Disclaimer! I don't own WoW. Blizz does, and your soul too.
*** Capital City – Lordaeron Keep ***
The silence after Terenas dropped the bomb about my lineage was so thick that I could cut it with my arcanite sword. I noticed that the queensguard and the conjurer definitely didn't know about my background judging from how they were looking at me. Even the queen's face flashed in confusion and a guarded expression appeared on her face for only a moment before it was schooled to the courtly smile.
"I see you are well informed about Sir Callan's background." The queen stepped in front of me as if to shield me. Uh...she's getting our roles mixed up. I wanted to remind her, but she continued. "However, I have an urgent warning from my husband for you and all the kingdoms of the north. It cannot wait even in light of Callan lineage."
Terenas smiled and turned away from me to give the queen his undivided attention.
"You do?" he asked in a neutral tone. "What's so urgent that you could not even send an envoy ahead of time? Such visits, especially for one so prestigious, should have a notice to us months in advance, not mere days."
It was a rebuke if I ever heard one. Polite, of course, but still one that was to chastise Stormwind for their lack of political foresight.
"If we cause you any trouble, please forgive us," the Queen easily conceded, bowing her head in a show of admittance of fault. "However, the fact that I had to show up like I did should at least show you how urgent my husband's warning is."
Terenas' wife cracked a smile at the counter rebuke the queen of Stormwind gave her husband. That yes indeed, if it wasn't so urgent, would she even be here like this? All those political thrillers I read in my previous life allowed me to read between the lines. It was damn fascinating.
"I stand admonished." Terenas admitted that he was hasty in rebuking her. "Now, what is so urgent that you had to travel with such haste and in the company of the Lord Admiral's heir no less?"
In other words, depending on what the queen said, she–and by extension Stormwind–would be judged for breaking noble decorum. She was now not only speaking to Lordaeron but to the rest of the northern kingdoms as well. The floor was hers.
"King Terenas Menethil," Queen Taria began, making sure to raise her head high to look at all of the balconies. "And my gathered lords of the northern kingdoms. I bring news most dire that not only affects Stormwind, but our entire world."
There were some low mutters at that, but nothing overtly loud. They were still giving her a chance to continue and the queen knew this.
"My kingdom Stormwind is currently being besieged by a savage foe unlike any we had ever faced or seen." The Queen turned to look at Terenas. "Already they have conquered half our lands and butchered our people in the hundreds of thousands."
Terenas' eyes, which had been ambivalent, suddenly hardened at hearing the news. His brow furrowed and his expression showed that he could hardly believe what he had just heard. He wasn't the only one as louder mutterings began to make their way down from the ambassadors' balconies.
"Even our mighty army suffered horrendous losses in defense of our lands," the queen continued. "However, the enemy still numbered as numerous as the trees in a forest. My husband, King Llane Wrynn, in his wisdom, knew that if Stormwind stands alone, she will be destroyed. He tasked me with going north to appeal to you, King Terenas, and all the kingdoms of the north for aid."
The queen then made eye contact with Terenas first before slowly turning her gaze to the muttering ambassadors in the balconies.
"So I ask you all now to aid Stormwind in her darkest hour," the queen finished.
"What enemy could do this to Stormwind?" Terenas asked the queen softly. His persona shifted, from the king miffed at his guest rudeness to a kindly father. "You...you were the mightiest of us all in terms of military power."
The queen was surprised by Terenas' change and flat-out admittance of Stormwind's military superiority. I could see the queen's demeanor shifted to that of a softer stance at his gentle tone.
"An otherworldly one," the queen responded in a pained voice. "For in truth, they did not come from our world but from another to wage war upon us. What's more, they seem to hold a special hatred for all worshipers of the Light."
'Oh! That's sneaky!' I thought and hoped that I was able to school my expression to not give away the queen's ploy. It's been noted that, unlike the other six kingdoms, the people of Lordaeron were devout followers of the Light. For her to subtly sneak that in there… 'Bravo queen. Bravo...'
The effect of her words could be immediately seen on Terenas, his queen, and the Lordaeron guards as their bodies shifted a bit, showing their unease.
"Another world? Do you take us all for fools?" And of course, there were the less devout ones. I tracked the voice to the balcony with the red fist banner on a white back dropped. "It's almost as fanciful as your tale of the survival of Thoradin's heirs!"
'Yep… I expected that from them.' I thought as I felt renewed glances on me.
Stromgarde has always been butt hurt that the Arathi's royal family left them behind. However, in the Arathi's defense, they offered for the Trollbane family to come with them, but no, the Trollbane's coveted power and thought Strom was the seat of that power. That was why they were always at loggerheads with the other kingdoms. They felt they were the rightful leaders of humanity, but Lordaeron ended up being more prosperous and populous.
"Ambassador, I suggest you be more careful with your tone." Terenas' eyes hardened as he shot a piercing gaze at the Stromgarde ambassador. "My family has always kept a close eye on the line of High King Thoradin, are you saying that my family words are lies?"
The Stromgarde ambassador really stepped into it now. Even though I couldn't see it, I could tell the Stromgarde ambassador was squirming in his seat.
"Of course not, King Terenas," the ambassador said respectfully. "However, could they not be mistaken? They do not even call themselves Arathor's! How can we be certain?"
I can understand why the Stromgarde ambassador didn't want it to be true. They were pretty much squatting in my family's old home. We couldn't evict them of course, but the optics wouldn't look good. They were probably worried that my family would want Strom back. They would say no of course, but by saying no, they would be known as thieves.
That was when I decided to nip that in the bud right now. So before Terenas could rebuke the Stromgarde ambassador, I looked to my queen, who nodded, before raising my hand to get their attention.
"Yes, Sir Callan?" Terenas prompted, his face showing his keen interest in me. I had an idea of what he wanted, but we'll have to hash that out later.
"It just so happened I carry a message from my father, Anduin Lothar," I revealed. Before I left, my father gave me a thorough lesson regarding our family history in case I needed it. "He said, and I agreed, that our family line, the Arathi, relinquished any and all rights to our ancient homeland long ago when we left for Azeroth."
I let my eyes sneak over to the Queen who gives me a tight nod of approval. Then I shot a quick glance over to Terenas to see he was smiling at me with a pleased expression on his face.
"You–you do?" the Stromgarde ambassador asked. His tone had suddenly lost a lot of its aggression.
"We do," I affirmed. "And as for why we call ourselves Lothars, it was because when we left, my family decided to call ourselves the Last of the Arathors. Eventually, it was shortened to Last Arathor, and then Lothor with an 'O', before it changed to what we now know today in the common tongue, Lothar."
"I see..." the Stromgarde ambassador said softly. Then unexpectedly I heard him shuffle from on high as well as the sound of a chair scraping against stone. The ambassador revealed himself, a large man with bright orange-red hair. He looked at me for a moment before his fist hit his chest, the blow echoing through the chamber. "Then, let me be the first of Stromgarde children to welcome back the blood of High King Thoradin! Hail and well met!"
"Hail and well met!" I thumped my plated fist against my breastplate in the direction of the Stromgarde ambassador. That done, I turned back to see Terenas with a disturbing twinkle in his eyes and a grin. "Sorry for interrupting your majesties."
"Not at all." King Terenas waved it away and turned back to the queen. "Now, what can you tell us of this enemy that is besieging Stormwind's land, Queen Taria? You claim that this enemy is from another world, but do you have proof of this?"
"Yes," another voice interrupted, thick with derision. This time it came from the balcony with a purple flag and a large white eye on it. "How did your...conjurers come to this conclusion?"
The disdain he had for Stormwind conjurers could be heard. Nestle, the conjurer next to the queen, bristled at the subtle insult, but the queen settled him down with a sharp look.
"May I ask which prestigious mage of Dalaran is addressing us?" Queen Taria asked sweetly.
"I am Enchanter Magus Landazar of the Kirin Tor." The man moved forward to reveal himself proudly. He was older than Nestle for sure, and he wore that metal skull cap on his head that the male Archmages of Dalaran often found fashionable. Either that or it was a magical foci.
"So not one of the violet citadel renowned Archmages then?" the queen asked innocently, but everyone could tell what she meant. Even Queen Lianne held a hand to her lips to hide her smile.
"I'll have you know that I am only a few years away from attaining the rank," the man corrected the queen in a condescending manner that made the queensguard and our conjurer bristle.
"But still not yet, correct?" the queen pointed out.
"...aye," the man begrudgingly confirmed.
"Well, I'm sure someone of your caliber will be one soon." The queen suddenly reversed her confrontational tone. She then held out her hand to Nestle who then put a rolled-up missive into her hand. "I have here a letter from the current High Conjurer of Stormwind for the Council of Six of Dalaran detailing the information of these invaders' origins."
"Huglar or Hugarin?" the Dalaran ambassador asked curiously.
"Unfortunately, they both died in defense of Stormwind," the Queen responded, the sadness in her voice clear.
"I-I'm sorry for their loss." Landazar sounded surprised by their deaths. "Those two were respected, even in Dalaran. Who took their place?"
"Lady Aegwynn," the queen answered in a mundane tone, her expression giving nothing away.
"Aegwynn?" Landazar's bushy brows furrowed. "Someone named their child after the former Guardian?"
"No, Enchanter Magus Landazar." The queen smiled knowingly. "The former Guardian is currently our High Conjurer."
There was still background noise from the other balconies at the queen's name drop. Of course, the other people don't know how the hell that was. However, the silence from the Dalaran balcony was very telling. Curiously enough, Terenas' face showed he recognized the name.
"W-What?!" Landazar finally exclaimed in shock, so much so that he was half leaning out of his balcony to look at the letter in the queen's hand. "Sh-She is still alive?! Wait, what about Medivh? Why is he not sending this missive?"
"Yes, she is," the queen confirmed with a nod and raised the missive to the mage. "And as for why Medivh is not in charge, it is all explained in the missive along with her thoughts on the invaders for your leaders.
The man eyed the scroll as if it was something extremely volatile. After all, Aegwynn did not leave Dalaran on the best of terms. Add to the fact they haven't heard from her in decades if not centuries, and I could understand his hesitation.
"Magus Landazar," the queen prompted as she lifted the innocuous-looking rolled parchment higher. "I believe she put a powerful enchant on it so only someone of an archmage caliber can open her seal."
"I- I see." Landazar waved his hand. Slowly, the parchment floated from the Queen up to his balcony. "M-My thanks, your majesty."
This time, there was a note of respect in the way he addressed her. Terenas observed all of this and nodded his head in an approving manner.
"Then let us presume that Queen Taria speaks true." Terenas ran his eyes across the balconies as if warning them against another interruption. Satisfied, he turned his gaze back to the queen. "Now, what can you tell us about these invaders from another world, my dear?"
"They belong to a race called the Orcs," the Queen began. "Their skins are as green as the forest trolls, and while they stand not as tall, they are much stronger in sheer brute strength."
Those words caused a renewed outbreak of whispers amongst each other. Orcs, they might not know, but forest trolls were something that they were very intimately familiar with.
Seeing this the Queen continued quickly before anyone else interrupted. She gave them a quick rundown of everything we knew. How the orcs came from Draenor, how they were made of many clans united under one faction calling themselves the Horde. The first attack on us, their subsequent raids testing our defenses, the Stormwind counter-offensive.
I found it very interesting that Terenas, along with many of the ambassadors, was surprised by the size of Stormwind's army. Apparently, they never knew the exact numbers of Stormwind forces. I don't know why, but I felt a bit of pride in seeing their reactions. However, their surprise turned to horror when the Queen got to the Battle of the Morass. By the time she was done, Queen Lianne had gone to her husband's side to hold his hand for comfort. I saw him squeeze down on it, almost painfully.
"And you say there are more of them?" Terenas asked in disbelief. "Even after Lord Lothar's gambit?"
"So much more, King Terenas," the Queen said gravely. "For some reason, they have not sought to push further into our lands. They certainly have the numbers for it. Instead, our scouts report seeing the bulk of their army moving around our land and heading north into the Burning Steppes."
"What?!" The voice had a familiar thick earth Scottish accent to it. My eyes confirmed that it was indeed the delegate from Ironforge. "Why didn't ye warn us?!"
Upon seeing my first actual dwarf, I could say it was very different from the CGI or make-up of Hollywood productions. They looked...natural, and a far cry from the uncanny valley the entertainment division had experimented with before my death.
The Queen turned to the Ironforge representative and sighed. "We tried, ambassador. Seven of our best messengers were sent to give words of warning to Ironforge and to ask for aid. None have reported back in the months since."
"Ah…is that so?" The dwarf understood what the queen was getting at and bowed his head in respect toward her. "Apologies for my rudeness, Queen Taria."
"We even sent an ambassador north before me but their trip was met with disaster," the Queen continued to her rapt audience. " And it was lost with all hands. That was why we did not have time to notify you of our arrival. There was simply no time for the usual courtly niceties."
"Ah," Terenas said softly before he nodded. He probably felt bad about trying to rebuke her early on. "Then, you have done the right thing, my dear."
"I stand before you now, King Terenas and lords of the northern kingdoms, and ask you again to stand with Stormwind in her hour of need." The queen turned her head to gaze at every balcony individually before meeting Terenas' blue eyes. "They have ruined their world and intend to take ours. We cannot let that happen. We must stand together. United as we have done only once before in the face of total annihilation."
The queen ended her speech with a resolute expression on her face as she lifted her chin proudly.
"Lordaeron will stand with Stormwind." Terenas was the first to speak. "This, I pledged."
However, after Terenas spoke up, there was silence. Terenas looked at each of the balconies from the other kingdoms.
"I–" It was the delegate from Stromgarde who spoke up. "I cannot make such a pledge on behalf of my king, especially for something so important."
Credit to the man, he sounded apologetic with his response, and his eyes conveyed it.
"Nor I!" It was a new voice and a moment later, I saw where it was from. "I would need to consult with King Greymane for such a decision."
Gilneas. Figures.
"Such a decision is not to be taken lightly," another new voice said in a placating tone. "We all feel for mighty Stormwind, but if they are headed to us, there are considerations that must be taken into account."
I knew who it was even before I saw their flag. Alterac.
Even though her expression didn't show it, I could tell the Queen was pissed. Her eyes sought out the Dalaran delegate, who visibly squirmed under her gaze.
"I...I too cannot make such a commitment on behalf of Dalaran," The mage said quickly. "We have to discuss Lady Aegwynn's missive you see and verify what you said–"
"Are you saying I am lying?" The Queen's tone was like ice.
"Your majesties, I would love to help," the mage sounded resigned. "However, there are procedures."
Suddenly, all eyes turned to the Ironforge ambassador who took a big gulp from a cup before looking at the Queen.
"Ironforge will stand with ye!" the dwarf declared. "However, I need to make haste to warn King Magni of the threat. Hopefully, they are slowed down by the dark iron bastards, but if I make it there, I'm certain King Magni will stand with ye!"
The Queen's features softened visibly and appeared touched. "Thank you, ambassador."
"It's what one should do." The dwarf waved off. "King Terenas, I'll take my leave now, but might I trouble ye fer a fast steed?"
"You shall have it!" King Terenas immediately answered. "My chamberlain will see to all your needs."
"Thank ye, your majesty!" The dwarf gave a respectful bow before disappearing from the balcony.
With the dwarf gone, all eyes turned to the last delegate, Kul Tiras. The man shifted uncomfortably before opening his mouth.
"I do believe that is something I would have to discuss with the Lor–"
He was interrupted when the doors opened, revealing Derek Proudmoore. He was out of his sailor clothes and into something of a much finer cut. His hair was washed and styled, his easy-going relaxed stance was gone, and there was purpose in his gait. He strode into the room, back straight and proud as he looked at the Kul Tiras ambassador.
"Kul Tiras will stand with Stormwind," Derek declared for all to hear.
The ambassador looked startled. "Prince Derek! Your lord father must be consu–"
"I know my father better than you, Lord Balan," Derek cut off the representative from his homeland. "And he will not let Stormwind stand alone."
Derek then turned to the queen and bowed to her.
"I pledge this on behalf of Kul Tiras, your highness."
'That smooth mother fucker.' I internally shook my head. Props had to be given as the Queen looked at the prince of Kul Tiras gratefully.
"Prince Derek," King Terenas sounded like an exasperated uncle. "While I do appreciate you pledging to Stormwind aid, at least let the herald announce your arrival the next time."
Derek had the decency to blush before he nodded in agreement. "Sorry un–er, your majesty."
Oh, now it made sense how Jaina and Arthas got so close. I guess Daelin and Terenas did go way back. Again, little holes in the lore that were never shown that I got to witness now. With that done, Derek moved next to me, and I acknowledged his presence with a quick tilt of my chin upward. He gave me a pointed look and then moved his gaze to the balconies before falling back to me.
I rolled my eyes and gave a tight shake of my head. It wasn't like I disagreed with his assessment of the other human kingdoms. I expected as much in fact, but still, I let him have this one.
With that, all the pledges had been made, which was far from acceptable. We needed all the human kingdoms on board, and King Terenas knew that.
"Well, then ambassadors." The King's demeanor shifted to that of a commanding stance. "It appears that you do not have the power to make such a decision. In that case, I would like to tell your leaders that I am calling for a council of kings and would take it as a personal slight if they do not show up."
Stunned silence reigned at King Terenas' declaration. Queen Taria had a genuine look of surprise on her face, and Derek sucked in a sharp breath. It took me a moment to reason out why. In short, he was forcing the other kings to come to him. They could ignore it, of course, but all trade routes pass through Lordaeron, if Terenas wanted to, he could choke them economically or levy higher taxes on the goods passing through his kingdom.
So while the ambassador appeared indignant, there was little they could say or rather, dare say in front of the king's demand.
'Damn Terenas.' I thought in admiration. 'You scary!'
Now that there was the leader of the future Alliance.
"Now, I'll ask you to leave as I have certain things to discuss in private with the Queen of Stormwind." Terenas dismissed them.
"What?" It was the Gilnean ambassador. "We deserve to know what is being discuss–"
"Ambassador." Terenas emphasized the word to remind the gilnean of his station. "Unless you change your decision to back Stormwind with the full might of your nation, then this conversation is not for you. Of course, if King Greymane was here, he would be included."
'Not you though, pleb.' I finished the unsaid words in my head. The Gilneas ambassador bristled, but he said he wasn't gonna help so he had no more business here.
It only took a few minutes of ambassadors shuffling out of the room before one of Terenas' kingsguards approached him.
"The room is clear, your majesty," the stern looking man informed his liege.
"My thanks, Roland," Terenas said before he turned back to my queen. "I'm sorry, my dear. I thought for sure they would at least make a promise of some form of aid but alas..."
Terenas trailed off with an exasperated shake of his head.
"You did all you could," Queen Taria consoled the king gently. "Stormwind will forever remember this debt and will repay you one day."
King Terenas smiled but shook his head. "Like the dwarven ambassador said, It is what should be done. If the threat is as great as King Llane thinks it is, we would be remiss in our duties if we let Stormwind fall."
Queen Lianne left her husband's side and stood before her counterpart while taking the latter's hands into her own.
"I can see what kind of toll the plight of your kingdom has taken on you, my dear," the Queen said in a motherly tone. I could see that my queen was surprised by Lianne's kindness.
"I–no, Stormwind thanks you–" Taria shot a gratitude filled look at Derek and Terenas. "-all of you for your pledge."
"None of that, my dear," Queen Lianne chided her gently before embracing the younger queen. I saw my queen sag into the older woman and realized just how much the responsibility weighed on her. "I must admit, the way you handled the other nations for your first time was truly wonderful. That Enchanter Landazar was always such a self-important piece of sh–"
"Lianne!" Terenas coughed and his wife had the decency to look embarrassed before he looked at Taria. "Though she is correct. You handled yourself very well for a first meeting. None of them will fail to report that this is no naïve queen of the south, but a lioness with sharp claws."
Queen Taria laughed softly in Queen Lianne's embrace before breaking it. Her moment of vulnerability was gone and back was the Queen of Stormwind. "I must again thank you for your pledge, but if I may be so bold to ask you something."
King Terenas' eye flickered over to me. Wait, was this about me?
"You want to know why I revealed young Callan's lineage?" The King addressed me informally. The Queen nodded confirming his assumption. "Because, before you reveal the scope of the threat, anything you wanted would need to include Thoradin's line's blood debt as a bargaining chip."
"Blood debt?" Taria's face showed her confusion. "You mean the fable pact the Elven king made to Thoradin's bloodline? Wasn't that thousands of years ago? Would they still honor it?"
I knew it! Why else would Terenas have kept track of Lothar's line in canonical lore and be so certain of the blood debt when all the other nations had forgotten about it? Why else reveal it here and now if not to give more weight to my bloodline? Those ambassadors would probably go back to their kingdoms and do their research on my family line. The fable promise would be remembered and that would be coveted by all the northern nations.
"The elves are very long-lived, my dear," King Terenas explained patiently. "They are also very reclusive with only Dalaran having dealings with them. Their goods and magic are second to none and are highly sought after."
Well, I guess that was true. Still, why would Lordaeron need the elves' military aid? In a creepy show of foresight, Terenas must have read my thoughts as he answered it next.
"While Lordaeron does not need military aid, we are indeed lacking something compared to Stormwind. Can you guess what that is?" Terenas looked between me and the Queen. The Queen, however, was only in deep thought for a moment before her eyes widened.
"Magic?" she ventured. Terenas' smile confirmed her guess.
"Yes, magic." Terenas sighed as he turned his gaze to the Kirin Tor flag on the balcony. "Dalaran is the magical powerhouse in the north and recruits from my very own people. Though, they are our close ally, they will always look out for their interests first."
The queen was trying to understand the older king's reasoning, but I understood right away.
"You want a Karazhan of your own," I spoke before I even realized it. Shit, that was a faux pas!
"Yes, very astute, young Callan." Terenas chuckled in a self-deprecating manner. "With your blood debt, I would have asked for the same thing the sire of your line did, their most powerful magus to teach a hundred of my people. To establish a school of magic in Lordaeron that was backed by the elven kingdom. Can you imagine the allure of learning from the mysterious elves compared to the mages of Dalaran?"
'Huh...' I thought. That was actually a good use of the blood debt. Anasterian would probably jump at the chance to repay Thoradin's blood debt that way than a call to arms for sure.
"You said you were going to ask for the fable blood debt," the Queen's question took me out of my thoughts. Wait, that's true, he spoke of it in the past tense. "Does that mean you no longer intend to do so?"
Terenas smiled genially. "My dear, with the magnitude of the threat you conveyed to us, it would be better for all of us if young Callan called in the blood debt in the way it was originally intended to be used. We will need every kingdom in the north, I would imagine."
Damn, I could see why Terenas was so well respected in lore. The man had ambition, yes, but not at the expense of the world. There was a line he would not cross.
"Unfortunately." The man sighed tiredly. "Before the other council of kings, I can not send as much aid as I want. Supplies, yes, but soldiers, maybe ten thousand without weakening our presence along the other kingdom borders."
"You think they would attack you?" Taria asked, surprised. "Are they so duplicitous?"
"My dear, you are not native to our lands so you do not know, but we have fought skirmishes amongst one another for thousands of years," Terenas replied in a tired tone. "I am not saying they would invade if I leave my border defenseless, but it would be a tempting target for the other kingdoms who often covet my lands."
"Ten thousand..." The queen chewed on the number. It was a drop in the bucket compared to what was needed, but at least, it was ten thousand more than we had before.
"Yes, the ten thousand soldiers I can send to Stormwind right away, but until the council of kings, I dare not turn my back on them," Terenas said apologetically. "In the meantime, I must tell my nobles to begin forming peasant levies from their lands and incentive recruitment for the kingdom's army. The mobilization will take time I'm afraid, not to mention we would need for them to be trained to battle readiness.
The Queen looked dejected. Kul Tiras also would need time for mobilization, but it was well known they were a seafaring nation, we don't expect much from their ground army.
"Now you must be tired from the days' journey and being on your feet throughout our meeting," Terenas said as he walked forward and took the queen's hand into his own. "Lianne has prepared quarters for you, and food for your men. Please rest and we can talk more on the morrow."
"Thank you for your kindness, your majesty." Taria bowed respectfully to Terenas before Queen Lianne intertwined their two arms together and led her out.
As we made our way through a beautiful pathway to our arranged area, I noticed that the Queen appeared spiritless. She wasn't the only one; the queensguard Brytanni and conjurer Nestle appeared likewise defeated. Oddly enough, I didn't feel as such. For me, it was more like this was what I had expected to happen from the start. Even when the Alliance was formed canonically, it was like pulling teeth for Terenas. I did have hope that things would turn out differently, but it wasn't like I was hedging my bets on it.
The Queen though must have felt responsible since King Llane depended on her to get help, but her pleas, while moving, fell on deaf ears. I suddenly had the urge to 'pvp duel' these shitty ambassadors. However, I squashed that annoyance and thought about what Terenas said. His use for the blood debt was clever and not at all something that I would have thought of using it for. However, his intention with it made me think that maybe, just maybe, instead of asking for help like they did in canon, perhaps I can do it differently?
The crux of it all was that the elves only fully committed to the war effort because their homeland was under attack. In order for their homeland to get attacked, Stormwind has to fall. If the other human nations do send help, that means the next war would be fought on Stormwind soil, not Lordaeron. The Order of Tirisfal might join thanks to Aegwynn's letter, but technically there is no real demon backing the Horde. Sargeras was gone while Kil'Jaden and Archimonde currently didn't even know that there was a war being waged here.
I could not discount the mages of Dalaran and elven magister might send help, but only of a magical nature to just cut off the Dark Portal. That would still leave the orcs on Azeroth wreaking havoc, particularly in Stormwind. We needed to break their power, to meet them head on and send them packing. We could only do that with everyone, every kingdom and every nation. That would include all of Silvermoon, from its magisters to its farstriders archers to its renowned spell breakers. We needed their entire army.
What made Anasterian move was the presence of trolls and his memories of the troll wars. I needed to find a way to stimulate that, but short of me uniting the forest trolls to attack them, that wasn't happening.
Unless…
Suddenly, a crazy idea popped into my head. In fact, it was so crazy that I wordlessly covered my mouth and grip my jaw tightly as I thought more about it.
Was it possible? Could I? I knew it was possible in the future, but what about now? I looked at conjurer Nestle and placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. He turned back to me with a questioning look. I asked him my question, to see if the concept was something that could be done with magic of this age. It took awhile for Nestle to think about it, as if trying to work out the spell in his head, before he gave a tentative nod.
'Shit!' Now, my heart was pounding a mile a minute. He could do it!
My thought synapses fired like crazy as I teased out the angles and came to an inescapable conclusion. In order for this to work, I would have to go to Quel'Thalas. There was a good chance this would backfire and blow up in my face. However, at the minimum, we would still get at least twelve elven destroyers. 'Shit! Talk about pressure...'
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I saw a familiar lion banner hanging on a building. It wasn't one of ours; we didn't bring a banner of that size. The Queen also pulled up short at seeing the familiar lion of Stormwind.
"How?" Taria turned to Lianne for answers.
"It has always been the Lordaeron royal family's hope that, one day, our southern sister kingdom would visit us in the north," Queen Lianne explained in a content tone as she looked at the lion banner. "It is a mighty symbol."
"...thank you." Queen Taria's sincerity could be heard.
Already, our men noticed our arrival and came out to greet us. Victoria also made her way out, but she was not alone. Next to her was a tall man around my height but older, around Terenas' age if I had to guess. On his head was a miter hat, denoting the rank of at least a bishop.
"My queen." Victoria arrived in front of the queen first and pointed to the man. "May I present to you, his holiness of the Church of the Light, Archbishop Alonsus Faol."
'Who?!' My head whipped to the priest. He looked nothing like his in-game depiction, which, now that I thought about it, was generic Forsaken face number seven or some crap.
"Ah, your holiness," the Queen inclined her head for a man of his station. "I am surprised you were able to make time to come visit us; a man of your station is surely extremely busy."
"I am, but when I learned that our clerical brothers from Northshire had come to visit, why, I had to clear up my schedule and meet High Cleric Victoria here," the Archbishop explained kindly. The man just oozed friendly paternal energy. "My heart is pained for the people lost and those of our clerical brothers and sisters to the south."
"Thank you for your kind words, archbishop." The queen inclined her head again. "I–"
"Talk to her later Alonsus," Queen Lianne interjected. "She's been on her feet all day, and she needs rest."
"Of course!" The Archbishop looked genuinely contrite and stepped aside. "Rest well, your majesty."
The archbishop watched as the two queen figures disappeared into the building. The queensguard and her handmaiden took her side relieving me of my duties for now. When the last of her queen's retinue disappeared into the building, the famous archbishop turned and made his way to me. He stopped short and his eyes seemed to search me for something before he smiled at me.
"And you must be Callan Lothar," the archbishop greeted in a very friendly tone. "I was told you have quite a unique understanding of the Light. If you don't mind, could you spare this old man some of your time?"
Yep. He knew about me.
TBC...
AN: First off thanks to Icura who worked very hard on this fic to help me clean it up! You da man!
Secondly, surprise! This fic came two day early. Thank you for all the readers of the previous chapter, the comments were very interesting an enlighten. Too bad I never found the time to just reply, but maybe on the next go round. I hope this answered why Callan reacted the way he did at the end, he knew Terenas was up to something. In WC2 Novelization, the man knew who Lothar was and reminded him that his family had a elven blood dept. Seem mighty interested in the Lothar line, so I extrapolated from that.
Third, I seem to be getting back on the writing band wagon again, things flow much easier now. Instead of going posting every two weeks, I might try every ten days. I am not as prolific as other writers, but I try. If I don't make the ten days expect it on a Tuesday every two weeks, you know, like a certain wow server restart ~_^.
That said, I hope everyone enjoy this chapter! As always, any support on the big P would be helpful and appreciated. Link in the sig below.
Now and as always, comments and discussion are loved and criticism are always welcomed!