Disclaimer! I don't own Wow. Blizz does, and your soul too.
*** Arathi Highland – Kingsroad ***
The Arathi Highland was a place that was based on the Scottish Highlands. Though I had never been to Scotland, I had seen enough media and photos to get an idea of its beauty. In my humble opinion, the Arathi Highland outshined its Scottish counterpart by a mile.
Rolling green hills blanketed the horizon as far as the eyes could see. The contrast between the blue sky and the green surface gave it an unworldly look. Unlike the elven land of Quel'Thalas where they shaped their magic into the very air they breathe, the Arathi Highland did not give off any such feeling at all. All of its beauty was natural, not artificially made. To top it all off, there was a mountain range in the distance that I knew bordered the Hinterland. For me, it looked as if a crown had been placed on the land which created the perfect finish that made it impossibly beautiful.
"We're making good time, Callan," a voice spoke up next to me, taking me out of my internal musing. Turning my head to him, I nodded in agreement.
"That we are Alex—andros," I replied, quickly stifling my bad habit of shortening people's names if they were too long
If the future Paladin of the Silver Hand noticed my slip, he didn't make an issue of it. The future Ashbringer had arrived the very same day the Gilnean forces did. After letting the troops rest for a day so that I could catch Lana and Alexandros up to speed on what was going on, we left Durnholde right before dawn broke the following morning. Because Gilneas fucked us over in terms of troop promises, Lana did not get overall command.
Somehow, that fell to me.
I pointed out to Alexandros and the other captains that I brought far fewer troops to the fight even if they counted Sylvanas' rangers among them. Lana, on the other hand, while smaller in numbers, brought a cool half thousands. To my surprise, Lana Crowley did not display any of that infamous gilnean pride. Instead, she stayed completely silent on the matter. I guess it was true that the only decent gilnean came from the Crowley's territory during this period.
So now, I was in command of a little under ten thousand troops. While a heady feeling, the numbers were just a little bit more than what I commanded at Redridge. Unlike then, I didn't have Gavinrad to be my right hand, but Alexandros had fulfilled that role flawlessly.
I then turned to the woman next to me. She was on foot like me guiding her own mount to keep formation. If Alexandros was my hands, then Sylvanas and her rangers were my eyes and ears. The woman, noticing my gaze on her, gave me a questioning glance.
Her rangers had ridden ahead while Lana's free riders acted like a screen around our infantry. While I trusted Sylvanas' Rangers to spot any orcs coming our way, I wanted that extra added assurance. The other captains didn't feel it was warranted, but they followed my command anyway.
The blonde elf, not receiving any words from me, arched one of her long eyebrows inquisitively. I merely shook my head in reply and turned my eyes back to the road. The elf's gaze lingered on me a bit more before she too turned her head back to its original position. Because of our pace, there was no real room for chatting with the only sound being the footsteps of thousands of armored men stomping in unison. We continued our brisk pace for the rest of the day. Before long. I saw the sun beginning to start its descent on the horizon.
"The sun's setting." I turned to Sylvanas. "Did your rangers find an area for us?"
"They did, it is not far from us," Sylvanas answered. "There is enough clearing and a small stream, a couple of hundred yards northeast off the main road."
"Looks like we're having gruel tonight then." I smirked and turned to Alexandros. If there was no water source, we would eat dry ration. With water, gruel could be made. It was basically oat and barley made with beef or chicken stock. "Can't wait, right?"
The future Ashbringer shook his head and refused to answer. Instead, he raised one of his signal flags and waved it at the head of our procession. That signaled to the other captains that we were changing our course. After that, it didn't take long for us to get to the clearing that, under normal circumstances, would have been an ideal place for a picnic.
"Lana, secure the area and get us some game if you can." I said the the proud Gilnean.
"Yes, milord," she replied. I still didn't get a chance to ask how she was related to the Crowleys without sounding like a stalker or creep.
"Alright, time to get to it!" I exhaled. Taking my shield out, I began to hammer it into the soil. My shield had a metal lining around it that allowed me to use it as a shovel. With that, I began digging and scooped up the loose dirt with my shield and tossed it behind me. Soon thousands of men began to use their shields or actual shovels, for those who had them, to dig.
Normally, making camp would just involve sending out groups of patrol through the night and having the soldiers take turns for night watch duty. Though we shouldn't be in enemy territory, I felt like we were and so took the initiative to make a minor suggestion. Taking a page from Earth Roman Legionaries during their Republic Era, I introduced the idea of the Roman marching camp.
The Roman marching camp was something I read in a historical fantasy novel. The idea was that every night, for an hour, all the soldiers would make a palisade made of dirt about three feet high. Of course, making three feet of dirt wall meant that three feet of dirt was missing from the ground. I wasn't really clear on the details of such a camp but remembered that the end result should be fortification that would make it hard for surprise attacks. It also would give us a high-ground advantage against the attackers.
To their credit, despite being hesitant about the idea, citing it would increase the soldiers' workload, Alexandros and Sylvanas still went along with it. Thankfully, once we began, and with ten thousand hands working to dig up the ground, the two finally understood what I was trying to do.
Alexandros refined my idea by having some soldiers dig random holes in the trench. The three-foot ditch was uneven to begin with and now with the holes left on purpose, it would prevent the enemy from having a steady footing. Meanwhile, Sylvanas had her elven rangers show our woodworker the best trees to cut down. If there were any race that were experts on trees, I would put my money down on the elves. With the felled trees, together with our engineers, we crafted a makeshift wooden gate. At the end of the day, the camp became a square fortification with six feet high walls and only one entrance to get inside.
It wasn't the best fortification, and any proper siege weapon would be able to destroy it quite easily. However, any force that was bringing siege weaponry with them would be slow and spotted well before they were anywhere within range of our camp. No, the idea was to defend themselves against sneak attacks and raiders in the night. The soldiers had grumbled on the very first day, but after a well-rested night knowing they had security behind the walls, they became enthused by the idea.
So here I was, digging with the rest of the grunts. Alexandros joined me a moment later after issuing his orders. Sylvanas and her elves were exempt, of course, but with ten thousand pairs of hands, they weren't exactly necessary; we still got the fortification up in record time. Sore from the digging, I went to one of the campfires and sat there with my dinner.
Many of the soldiers who finished their meal went to get some valuable shut-eye. They knew tomorrow was going to be another grueling pace, but the security of a good night allowed them to rest securely. I stared at the campfire before me, not really thinking about much. It wasn't until Sylvanas came to sit by me that I took my eyes off the flames and looked at her.
Unlike me, who had a bowl of watery gruel with meat bits, Sylvanas and her elves had some type of bread rations that they ate. I wondered if it was like those fantasy elves' food that filled one's stomach up. However, since she didn't talk, I didn't bother to start up a conversation either. A moment later, we were joined by Lana Crowley who sat across from me with a bowl of gruel in her hand.
We made eye contact briefly with her giving me a curt nod before she began to eat. It wasn't long after her arrival that Liadrin sat on my other side, eating the same bread that Sylvanas was chewing on. Unlike Sylvanas, Liadrin took dainty bites out of the flatbread, which I found amusing. My amused snort made the three women's eyes shoot toward me, but I merely shook my head and continued to eat. Alexandros was the last to join us at the campfire, with the same bowl of gruel in his hands.
Even with the five of us now, nothing was said around the campfire, but no one made to leave either. Eventually, after feeling satiated, I decided to break the silence.
"How many more days do you estimate, Alexandros?"
The future Silverhand Paladin stopped spooning at his bowl and looked thoughtful.
"Three days at most," he finally replied.
'At most.' I turned those words in my head. It meant that barring nothing bad happening, there was a chance we could get there earlier.
"That's good," I said as I spooned my bowl. "We're as ready as we're ever going to be."
"King Thoras' tracks did not show any signs of battle," Sylvanas spoke softly. Her people had seen clear signs of Thoras' army. Thirty thousand plus people tended to leave a mark somewhere. "There is little chance of us encountering the enemy in their wake."
"How are the clerics doing?" I turned to Liadrin who blinked before she lowered the bread. Though Thoras took the bulk of the clerics with him, some did arrive with Alexandros. Like the others, they were told by Alonsus to obey Liadrin and me by extension.
"They are doing well," the strawberry-blonde elf replied. "More than half had grasped your teaching regarding the power word and faster healing chant."
"Nice~," I said in an impressed tone. "Sounds like they'll catch up to the Northshire Clerics soon under your watch."
The elf flushed at the compliment and quickly turned to the fire.
A bit amused, I let my eyes wander to the Crowley relatives(?). "Anything I should be concerned about with your free riders?"
The Gilnean woman paused and then shook her head. "A couple of bad steps by some of our steeds due to our unfamiliarity with the terrain but Lady Liadrin clerics have mended their wounds."
I turned to Liadrin and raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
"Really?" Seeing the elf nod. "I didn't know we could do that..."
"It is not a secret, Lord Callan," Liadrin answered me with a perplexed expression. "Even animals are of the living and thus can receive the Light's grace."
The elf gave me a look that said she didn't believe me and thought that I was testing her in some way. I tried to rack my brains on if there was ever a time I used the Light on any animal. I even went one step further and tried to scrutinize my faded memories of my time in the game if I ever healed one. Try as I might, I could not recall any such instance.
Unless...
The thought suddenly occurred to me. 'Didn't I heal worgens?'.
No, not just worgens, but Pandaren too… Wouldn't they count as animals? What about the druids' bear tank form or cat DPS? Weren't they animals as well? Then there was the Horde and their holy cows…
Huh…
I never thought of them as animals before, but now, that made a lot of sense. A soft clink brought me out of my musing, making me look for the origin of the noise. A quick search made me realize that it came from my own empty bowl.
"I'm going to turn in first," I told them as I stood up. "I suggest you all do the same. Light willing, Thoras would have already succeeded in closing the door to the Highland, but we need to be prepared for the worst."
I made eye contact with Sylvanas, then Liadrin, Alexandros, and finally Lana.
"Ladies, Alexandros."
The group gave me a look of acknowledgment as I left. Making my way to my tent, I loosened my breast plate and laid in my small sleeping bag.
'Three more days, huh?' I thought as I let my mind drift off to sleep. 'Let's hope nothing goes wrong before then.'
Suddenly, something else occurred to me that made me sit up. An old memory, faded and obscure due to the passage of time, made its way into my head. It was regarding a certain boy and his horse. Perhaps, when things are settled, I could write a letter to the queen and suggest Arthas begin learning the ways of the Light. Victoria was there, and so was Turalyon and the Archbishop.
With training in using the Light, that boy would not be losing his horse this time. The fate of the world depended on his healthy psyche. If he was susceptible to Ner'zhul's whispers… then he could be turned by the old gods too. Actually, now that more of my memories were coming back, I began connecting the dots. Shit! Arthas had probably already been marked by the old gods from the get-go!
"How did that line go again..." I muttered softly to myself. "My son..the day you were born, the very forest of Lordaeron whispered your name..."
The key word there was 'whispered'.
'Holy shit!' I gasp audibly. The old gods named him! I always thought it was Terenas waxing poetics, but what if that damn old god minion underneath Tyr's tomb marked Arthas from birth?
Then...
"Nope," I said to myself as I laid back down. There were too many problems on my plate right now. With that in mind, I closed my eyes.
Horde first, then the old gods.
'Hopefully, we can put in a good time tomorrow,' I thought drowsily as I drifted off to sleep.
Of course, being who I was and this being Azeroth, things always took a turn for the worse.
The next morning, a few hours into our march, Sylvanas rangers reported that orcs were attacking a civilian caravan nearby. Do I ignore Thoras' people's plight and continue on our way to the Thandol Span? Or do we divert a mile or so out of our way to rescue Thoras people?
Everyone's eyes were on me waiting on my command, but there was only ever one true choice.
"Show me where."
+++ Kingdom of Stromgarde – Thandol Span +++
"It looks like a fine day for a battle, is it not, nephew?" Thoras Trollbane asked the grizzle-looking young man next to him.
The lad was in his early thirties and had shaved his hair down which reminded Thoras of a thin bristle brush. He was tall and stocky of frame, famed among the Trollbane line. The armor covering him made him seem even larger. On his back was a large broadsword and on his left arm was a heavy shield with the fist of Stromgarde on it. His nephew had only recently returned from his stint as a mercenary captain to help train Galen in the art of war.
"Aye, uncle," Danath Trollbane answered his uncle as his eyes looked up to the picturesque sky.
The Arathi Highlands have always been fair in weather and today was no different. Clear blue sky covered the horizon as far as the eye could see. There was the odd cloud here and there, but overall, not a storm cloud was in sight. To add to the pleasant day, a soft gentle breeze was blowing against them. On such a day, many Stromgarde citizens would be out working the fields or simply enjoying the day.
However, the sight of the creatures that his uncle called the orcs in the distance ruined the day. Danath had been moving his troop eastward as per his uncle's orders before leaving for the Lordaeron summit when these orcs had attacked. His initial response was to prepare Stromgarde Keep's defenses when word of the chaotic raids on their land came. Then news came of the chaotic pattern of the savages' attacks. Simply put, there was none, but he realized their purpose too late. He started to send troops to the raided villages and to defend towns that had been unmolested. The result was their army was spread out while the orcs had consolidated their forces at the mouth of the Thandol Span.
Now, with this vile fortification built and their enemies still raiding their lands, it had paralyzed Stromgarde's response. In the end, Danath made the hard choice to gather a sizable force and abandon their villages to the orcs so that they could assault the fortification at the Thandol Span. Luckily his decision proved correct as his uncle arrived with a large army at his back just before he intended to march out. Their people would suffer. Of that, Danath had no doubt, but when his uncle told him of Lord Callan's theory, the alternative, he realized, was far worse.
Turning around, Danath saw the mass of soldiers, over forty thousand strong at his back. Men in armor from various kingdoms with the color of their nation on their tabards could be seen. The red of Stromgarde and white of Lordaeron were comparable, while the orange, purple, and green of Alterac, Dalaran, and Kul Tiras were less. These orcs will find that the kingdom of Stromgarde would not fall so easily.
"Danath! Uther!" Thoras voice boomed. "Ready the men!"
Danath grinned as he turned to the army. He was in charge of the left wing while Uther and his uncle held the center. To his surprise, his uncle allowed an Alteraci to hold the right flank. However, he did not question it; he was a soldier, and he'd obey his king's decision.
"Ya heard the king!" the grizzled ex-mercenary captain shouted. "Draw steel, boys!"
The sound of thousands of swords being unsheathed was music to the veteran soldier's ears.
"The Light is with us!" Uther followed up behind Danath's proclamation as his voice carried through their ranks. In the fame knight's hand was a large curved steel hammer, raised high for all to see. "And we shall not falter!"
All of the soldiers raised their swords high and cheered loudly. Suddenly a guttural sound began clashing with their cheers as they saw the orcs at their fortification stomping and roaring at them.
"Prince Kael'thas!" King Trollbane shouted toward the back line. "It is time!"
At the very back of the army, the elven prince of Silvermoon, in conjunction with the mages of Dalaran, began weaving a spell.
"UNI MAE ALEMADUS!"
The chant began for a few moments before suddenly, the once clear sky began to form dark clouds over the orcs' fortification. The greenskin beasts looked up in concern at seeing the sudden formation of such ominous clouds. Then, without warning, balls of arcane fire—the size of a man's head—began raining down on the greenskins.
The reaction was immediate as the orcs began to spread out to avoid being hit. Some even used a large wooden shield to block them. However, Danath had been privy to his uncle's battle plan. The fire was never for the orcs, though their being hurt by it was a welcome bonus. No, the true reason was to get the orcs to back up from their fortification for the next assault.
The orc fortification was simplistic yet effective. They made a wall of wooden stakes, each as thick as a tree trunk, and spread them far in a reverse 'U' shape facing outward. They also added sharpened stakes the size of four feet long spears onto their fortification. An attacking soldier would have to be careful to not be stuck by such a stake while the defending orcs on the other side could freely attack. That was why attacking it head-on in the shadow of the orc defenders would have been foolish.
As predicted, the orcs—unable to withstand the rain of fire—stepped back a few dozen yards. That was when the next phase of Prince Kael'thas plan was revealed as the fire on the ground rolled together to form several large fire elementals that tower over everyone, orcs and humans alike. Even seeing it with his own eyes, he had never thought such a display of magic could exist.
The fire elemental beings had a large upper body that became smaller as it went down to its feet. Surprisingly, it had what looked to be large thick arms with some kind of orange bracers around its wrist as if it were human. Then, before the orcs could react, it raised its two arms and smashed down onto the fortification, destroying it. All along the line, the motion was repeated by the other fire elementals as gaps began to appear along the orcs' defensive line.
The orcs, seeing this, swarmed forward to stop the creature's attack. The mage's pet backhanded the orcs in a sweeping manner, sending some flying while causing others to catch on fire on the spot. To their credit, the orcs continued their assault regardless of the cost and perhaps, if left unmolested they would have eventually snuffed out the fire beings.
"Archers!" Unfortunately for them, his uncle would not allow that. "Cover those fire fiends!"
"Single line! Single line!" Uther could be heard shouting as men in the hundreds rushed forward and line up side by side a few dozen yards in front of them. "DRAW!"
"Draw!" Several of the archers' captains could be heard shouting. The lighter-armored archers took an arrow from their quiver and nocked it.
"Loose!" Uther roared as he pointed his hammer in the direction of the orcs.
"Loose!" The archer captains repeated.
Hundreds of arrows left their bows and rained down on the orcs. There were roars of pain as the arrows landed. For once, the archer did not have to worry about friendly fire as whatever arrows hit the fire elemental did very little damage. Their fire allies merely ignored the arrows and continued their assault on the orcs' fortification.
"Re-draw!" the captain immediately ordered moments later. "LOOSE!"
Another volley went up, and then another. The surprise attack by their archers did not last long as spears as long as a man were thrown by the orcs with enough force to send a man flying off his feet. Dozens of the archers died on the spot, but their continued harassment of the orcs never stopped.
"Trollbane!" Prince Kael'thas shouted in alarm. "There is power in the air!"
His uncle's eyes nodded with a grave expression before turning to the soldiers. "Keep your guard up! KEEP YOUR GUARD UP! Their foul warlocks are doing something!"
Two things seem to happen at once. The breezy winds suddenly felt sinister, and the earth shook beneath their feet.
"Whatever they are doing, it's happening!" Kael'thas warned too late just as the earth where the archers were positioned exploded.
"What in the Light's name?" Danath asked as a dozen rock creatures no taller than a man began wreaking havoc among the archer line.
That wasn't all. The sky turned darker and a howling wind could be heard as a sinister creature made of air, the size of a fire elemental, manifested behind the orcs' line. Without waiting, the air elemental rushed toward the fire elemental.
"Fear not, men!" Uther said as he smashed one of the rock creatures to rubble. "They can be killed!"
"Kael'thas?" Trollbane turned to the elven prince.
"Their magi have taken to the field, Thoras," Kael'thas replied as his brow furrowed in concentration. "We'll keep their warlocks busy."
While not all of the orcs' fortification was destroyed, there were significant gaps in it.
"Then it is time for strength of arms to win the day!" Thoras roared as he raised his famous sword, Trol'kalar, high and swung it down. "Sons and daughters of Stromgarde, of Lordaeron, of our grand Alliance—attack!"
As one, the soldiers of the Alliance swarmed forward toward the orc fortification. The archers fell back to the human line just as they were on top of the rock fiends. Danath's sword lashed out and struck the stone creature. His attack cut the stone creature in half at its mid-section. Just as he was about to follow up with his attack, he saw the rock creature crumble as if a puppet string was cut. Whatever foul magic was binding it seemed to be gone if the damage was significant enough. Other knights also saw the same thing happen when they too engaged the rock elemental.
"They die so easily!" Colonel Kadvan of Alterac laughed. "We need not worry!"
The footmen let out a cheer as they began to close in on the orc lines. Many of them had their shield raised and locked as they ganged up on the rock elementals, striking them with their swords.
"For the Alliance!" Danath heard his uncle roar just as their line crashed into the orcs' fortification.
Danath felt the press of body behind him that pushed him through a broken gap in the orcs' defense. His battle instinct, honed to a fine edge during his stint as a mercenary, had him raise his shield just as an orcish axe impacted it. Not wasting time, Danath immediately countered and stabbed his broadsword into the greenskin's stomach. Then, with great strength, he turned the blade so it was perfectly horizontal and wrenched it to the side.
The orc that was stabbed could function with a stab wound, but being sliced open as the human blade ripped out of its side was different. Any response the orc might have had was taken away as Danath's shield bashed against the orc skull causing the green skin to fall backward. The rush of footmen behind him trampled over the orc and ensured its death.
However, as soon as one orc was down, another orc took his place as Danath found himself in combat with another greenskin. Steeling himself, he threw himself into the battle with a fury that he rarely let himself indulge in. In this state, he became hyper-aware of his surroundings and the enemies before him. While he was holding down their left wing, his uncle and Lord Uther had their cavalry push furiously at the center.
The right flank was under the aegis of Colonel Kadvan who was proving his mettle against their common enemy. In contrast to Stromgarde's more brute strength martial combat, the alteraci was parrying where Danath would have blocked or sidestepped where his uncle would have intercepted. The result was a dead greenskin from multiple wounds. Then, as if the very world was on their side, the sky opened up once again in the orc's backline. Unlike the first time, knife-sharp ice fell from on high, into the orcs' formations.
Prince Kael'thas must have led their magi to victory against the orcs' foul warlocks!
The charge from the humans coupled with their attack on the back line made the entire orcish battle line buckle. Where there was once a hard wall of bodies that forced Danath to cut through, he now found that it had begun to give way. He could feel more of his countrymen and their allies swarming through the fortification like a ripped water sieve. Some even took the time to cut up the defense to allow even more through.
Minutes after bloody minutes, humans and orcs fell. One in defense of their people, the other in defense of their foothold. However, as predicted, the humans had the advantage in numbers while the orcs were fast dwindling. Hardened determination clashed with maddened bloodlust, and the result was a field soaked in red from both sides.
"They are on the back foot! Push!" Thoras roared as Trol'kalar chopped down at the orcs trying to pull him off his warhorse.
The orc's mass was starting to thin enough that he could see the mouth of the bridge.
"Just a little more, lads!" Danath yelled for any who could hear him. "Kick the bastards out of our lands!"
"For Lordaeron! For Stromgarde!" Uther added his fervor. His hammer was drenched red from all the orcs he had slain. "For the Alliance!"
"FOR THE ALLIANCE!" the men answered with a roar of determination, making the ex-mercenary captain smile.
The orcs were tough foes, but in the face of the human resolve and their numerical superiority, even they could not help but be intimidated. Danath knew the orcs' line was going to break any moment now. His instinct was telling him that they only needed to push a little more.
Unfortunately, a loud and piercing guttural shout cut across the sound of battle and saturated the battlefield. To his amazement, three harsh words were shouted in common.
"FOR---!"
"THE---!"
"HORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDE!" the guttural voice bellowed.
To Danath's dismay, those three simple words seemed to reinvigorate the orcs as suddenly, their dwindling defender threw themselves forward with reckless abandon at the human lines. To make matters worse, he saw orcs on top of massive wolves crossing the bridge. Thousands of them filled the bridge side by side as they rushed toward the human line. At their head was a smaller orc with a large axe in his hand. The orc had his mouth opened wide, and that was when Danath realized that the shout was coming from that smaller orc. In their wake, to his horror, was an endless tide of greenskin running in a dead heat.
"Stand firm, sons and daughters of Lordaeron!" Thoras rallied the troops as he saw the incoming tide of the enemy. "Push them to the bridge!"
Unfortunately, his uncle's words lost their effect as the wolf riders proved too quick and crossed the bridge. The arcane ice storm never stopped during the entire battle, yet the wolf riders rode through it fearlessly.
"LOK'TAR ORGARRRRR!" the head orc roared and boomed across the battlefield.
Then to Danath's shock, their wolf riders jumped over their people and used them like stepping stones before they fell upon the right flank.
"Uther!" His uncle shouted. "Take the knights and help Kadvan!"
"Knights of Lordaeron!" Uther shouted as he raised his hammer. "With me!"
There was a small lull as the wolf riders swarmed into the human lines, but Danath was more worried about the rest of the orc army. The greenskin flooded from the mouth of the bridge like a kicked-over anthill. Thousands upon thousands of orcs swarm in behind their orcish defenders and begin to push.
The momentum of the Alliance slowed until it stopped completely in a stalemate. That's when Danath noticed that the ice storm had stopped, and the orcs were now crossing the bridge unmolested. Where there was once a blue hue in the overcast sky, it now had dancing lighting bolts.
"Thoras!" Prince Kael'thas' urgent shout reverberated across the field. Danath was sure it was magically enhanced. "They have the skies!"
However, his warning came too late as the sky opened up and unleashed unnatural forks of lighting into the Alliance's front lines. There were cries of dismay as some of the men were immediately cooked in their armor while others were flung to the ground. Danath realized that the orcs' warlocks must have been reinforced.
As if to prove him right, the ground beneath their feet rumbled. Then, from where his uncle was, the ground exploded. From that, a large rock elemental taller than the height of a man emerged. Unlike the earlier rock elementals, this one looked tougher and more sinister, with what appeared to be a metal crown on its head. It had no lower body, but its torso was massive and wide. To further add to its sinister aura, it had sharp jagged edges along its entire body and arms while its hands were adorned with sharp crystal claw fingers. It raised its hand and slammed down on the Alliance line, sending soldiers flying.
"Uncle!" Danath shouted as he began to fight his way to his uncle's side.
Danath saw his uncle glare at the rock elemental and raise his sword. Just before they could fight, a bird made of fire slammed into the rock elemental and shoved it back into the orc's line. The Stromgarde king turned to see the elven prince had left their back line and was now very close by. Though the prince's expression was strained, his eye glowed with fire as he moved his hands in a pattern. Before he could say anything, there was a noticeable shift in the battle just before a random soldier cried out in fear and dismay.
"Lord Kadvan has fallen!" A panicked cries ensued as the morale on the right flank broke. Then, to sow even more discord, the severed head of Kadvan was lifted into the air like a trophy by the orcish wolf rider's leader.
"Hold the line, damn you!" Uther roars could be heard. However, it was too late; that little bit of doubt was the opening that the orcs needed.
The right flank, which was composed of many peasant levies, broke like quicksilver. While they were used to dealing with the occasional monsters and trolls, a hostile army on this scope was beyond their current abilities. Faced with the death of their commander and such savage foes, they turned and ran. Some even threw down their weapons and shields as if that would allow them to run faster.
Uther had tried his best to rally the right flank into some semblance of order, but it was too late. Only the career soldiers gathered to him since the Horde now flanked the Alliance forces. The battlefield soon dissolved into free-for-all melee. Only this time, it was the humans' numbers that were dwindling while the orcs' numbers swelled.
Danath could not help but watch in dismay at the never-ending tide of greenskin pouring forth from the bridge without end. It was then he heard a distinctive horn sounding throughout the battlefield.
It was the call for retreat.
Somehow, some way, amidst all the chaos, Danath was able to link up his forces with his uncle and Lord Uther's. The path to Stromgarde Keep and Lordaeron was flooded by the horde; there was no way that they could break through the orc ranks now as they were. With the path west closed off, that only left the path north or east. Regardless, they had to retreat from the battlefield first.
+++
Grom growled as he watched the human army run with their tails tucked between their legs. In his hand was the severed head of one of the human leaders. The head was still caught in that pained and surprised expression when Grom had overwhelmed him. The human had attempted to battle him with finesse, and that was an insult that Grom could not let stand.
The Warsong chieftain surveyed the battlefield and found an equal number of orcs and pinkskin littering the battlefield. It had been a close thing; had he been only a day late, then the humans would have been the one holding the pass while the orc warriors would have died in the thousands. It would have been a setback that Doomhammer could have taken advantage of to weaken his grip on the True Horde.
"Fenris, Ner'zhul!" the Warchief called for his Fist and Shaman.
The two orcs, one covered in heavy bone armor and wolf pelts and the other in decorated rune carved skulls of slain dwarves, arrived at his side. They waited patiently as their warchief looked into the distance.
"I will take a third of our warriors and pursue the human army," Grom told them. "Fenris."
"Warchief?" The brother of Durotan pounded his chest.
"Take a fourth of our warriors and raze all of their hovels to the ground. Spare no one." Grom's blood red eyes met that of the one known as Wolfbrother. "No one."
"It shall be done, Warchief," the orc acknowledged. "May I use the Thunderlords to lead this great slaughter?"
The smaller orc appeared to contemplate the matter before he nodded.
"Ner'zhul." The leader of the Horde turned to the respected Shaman. "With the remaining forces, wait for Dentarg with our goblin 'siege engines'. I expect you to take their fortress city before I return."
Grom did not want to do the tedious work of besieging a fortress. No, during their battle, the humans showed that they had quite a few capable warriors. Some of them even wield hammers that were like the Blackrock orcs. He would much rather hunt down those prey with his wolf riders than sit around and wait.
"Warriors of the Horde!" Grom roared and caught the attention of all the orcs in the vicinity. "With me!"
With that, he secured the human leader's head to his mount. It was time for him to collect the rest of his trophies.
TBC…
AN: First and always always, thank you Icura for your labor in help me edit! Good looking out
Secondly, thank you to all of the patron supporter. I am eternally grateful for your continued generosity!
Finally, thanks to everyone reading. No point in writing if no one reading amirite? So here we are at last, the first clashed between the Alliance and Horde. I threw a few old school easter eggs in there for those that can spot it. You get cookies if you spot them, jam cookies! Above with Callan you have some of his more outlandish hot takes but hey..knowing what we do now, is it so far fetch? Is it?! I look forward to the readers reaction
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