well to late to save Marcel, or to do any of the good things that he knew in his mind he had to do in order to regain what he had lost. The army of Arthas had left nearly a week ago, and he knows that a raven will never reach Arnor in time to do any good, and he breaks down crying for his continued failure. Eventually calming down the group gathers themselves and make their way to a nearby village where they receive horses and make their way back to Lorderon to warn Arnor of the coming chaotic army. Back in the city Laera, Erica, and Dylan Steinmare retreat to the Menathil Palace, and rally the Lucernians to their cause as well as sending out word of the what everyone now knows will be a very large attack on Lorderon by a unknown amount of cultists.
Josh Hirshe, and Anna Kendrick had become stranded at the port and were forced to hide themselves with the garrison there. Taylor Swift and Emile Hirshe would retreat with the main force and retreated into the Menathil Palace, and it was here where they would remain as the palace came under siege by the forces of the cultists now bent on destroying the city. Candice Anthor in the port itself sends word to Kul Tiras in order to have them send aid, and it is this quick thinking that would eventually save the city, as noone in Lorderon had been willing to ask Kul Tiras for help due to the bad blood between Lorderon, and Kul Tiras as of late. It was at this point of the city coming under siege and the port preparing for the arrival of reinforcements that Anna Kendrick and Josh Hirshe of whom had come to hide within the keep in the docks would come to have an honest conversation with Anna admitting that she loved Orival Crane and Josh was just a distraction, and Josh admitted that he actually hated Anna and only was with her to cause embaressment to his brother. Josh would as their conversationd devolved into an argument demand that she sleep with him but she resisted not wanting this but despite her resistence he forced himself on her but just as he is about to rpae her she grabs his knife and slashes his face before also stabbing him in the shoulder and fleeing from the keep to the docks themselves.
New Leadership
“The Cult was something that had started to enter the frame of reality some time before we learned of Arthas's true face. The cult had abducted people, and burned buildings but for all intensive purposes it was little worse then a roaving band of criminals, and thus we didn't say much.”
— Imlad Menathil
Following the return of Edward Cullen to the city after his destruction of one cell of the cult that Arthas had formed it became clear to the leadership that Arthas had formed it in order to destroy Lorderon, and thus they went about dealing with the cult for the first time. After the conversation between William and Edward the decision is made to make Talia Menathil the new Lord of Lorderon, and she is given this immediatly after thus removing the taint of Arthas somewhat from Lorderon. This transfer of power doesn't go completely according to plan as during the ceremony for her gaining the title of Matriarch of the family, and the Arch Lord of Lucerne position the site is attacked by a force of cultists and many demons that a Magi with the cultists summons into the area. Edward, Gemma, and Hilary lead Talia out of the building and fight there way through waves of cultists, and are nearly trapped until a counter assault by Imlad Menathil breaks the attacking cultists and allows them to return her to the keep of Lorderon with her new power.
Conversation Incoming
Fairmarket. The Riverlands. Lorderon, and Kul Tiras. Westbridge. All had fallen to our might. All had sworn the sword to the Valley of Lucerne. All that power, and yet I looked north and saw a great demon the likes of which I could not hope to resist. The Empire was the reason for growth. The Empire was the reason for everything we did. The Empire was the land that should have done great things for the world, but instead of this they did nothing. They allowed chaos to breed amongst them, and in that weakeness and failing they threatened to ruin the entire continent.
"William there can be no doubt that Arthas has turned against us." He looked down, and I felt terrible, as both of us knew what this meant for Marcel. What little chance he had of defending Arnor was based on the army that Arthas said he was capable of bringing north, and if that army wasn't going to arrive then it all might be for nothing.
"This is terrifying news Edward as we know he has already disapeared from out eyes, and for all we know could already be inside Arnor. If he is there we know that Marcel is there, and I fear for what will happen." It was always unerving to hear William speak with anything other then confidence. His face moved from the vision and I knew he must be speaking to someone else. It was unfortunate that the only Magi stone that I was able to find was a one on one stone. This sort of conversation would have been much easier with a room stone.
"William we need to immediatly send word to your cousin that Arthas is under no cercumstances to be trusted."
"I will send word right now Edward." William left the vision, and I looked to my right to see that Imlad had entered the room, and he looked with wide eyes as he saw the means by which we were communicating.
"Its good to see you prince Imlad." He was wearing his eagle armor, and he looked everything that he should of, but his eyes told me a story about the fear he was feeling.
"You still have the presence of mind for titles in a time like this Edward?"
"When I was young my father told me that manners were important. I can't forget that lesson even while we are potentially surrounded by enemies and have a looming disaster in the north."
"The things our father's tell us when we are young." I would have laughed normally but the silence that followed made me shiver. It was minute after minute of this as we awaited the return of William, and I wanted him to come back to give me repreieve from the fear that filled the room.
"Do you recall anything about this cult before we learned of Arthas?" I had only learned of them a few months ago, and from the way Medivh spoke of them they must have been something that was talked of.
"The Cult was something that had started to enter the frame of reality some time before we learned of Arthas's true face. The cult had abducted people, and burned buildings but for all intensive purposes it was little worse then a roaving band of criminals, and thus we didn't say much." As he finished William reentered the vision.
"I have made the neccesary message sent, but I fear that the Order of the Blue Dragon representative that was with Marcel has apparently been killed, and we don't know what is happening at this time."
"We don't know anything bad has happened yet. We just need to keep our ears out Will."
“Alone Talia was still too young and naive to be the Lady of a land that large, but lucky for us she wasn't alone. Lucky for us Calia, and Imlad were loyal advisors and didn't have their own agendas other then helping their family.”
— Edward Cullen
Talia would recall her sister Talia to her side, and alongside Imlad Menathil they formed a sort of Menathil council for the leadership of the land alongside Edward of whom advised them as best he could. Realizing the situation they were in they knew they needed more forces loyal to them in the city, and thus they decided to call the vassals, and ask for assistence from the nearbye Lucerne forces. As they begin to recall Menathil forces from the smaller villages, and towns they begin see that the cult had become aware of the situation and the cult summoned nearly its entire force into the capital and begin besieging sections of the city and ambushing and murdering loyalists to the Menathils. Sending word to the Riverlands, and Kul Tiras, and then the main Lucerne army south of Lorderon in the Scarlets, and the Cleganes they would beg for assistance saying that the streets were becoming a battleground.
“The arrival of Kael'Thuzad was a terrifying experience as he raised thousands of dead into his ranks turning a controllable situation suddenly into something far worse.”
— Edward Cullen
As fighting broke out in the streets Kael'Thuzad would abandon secrecy and led his command structure into the city where he and his other Magi would summon the dead to their side adding thousands into his ranks and causing great destruction. As this happened the citizens of Lorderon begin fleeing by boats in the dock out of the city, and those men that couldn't and the old would retreat into the Menathil Keep in the center of the city. Arming these citizens the defence of the keep would be expanded knowing they were defending to the last man. Edward Cullen, and Imlad Menathil led the defences with Edward using his Magi stone to alert the forces south of the wall of what was happening and making sure they knew they had to do something soon. Kael'Thuzad would raise buildings, and go about damaging the city, while he sent his commander Lord Gnarls eastward towards Kirin Tor where he was to capture the fortress and bring its knowledge back to him so that they could then leave for Arthas northward. Fighting would break out heavily in the port as the Cult would attempt to commandeer boats in their eventual search to escape, and they would be resisted by the navy of Kul Tiras of whom had sent many ships to blockade the city, and provide support.
“The Liche Ras Frostwhisper would come to the docks and I remember his look as he raised his hand and summoned creatures of darkness to him. He controlled them from the docks and I knew he alone had to be stopped lest he destroyed our entire fleet.”
— Derek Proudmoore
Battle at the Docks
Ras Frostwhisper would come to the dock and summoning hundreds of giant sea creatures that had long laid dead at the bottom of the sea outside Lorderon, and used these creatures to assault the fleet of Kul Tiras and push them back. The fleet was forced to pull back or risk destruction as these ancient creatures pulled entire ships under the water when they got close enough, and they were only able to destroy a dozen and lost nearly twice that number of ships in return.
Battle of Kirin Tor
Main Article : Battle of Dalaran
“This place is a place of learning and peace, and you desecrate it with your very presence. Your beliefs are failed, and today you shall learn how much failure your moral decadence has caused for you and all those that stand behind you Lord Gnarl.”
— Medivh
Led by a mysterious Magi named Lord Gnarls the cultists would send a force to Kirin Tor as well in order to sack the Magi castle, and attempt to steal its stored knowledge for Arthas, despite the near impossibility of this task and then getting north. During the initial movement towards Kirin Tor turncoats within the fortress of Kirin Tor would murder several high ranking members of the Magi organization including the high leader in Antonidas leaving the council shattered and left with three of its members with Jaina also believed to be in the capital and not inside Kirin Tor. With their leader dead, and the council reduced Medivh would stage a sort of coup using his own forces and took control of the Council of Kirin Tor and would imprison the remaining members of Kael'Thuzad's family including his son who attempted to murder him when he took him prisoner. Medivh would lead the forces loyal to Lucerne in defense of the Kirin Tor and was able to use the superior defenses of Kirin Tor to massacre the initial wave of Cultists supported by demons that assaulted the fortress. As the battle reached the second wave though numerous Magi would turn to the side of Chaos, and the fighting got dire as the chaos cultists used these turncoats to enter Kirin Tor and were able to sack parts of the library.
“The Kirin Tor could not fall or else all of Lorderon could be destroyed through the knowledge they gained in that vault. I had to move quickly and take the situation into our control again or I watched as Lorderon fell.”
— Saiden Scarlet
As Kirin Tor became a battleground Saiden Scarlet would send Illen Purne one of his vassals alongside Kren Scarlet to relieve the Kirin Tor with a force of Kul Tiras, and native Lorderon troops. Arriving at the scene they found the cultist army flowing into Kirin Tor, and they would attack them from behind where the cultists were killed in huge numbers but managed to keep the Lucernians away for a time. Inside Lord Gnarls made his way through Vault after Vault inside Kirin Tor attempting to make his way to the deepest and most powerful infortmation, and as he did this Medivh would lead a skilled force of Magi and elementals behind him defeating Lord Gnarls luitenents one after another until both were nearing eachother. By this point Trimier would complete the summoning spell, and this allowed several dozen Blue Dragon Magi and their support troops to enter Kirin Tor, and they asisted in stemming the flow of cultists while the main army was defeated outside by Kren Scarlet, and Illen Purne.
Battle of Lorderon
Main Article : Battle of Lorderon
“Reinforcements had come in their tens of thousands to the area, and the cultists were horribly outnumbered in terms of military power. Their defeat at Kirin Tor had left their leadership scrambling to find a new weapon now that Kirin Tor was held against them, and before they could me and Emmett would tilt the scales.”
— Leven Martell
Following the defeat of the Cultists at Kirin Tor two shadow council members would arrive in the form of Emmett McCarty, and Leven Martell of whom brought with them thirty men each from their houses and the most elite men they both had. The cultists had barred the main gates into the city and were defending them with great strength, but many smaller gates were less defended and it was through these gates that Leven, and Emmett would infiltrate through avoiding the gaurds through the assistence of several Violet Dragons that were still in the area. Now inside the city Leven, Emmett and their sixty men would fight their way to the keep where they found the Lucernian loyalists holding out within, and thousands of citizens hiding inside the walls for protection. Kael'Thuzad would marshal nearly his entire remaining force and pulled many if not all forces from the walls and brought them to the keep where he launched an all out assault. Thousands of demons and cultists charged the high walls of the keep, and the defenders led by Emmett, Leven, and Imlad would hold out against the inital assaults and cause horrendous casualties to the unprepared cultists attacking the walls.
“They broke through the eastern gatehouse, and I charged into the breach with all the reserve I had at my disposal. They were too many in number, and if we let them loose within the castle they would quickly massacre the people of Lorderon and the defenders in short order.”
— Leven Martell
As the attack of the Cultists failed all over it was Kael'Thuzad that went to the eastern gatehouse himself and using Magi alongside his commanders would shattter the entire gatehouse destroying it and leaving a massive gaping hole in the defences. Losing a significant amount of defenders Leven pulled all the reserves from the keep, and alongside her men and Emmett's men she and Emmett would charge into the breach and attempt to hold off the attacking cultists. The defenders were hardpressed to hold the massive numbers off but the untrained barely equipped cultists were cut down in droves, and this led to Kael'Thuzad ordering in several of his commanders including his second in command in Lord Voren of whom would kill many in front of him but was confronted by Leven Martell. Leven and Voren would fight one on one as the defenders slaughtered the cultists forcing many to attempt to retreat but these retreaters were killed by Kael'Thuzad of whom sent in Lord Savryn to deal with the situation. On the western gatehouse Imlad would murder the commander of the attacks there and charged his forces through the gatehouse and massacred hundreds of cultists forcing them to retreat southward, and allowing him to send several scouts to make the Lucernians come quicker.
Leven Martell would further her reputation during the battle of Lordeorn
“When Kael'Thuzad moved into the fray I could feel it. It was like this massive ball of electricty was moving towards us, and I couldn't let Leven, and Emmett fight that monster alone.”
— Edward Cullen
The scouts reached the Lucernian forces of whom were assaulting through the weakely defended outer walls, and moving slowly fearing it was a trap. Meeting the scouts Saiden Scarlet would understand it wasn't a trap and commanded all forces towards the keep with all haste, while he sent Mathew Clegane and his forces against the dock to deal with Ras Frostwhisper. Kael'Thuzad getting word that the army was only minutes away knew he had to move quickly to take the keep and then murder the population, so he waded into the battle himself. Fighting his way through his own forces he reached the front just as Leven, and Emmett killed Lord Savryn and pushed back Lord Voren. Smashing Emmett McCarty with a blast of Magi he flew back uncontious leaving Leven to fight against Lord Voren while Kael'Thuzad sent Magi blasts into the defenders of the breach killing dozens. Sencing Kael'Thuzad enter the breach Edward had left the southern gate and mvoed to the east where he reached the fighting and was able to block a spell that would have badly injured Leven. Fighting against Kael'Thuzad he and the Liche would battle for minutes until Lord Voren fell destroyed and Leven charged him as well turning the tide of the fight. Kael'Thuzad attempted to flee but was struck through the back by Leven's sword and destroyed. At the port Mathew Clegane would overwhelm Ras Frostwhisper with the support of Gemma Cullen of whom overpowered the tired Ras Frostwhisper but he retreated using a stone and disapeared alongside several of his commanders.
“Arthas's remnents had been crushed, but he was still loose, and where he was now was anyone's guess.”
— Leven Martell
With the death of Kael'Thuzad and the defeat of Ras Frostwhisper the skeletal elements and demons fizzled out of excistence, while the human elements of the cult were swiftly either killed or surrendered and made to live out the rest of their short lives in prison before they were executed. With Talia Menathil now Lady of Lorderon the population shifted back to the capital but was diminished from the numbers before as some one quarter of the city had turned to the cultists and were basically all dead while another quarter had died during the fighting leaving half the city dead. It was following the clean up that a letter came into the keep adressed to Edward Cullen, but it would be read by Leven Martell and the rest of the commanders inside the keep.
Conversation Incoming
Fairmarket. The Riverlands. Lorderon, and Kul Tiras. Westbridge. All had fallen to our might. All had sworn the sword to the Valley of Lucerne. All that power, and yet I looked north and saw a great demon the likes of which I could not hope to resist. The Empire was the reason for growth. The Empire was the reason for everything we did. The Empire was the land that should have done great things for the world, but instead of this they did nothing. They allowed chaos to breed amongst them, and in that weakeness and failing they threatened to ruin the entire continent.
I opened the letter and was still haunted by the name Arthas that adorned the front of it. I looked around and saw the looks of fear on everyone else over what could possibly be in the letter, and how he had known with such accuracy when we had cleared the city.
Lord Edward Cullen,
I am both shocked and excited by the prospects of your defeat of my cult. Created with hate, and violence it makes me proud that they have destroyed so much of Lorderon, and left you weakened. My commander Ras Frostwhisper tells me you managed to defeat Kael, and while I say that is a disapointment know that the dragon I have killed yesterday will make your kingdom quickly forget this victory you have achieved.
Know that you will find his body in Fornost, and know that I made him hurt before he died. Tell your king that he sent him to die, and this is exactly what I did for him.
One last gift for the King of the Valley.
In closing I wish for you the best. I hope you die swift, and quick deaths for you have defeated an oponent that should have lived forever. Know this though Lord Cullen, your time will come sooner then you could ever imagine. I have seen the future and you and your darkness council shall know death in your ranks very soon. You have longed to be a part of them, and you shall never be further away then you are right now.
Arthas Menathil
King of the Dead
Return to Lucerne
Following this she returns to Lucerne and comes to believe that life is too short and thus she can't be worried about the consequences of being with Emile, and at the end of her chapter she kisses Emile in front of a crowd full of people.
The Yairns
The Yairns I came this way to find him. I finally came to realize that this wasn't living anymore.
“What is the point of living this life. I hate him. I actually hate everything about him. Would you honestly want me to stay here and ignore my heart. Is that what you want from me?”
— Anna Kendrick
After the dramatic showdown between herself and Josh Hirshe it would be Anna Kendrick that fled the keep leaving behind a bleeding Joshua Hirsh and lmpwong without question that she was leaving it didn't matter to her that Lorderon was under siege as arriving at the docks themselves she paid two lorderon men to take her to Westbridge. The two men took her to a merchant captain named Dol-Durothil Torzana of whom agreed to take her northward as he wanted to get his boat out of the city anyway lest risk it be damaged in anything that might happen to the city. While the captain prepared the boat for departure she finds her friends Amyra Spirre, and Katlyn Granes, of which as they got onto the ship they are joined at the last minute by Jeyne Urlonn, and her husband Mikal Shiphard of whom refuse to be left out and join with the group. Their journey north ends with the ship being attacked on the river by a Yairnish galley and boarded they surrender as they don't have the means of defense for themselves and seeing they are nobles the pirates led by a man who calls himself Sigsten Henjum of the Yairnish mercenary group called The Sanguine Hand Company. Sigsten Henjum had traveled north for the third time attempting to find a vulnerable Lucernian merchant ship that he could capture without having to fight a battle in his effort to complete the mission of himself and his sister and after two previous failures he finally noticed the Eye of Fornost and quickly moved to capture the inhabitants in his effort to gain Lucernian hostages. The Lucernian hostages are placed below deck and are guarded by a young member of the mercenary group named Dankrad of the Sanguine Hand and he is shown to be a kind young man but beneath the kindness he reveals a devotion to Sigsten that seems to border on worship.
A Hostage
“I need you to believe one thing Lady Kendrick. I have one rule. You do what I say. You listen to my commands. You do everything to the letter, and I promice you that no harm will come to any of you. You deviate from what I tell you to do. You try to escape. You do anything that undermines what we have been planning for years. I start killing people. I won't start with you. You will watch your friends die. Listen to me. Do as I say.”
— Sigsten Henjum
Following their journey southward she and the rest of her group arrive at the Yairns Furbivt Island where they are met on the docks of a small wooden castle by a large group of well armored and tough looking men as well as a tiny women clad in a red robe of whom are introduced as members of the Sanguin Hand and the women as the other general of the mercenary group his sister Alwine Henjum.
Taylor's Decision
“She is your daughter. She has been gone for how many months and you havn't even looked into where she is? Who are you people?”
— Taylor Swift
Following her arrival back in Brill after the events of the Lorderon Civil War it would be Taylor Swift who inquired into where Anna Kendrick was and discovered to her horror that she was missing. Shocked that no one had ever looked into what had happened to her following the Lorderon Civil War she would immediatly confront Josh Hirsh of whom told her about the events at the dock and Anna's departure by boat northward in an attempt to get to Westbridge. Taylor feeling responsible as she had been the one that had told Anna to go to the docks would enlist the assistance of Emile Hirsh of whom would join her in travelling northward to follow the path of Anna Kendrick. Arriving at Lorderon they ask around at the dock and discover that Anna had taken the Eye of Fornost a large galley in her pursuit of going north, and finding this captain they are horrified to discover the boat captain had been attacked on the journey north and had Anna and her companions in order to protect his boat and crew. Confronting him why he did not report this he indicates that he had told Josh Hirsh of whom had told the captain that he would look into the matter and to worry on it no more, and with this Taylor discovered the true depths of Josh's cowardice and would return to their ship with Emile travelling southward towards the Yairns.
“Hidden behind the smiles, and careful words was the heart of a very dark man. He played his games and made people believe he was what he wanted them to believe. I know because I played his game and lost.”
— Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift and Stephan De'Marco engaged in a long term affair which Taylor believed was a relationship but Stephan was also engaging in an affair with Alice Lovie as well as numerous other women. During the time they were together Taylor believes she was extremely gullable because this handsome young man was interested in her in a way that noone had ever been before, and this led to her ignoring many of the signs he showed that he wasn't what he seemed. The affair continued for some time until eventually she begin to wish for it to become open but he delayed this realizing how many others he had on the fly at the same time, and also the consequences to his own life if his behavior was discovered. When the affair did finally manage to come out he was embarressed by the people of Brill as well as the leadership of House Swift and this destroyed the two's relationship. Taylor and Stephan would meet once more when Stephan was hired to kill members of House Swift and he attempted to kill her. His attack failed and he would leave the Kingdom of Lucenre for the lands of the Kingdom of Bolten where he came to work for House Karstark.
“She did some terrible things, but I don't hate her in the slightest.”
— Taylor Swift
Born into the wealthy House Kendrick Anna was led to believe in the devinity of her house, and in this way she became extremely popular amongst the others of her age group. As this popularity grew she became the rival of Taylor Swift who was a member of the powerful House Swift. This rivalry started after one of Anna's friends became offended by the way that Taylor refused to join their group in some of the things they did. While Anna wasn't particularly bothered by Taylor her friends grew obsessive in their hatred of Taylor and this led to her joining the chorus of her friends that begin to bully Taylor. At first it was silly pranks against her but the bullying became extremely harsh in its brutal verbal attacks which then spawned into several near physical attacks. All of this led to the two girls becoming a sort of rivals in the town of Brill but in this time the town of Brill was mainly ruled by a grouping of houses and House Swift while being powerful wasn't in control in the same way that they are in control now.
