❅—“Iｎ ｏｒｄｅｒ ｔｏ ｓｕｒｖｉｖｅ ｔｈｅ ｇｎａｓｈｉｎｇ ｏｆ ｉｔｓ ｔｅｅｔｈ…

               “Iu oɹpǝɹ ʇo snɹʌᴉʌǝ ʇɥǝ ƃuɐsɥᴉuƃ oɟ ᴉʇs ʇǝǝʇɥ…”

     The San’layn’s claws worked skillfully to render a sample of the frozen bloom from its bleeding stem. Flawless white sap dripped from the wound, and found no purchase in the snow below. The droplet of lifeblood tumbled like a lamb divided from the flock, until the Plaguelord took notice of it. A weightless touch and a scalding tomb silenced the mourning process, as the bitter sap was lost along the distance of a vaguely pointed, ashen tongue. The age of the bloom was accurately gauged by this devourer, and Myrundìel stood to face the direction of a nearby intrusion into his master’s kingdom.    

   A subtle gesture conjured the attention of his Deathcharger, who resentfully averted his attention from hunting a hare from beneath the snow. There would be other hares, but Rasalhague knew that there was only one strand of patience within the Plaguelord’s nature - and that misfortune always fell upon those who broke it.Their progression towards the distant figure’s location was swift, and nigh silent. When he was certain that his voice would carry, in spite of the seething winds of Icecrown, the Plaguelord addressed the girl, half in warning, half in amusement.

      ❝The audacity of a mortal intruding upon this place is admirable as it is lamentable. You are a long way from home, ch-…” 

  A weighted silence befell his mind, as he contended with the impossibility of what stood before him. This elven child… The Darkfallen lord descended to his feet, and approached the half-blood with a venomous curiosity. The saronite mask he wore kept his teeth safely shrouded, lest his intentions be written in his mouth.

     ❝Your blood runs brighter than most, little elven maid. Tell me, what is the grievance beneath your skin?”

   He knew the presence of a Kaldorei when he faced it. His millennia-old grudges were tended to as diligently as he tended his gardens. And he knew when he confronted a High Elf, gilded cowards who could be salvaged only by execution, and the subsequent rebirth of undeath. The Blood-Prince had never thought that he might encounter the two sheathed within the body of one individual. What a tantalizing potentiality - seemingly crafted specifically for his appreciation.

                                             —ｗｅ ｃｒａｗｌｅｄ ｗｈｏｌｅ,                                                         ‘ǝloɥʍ pǝlʍɐɹɔ ǝʍ