NOTE: Absolutely NOTHING that may happen in the game involving any of these characters after the starting experience happens. So, keep that in mind as you read.

Edit - 24/9/15: Disregard that previous statement. Only some of the stuff that occurs elsewhere will happen, because I'm writing a sequel :D

Hey!

So here I am with the worgen starting experience. I've been dying to write this story for ages, though I told myself I wouldn't even touch it until I'd finished the goblin one.

If you couldn't already tell, I named this story after one of the quests in the starting experience.

So, make sure you review, and I hope you enjoy!

Cheers!

~Ice.

Introduction

Led by their indomitable king, Genn Greymane, the proud citizens of Gilneas once stood with the Alliance against the vile, orcish Horde that sought to conquer all of Lordaeron. Gilneas survived, but in the chaotic years following the Second War, the mighty kingdom drew ever inward. Distrustful of their former allies, the Gilneans erected a mighty wall at the borders of their land, closing off their nation, and their hearts, from an ever-darkening world.

Now, many years later, as the seemingly unstoppable Undead Scourge marches across Lordaeron, human civilisation once again teeters on the brink of destruction. As war and terror close in all around them, the citizens of Gilneas are faced with one terrible truth – their mighty wall cannot hold back the dead for much longer. And worse, rumours of a new threat have risen within the kingdom's borders – of feral, nightmare creatures, that walk upright as men, but hunt and howl as wolves.

1 – Lockdown!

Kathryn

Kathryn decided screaming was her least favourite sound.

There was something about the numerous clashing notes that set her teeth on edge, and all too frequently made her want to tear her hair out.Though she was sure she wasn't alone with this opinion, she certainly felt like it sometimes.

However, screaming was understandable at the present moment. The whole city was under evacuation. And, no, it wasn't the Undead. For once. Instead, a new threat – one that had merely been rumours and old nursemaid tales in the past - had emerged.

Looking at the situation, Kathryn felt rather relaxed. She was tough. She'd make it through.

She was idly hanging about the Merchant Square, leaning against a post and watching on as civilians fled. At the other end of the square, Mr Oh So Important Prince Liam Greymane was organising a military defence with what men they had. Contemplating the thought, Kathryn inspected the knife she held loosely in her hand, before scratching off a speck of dried blood. She looked up at the men, and even at this distance she could hear the prince speaking; keeping them on their guard.

'Stand ready, guards!' he shouted. 'We don't know how many intruders we're dealing with, but the Headlands are overrun and we're cut off from the harbor towns. Expect to be outnumbered.'

These simple words made her quirk a solitary eyebrow. Outnumbered, eh? Not if she could help it. Straightening up and slipping her knife inside her jacket, Kathryn pulled her long, gold-brown hair out of her face with a strip of fabric and tied it back, before casually making her way over to them.

At the sound of her approaching footsteps, the prince adjusted his position on his horse and turned to regard her. His strongly-built face was tense, like he was ready for anything. That would have made sense. Rumour had it that the Greymanes were battle-hardened, and expected the worse of any situation. That was, of course, what the stories said, anyway. He surveyed her with hazel eyes.

'What are you still doing here, citizen?' he asked. 'Haven't you heard? The city's under complete lockdown.'

Kathryn folded her arms. 'Yes, I've heard,' she said stiffly, letting a heavy note of irritation ring clear in her tone. She didn't care in the slightest that he was royalty, or that she ought to be kneeling at his metaphorical feet. As far as she was concerned, he could fall off a cliff and she'd merely watch on, counting the seconds until he hit the ground. 'It'd be a bit difficult not to notice.'

Completely disregarding her impertinence, he pointed towards the north-west, his expression clearly saying he had no time for her. 'Go see Lieutenant Walden - he'll give you further directions for evacuation.'

With a small huff – she'd been hoping to get her hands dirty and have a jab at some feral monsters – Kathryn pivoted on her heel and took the wide path between two buildings. She turned left, and stopped. She was out of sight of the guards now, and that was probably why this hadn't been noticed before.

Three bodies, all drowning in pools of their own blood, were strewn on the cobblestone street. Hesitantly, Kathryn approached the one closest to the gate, whom she assumed to be Lieutenant Walden. Deep claw marks ran through the man's corpse. He appeared to have died from severe wounds.

Frowning, Kathryn prodded him with her foot and cocked her head contemplatively as more blood oozed along the damp road. It was an interesting thing, blood. She found metallic, coppery scent unique, and the thickness somewhat fascinating. She hadn't the faintest idea why, but it always kept her attention. And, with that considered, the prince would probably want to know about what had happened.

The sound of fighting started coming from the market, and she whirled around, sprinting back down the street. When she skidded into the square, it was filled with feral, wolf-like creatures, standing upright on two legs. The guards and the prince were fighting them off.

Wanting to help, Kathryn drew her knife and stuck it into the nearest beast's gut, swiftly withdrawing it and running over to the prince. He was slicing through several at once, drops of blood flecked up the side of his face and neck.

'Seems you're doing alright,' she commented idly, running to his side and jumping up to stick a monster through its throat.

'It's you again,' he said, looking down at her from his horse through blows. 'Looks like you're not one to hide in the face of danger. Very well, then.' He regarded her for another second. 'You're short, but you'll do. The worgen probably won't even see you.'

For once, Kathryn ignored the jab at her height (she got them quite often. She was only four foot eight), and instead posed a question. 'Worgen?'

'My father had warned me that Archmage Arugal's creations had run amok.' He looked around the square and up the rooftops. The beasts seemed to be everywhere. 'But where are they coming from?'

He refocused on her. 'I suppose it doesn't matter. Help us make quick work of them. We'll show them what we Gilneans are made of!'

Huh. He obviously wasn't an idiot. His morals were seemingly in the right place, and that caught her off guard for a short moment. However, she processed what he'd said quickly enough and responded in due time. She gave him a firm nod, meeting his eyes with a look she hoped was fiery enough to make him think twice about her, and snatched up an axe from atop a stack of nearby crates. She charged into the fray, chopping and hacking at everything in her path. The wolf men were strong, but she was fast, with the light-footedness and wit of a rogue. Regardless, no matter how many she killed, their numbers appeared to be endless.

'Kathryn Weiss! Well I'll be damned!'

Kathryn whirled around to see an all too familiar face. 'Gwen!'

Gwen Armstead gave a wry smile, coming to her side and ramming her sword into a worgen's gut. 'Fancy seeing you here!'

Kathryn had to note that even in the middle of battle, her nifty little hat was still perched on top of her dark brown hair. Completely different to Kathryn, she was dressed in a simple black, grey and white cotton dress, which was already torn from some blows she had sustained. Kathryn instead was wearing knee length, skin tight pants, a plain grey top, and a leather jacket she had stolen a long time back. Everything was frayed and dirty – living in the streets, it wasn't like she had the time to do her own laundry. Though, being who she was, she supposed at least she knew quite a lot of people, Gwen included. Before she died, Kathryn's mother was incredibly close to the woman, and she had offered to take the eight year old girl under her wing. Kathryn had obliged until she was fifteen, before she insisted on leaving and fending for herself. She had done that now for four years. Gwen hadn't been too happy with the state she was in most of the time, but personally she didn't really mind. It was comfortable, and she always dropped by Gwen's place in Duskhaven for dinner, before taking to the streets again.

'Listen, Kathryn,' Gwen said, a serious look coming across her face. 'We can't let our supplies get destroyed. With Gilneas walled off from the outside world, we won't last through winter if we lose much more of our stock. Please help me salvage what you can.'

Being the mayor of Duskhaven, Gwen was someone who had the best interests of her people at heart. So, naturally, the thought of losing an entire season's worth of supplies was crippling, and needed to be acted against.

Looking around the square, through the commotion Kathryn could see a stack of crates against a building. 'Those supplies?'

Swinging her sword around and wildly cutting off a worgen's head, Gwen gave her confirmation. 'Those supplies.'

And so, Kathryn ducked down low (she was even closer to the ground now) and sprinted straight across the market. She didn't think anything even noticed her.

In a matter of seconds, she had skidded up beside the crates and had started pushing them back to Gwen, only pausing to fight off the constant stream of beasts.

She didn't even really have to go halfway.

'Excellent!' Gwen said, appearing next to her, a fresh cut on her cheek. 'I'll make sure these get taken to a safe place.'

'Good enough for me.'

'It's no use, Kathryn,' the prince said, looking down at her again. Mind you, he only knew her name because she told him. She didn't usually go around telling good-looking people her name. It was a mere few minutes after she had been talking to Gwen, and she had only paused to evacuate a few citizens from their houses, slaying the worgen that were already chasing them out. Gwen had left with them, as a group. 'They're not letting up.'

'And what do you propose we do?' She folded her arms and gave him a look that said: Go on. Use that princely brain of yours. I dare you.

'It's time for you to leave,' he said, responding to that look in turn. In fact, if she didn't know better, she could have sworn it said: I'll do that. And unless you've got any better propositions, you'd better bloody well listen to what I have to say. 'Go to the Military District with the other civilians. Check in with Gwen Armstead when you cross the southeastern bridge. . . see if everyone's okay. I will stay here with the guards and cover the civilians' retreat.' He gave her a stern look, effectively sealing the intention of his earlier expression. 'Go now. That is an order!'

Well. It was like he already knew she was notorious for being disobedient and unruly. The thought made her grin inwardly, and she leant down to pick up a discarded, bloodstained knife from off the street as though to make a point. One could never have too many of those, after all. The prince watched this simple action with an unreadable look, before pointedly nudging his head in the direction she was supposed to go. She was almost tempted to tell him to get screwed, but her sense got the better of her and she gave him a mock salute.

She supposed she should follow directions for once in her life. It probably wouldn't kill her, after all.

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Last edited: 15/1/16