Anub'arak and his journey through Colour.
[ PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS STORY IS USING THE WC3 VERSION OF ANUB, WHERE HE IS MUCH SMALLER THAN HE IS IN THE LORE/WoW ]
It was true, The Lich King had abadoned him, Anubarak, Once the mightiest Nerubian King to ever grace the species, falling to a bunch of random Quote on Quote "Heroes", rifle shots and minute sword wounds... As much as he despised the idea of hibernation he had to agree with himself that it was indeed the best course of action.... So he begins his descent into the very bottom of Azjol Nerub, burrowing down into the depths of Azeroth, never to be seen by the alliance, Or the horde, until the distant future.
Anub'arak rips through his Cocoon, Finally! After hiding away for so many years his carapace had gotten used to the peace and quiet, maybe it was time to get it remembering the thrill of combat. He notices however, that his cave is not what he left it to be. There is much more rubble than he remembers, and the very minute number of guards he did keep to his side for the hibernation had left without a trace.
This would have startled Anub'arak, if not for his weakened state, his mind had not fully returned after his resting as of yet so it is understandable that anyone may find themselves drowsy at this stage. Wasting not a second more the Crypt Lord burrows into the side of the crawl space he had left himself in and began to dig up with the aid of his wings. Digging through what seemed to me many remains of Human and Orc alike, And the odd dwarf, which stuck out massively from the rest due to their lack of size, He reached the surface and hastily looked around his environment looking for any movement. Luckily nobody had saw him, but what HE saw disturbed him greatly.
He was in a forest, though a dark one, a forest none the less, and in the clearing he saw something that would only show itself if the one seeing it was off their rocker. Horses, just trotting around wherever they pleased, no longer a slave to man but their own intelligent species. This left Anub'arak puzzled, he wondered if they had finally had enough and sent the bipeds on their way, though this entire process happening in a matter of a few years puzzled him. ' How were horses able to push back the war mongering Orcen? The Scourge? The Alliance? ' he loses himself in these thoughts, not noticing the rather large creature coming up from the rear. He is broken out of this trail of thought when he feels a loose drop of saliva falling onto his carapace. Not even caring for what the creature was, surely it was just another one of these grass munching quadrupeds! He turns around, and what he sees puzzles him even further.
The two were acting like friends trapped in a staring contest, unmoving, unblinking. It shared the traits of a common lion, only with a much bulkier torso and wings that looked like they were torn straight from a gargoyle, and a.... Scorpion tail? Truely Anub'arak was lost at this point, And the same could be said about the Manticore, trying to figure out what its 'prey' had up its sleeve, and why it was just standing there and not attempting to retreat back to where it came from or put up a pathetic excuse of a fight.
Anub'arak was the first to make a move, quickly sending his traditional impaling spikes towards the Manticore, which were swiftly rising from the ground, how he managed to rise them was impossible to know for sure, But before it can comprehend the attack its feral instincts kick in, attempting to leap out of the way, but it is all too late as it's left rear leg is penetrated by the nerubians spikes. Seeing this as an open oppurtunity Anub'arak goes in for the kill, swiftly attacking the manticore while it is in its panicking state. Attempting to flee the manticore pulls itself into the opposite direction, injuring its leg further in the process, it does not understand the simple term 'Immobile' And with a final strike to the underbelly, the manticore releases a final call for assistance before its inevitable defeat.
Things just didn't sad up. When he went underground there was nothing but ice for miles, how had an entire forest sprung up that quickly? That is when it hit him, The new dominant species, the creatures, the land terrain, and the Lich King, Anub'arak can no longer hear the call of frostmourne or the helm of domination, he was finally free, and he wants to make the most of it.
From the way he sees it, he has two options, he can either take the forest route down to lands he cannot see past, or down the cobblestone path into a small town, filled with thatched houses straight out of the jacobean era.
Now was the time to make a move, but he knows that he needs to keep to the shadows in case of any... unwanted attention. So he began to move down into the forest.
The path is long, yet Anub'arak does not tire, after all, he had been asleep for years. And he walks do many hours, until the impossible happens , he gets lost. In any ordinary situation the crypt Lord would simply just burrow into the ground and travel undergroind, but he realises that this would be an excellent opportunity to get his bearings and learn more about the world he will now have to call home. In his mind he has made a simple and easy to follow checklist, he needs substance, allies, shelter, and most importantly a method of defence while travelling, just in case something more deadly than the brainchild of one of dalarans asylum inmates decides to challenge him again.