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(A/N: Sorry for the bit late Chapter, yesterday was my little brother's birthday and I was celebrating with family, nonetheless here is another Long Chapter!)
It had been a few months since Alastor had returned to Stormwind.
Yet despite being home, he had found his mood souring due to a number of reasons.
Anduin Lothar had still not returned to the capital despite having a substantial army under his command, which only told him that the situation at Fort Clover was proving to be much more difficult.
He had met with Mathias Shaw, the head of SI:7 and had the man keep him informed on the current matters of Arda and the things he was being told weren't painting a good picture.
Dalaran had joined in on hunting the Black mages but were similarly denied entry into Alterac lest they suffer a diplomatic backlash causing Antonidas and other Dalaran Archmages to all but accuse King Aiden for potentially harbouring Black mages.
As well as indirectly aiding them by denying the entry of the Knights of the Silver Hand and the Dalaran mages from investigating within their borders.
One of the rare times Dalaran and the Church were both in agreement especially with Stormwind, Kul Tiras, Stromgarde, Ironforge and Aerie Peak making it clear that if the situation becomes a international incident they will intervene.
King Terenas's support of his ally had caused friction between the Church and Lordaeron with Arthas being the only binding agent keeping the two forces still connected.
Military mobilization at Lordaeron's southern border had caused tensions with both the Southern human Alliance and even Ironforge who share a border with Lordaeron, with King Daelin accusing Terenas for trying to incite war.
Beastkin attacks in the north of Lordaeron continued and without sufficient support had caused the defenders there to be in a precarious situation.
And the Black cult activity had been rampant lately again with the release of a insidious magical plague which was just barely being contained to stop it's spread.
Mathias said the information wasn't a hundred percent reliable but the subtle worry he caught in his features told Alastor that they were far more authentic than the man would have hoped for.
The only thing that calmed Alastor was his family, especially Jaina and Alleria who kept him company which allowed him to get a respite from his dark thoughts as he enjoyed his time with them.
Sadly Jaina had to leave after staying for only a month, she had heard the news of how Dalaran had made their stance clear as well as the deteriorating situation in the north.
Alastor did not stop her knowing she was worried for their shared mentor and told her to leave without worries to Dalaran, hopefully her own magical expertise and research would help in fixing the mess up north.
Especially regarding this Plague made by the Black mages.
He too would have went along with her if not for the fact he was worried about the situation in the south as well as worry for his home kingdom but he did acquire a sample of this so called Plague from one of Mathias's agents and got to work in analysing it and to find a possible cure.
Yet with Jaina's departure Alastor did feel more agitated and it was Alleria who gave him a outlet to de-stress; a different one from the "special" methods she and Jaina would use.
(A/N: I know you all understood what was understand!)
War.
With his father's blessing Alastor along with Alleria travelled to Fort Maxim, the fortress that was the biggest bulwark between Stormwind and the Beastkin of Stranglethorn Vale.
After his arrival he was promptly given command of the fortress and the forces there by the commanding general.
Years ago he was able to defeat a Warherd several times the size of his own force and kill their Beastlord while not having access to active reinforcements, armoured assets and aerial units.
With his small force of less than 2000 having rudimentary artillery in the form of mortars with some specialized weapons that his Royal guards had brought along.
But now he was fully grown and a LOT more knowledgeable especially when it came to War, logistics, strategy and tactics especially since he put special attention of them after that fiasco at Westfall.
Not to mention now he also had a large army with all the aforementioned assets available.
And a foe that was also readily available for him to exercise his expertise on.
What transpired at the frontline at Fort Maxim could only in the most convoluted way be called a battle but if any person stationed there was asked they would only answer in one way.
It was a massacre.
Alastor had organized the men and women he had under his command into different "groups" with each group having a purpose.
This ranged from ordinary military groupings to mixed and specialized groupings as wells.
Unlike other commanders who would be overwhelmed and be forced to give junior officers autonomy to complete different objectives.
Alastor was a Primarch and his brain's computational power could only be described as a hyper-advanced biological supercomputer.
And because of that Alastor was not only able to efficiently arrange the forces under his command but also direct them with such precision and clarity that it was like the army was an extension of himself.
This was also the case mid battle when his forces fought against the Beastkin Warherds, as Alastor despite the chaos and shifting variables was able to stay calm and direct his forces with clear cut orders.
The sound of his voice and the quiet confidence in it through the commlink network caused even the most inexperienced officer to calm themselves and lead their battlegroups.
Be it a surprise, a roadblock or even a variable that made the current objective not attainable, Alastor would always be ready to give new objectives or countermeasures as his mind worked overtime to not only analyse the battlefield but also made plans and backup plans.
This did not mean that Alastor tried to completely control every aspect of each fighting group.
Instead he watched over them from atop his command centre at Fort Maxim and provided clear obtainable objectives for them to accomplish in their preferred method as long as it did not needlessly sacrifice lives.
This kept the command structure secure and very efficient as the Stormwind army tore through multiple Warherds in a timeframe that utterly baffled the commanders that stood alongside Alastor at Fort Maxim.
And Alastor couldn't believe he would say this but killing your hated enemies turned out to be a great stress relief.
With each great victory, each Warherd destroyed and each Beastlord slaughtered, the morale increased further and further as the lowest soldier to the Highest ranking Officers began seeing Alastor as a living War God.
Morale would especially explode when Alastor seeing a unfavourable situation which would cause or have a chance of causing significant casualties would go and take to the battlefield himself at the forefront.
For the soldiers the sight of their legendary prince cutting down Beastkin in droves at speeds where he was not even visible most of the time while hurling destructive spells and killing Beastlords that would normally be a terror to face.....
It was like seeing the very legends they were told as children coming to life across the river of time in the form of their Prince.
It made them feel like they were witnessing history in the making and being a part of it, which caused the men and women to fight even harder with an almost zealous energy.
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Finally with Alastor's efforts (He tried to include his fellow commanders and soldiers that had distinguished themselves only for them to refuse it vehemently) all major and significant Warherds that were acting up in Stranglethorn Vale along with their Beastlords were killed and taken care off.
Effectively crippling their recent rising threat and causing the situation at this side of Stormwind to stabilize.
Alastor did feel a sense of sorrow as he saw the casualty report on the entire campaign and saw that nearly 10 thousand people had died despite his efforts.
In the eyes of the commanding officers this was a great result and the shortest amount of deaths since Fort Maxim's inception.
Alleria on the other hand comforted him knowing her lover's nature.
"There will always be death in War Alastor but that doesn't mean you should close your eyes on the good that your actions did"
"Look around, all these people are alive and celebrating due to your efforts and many more will live in peace behind their walls, as for dead? they wouldn't have followed your orders to the letter if they didn't believe in you."
"They died knowing their sacrifice would have a greater meaning because you will make sure of it. So no more moping, chin up that's no way for their hero to behave."
By Arda he loved this woman.
That small pep talk ended up dispersing his cloud of depression as he found that Alleria was right.
The dead should be mourned but the living should also be celebrated and both must be honoured for their sacrifices.
Alastor had given a speech honouring the brave soldiers, knights and mages that had given their lives for the campaign, calling all of them heroes and had ordered a monument to be made at Fort Maxim to commemorate the campaign and the sacrifices of the departed.
Afterwards he appeared and took part in the victory celebrations and personally awarded different people that had distinguished themselves for their bravery, selflessness, tactical genius or similar deeds.
The men and women in question had looked like they were on the verge of tears as they were given their medals and awards while also taking immense pride in the envy they felt from the rest of their comrades for getting rewarded personally by Alastor himself.
With some final orders pertaining to relief efforts, repairs and logistics Alastor and Alleria had took a transport ship back to Stormwind.
"So War God huh?" Alleria said from the seat beside him.
"At the least it sounds better than miracle prince" Alastor had gotten used to the fact of being under attention and the fact that people WILL give him titles.
"Good, that means you're finally accepting your place." Alleria closed her eyes rested her head on her fiancé's shoulder.
"Sweet dreams Ria"
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Coming back home should have been a joyous occasion especially since with the success of the campaign, Stormwind now only needed to worry about the situation at Fort Clover at the Savage Lands.
And as for the situation in the north between them and Lordaeron they only needed to keep a punitive force on standby since Lordaeron would still have to pass through Ironforge to get to Stormwind's borders.
And Magni's brother Muradin despite having a good relationship with Lordaeron prince Arthas, would not allow any significant force to pass through his kingdom's territory.
Yet when Alastor and Alleria entered Stormwind castle and went to find his parents they saw them in a meeting with Mathias Shaw and Court Mage Frederick looking particularly worried.
"Father, Mother!"
All of them turned to see it was Alastor and Alleria.
"Alastor? it's good to see you again my son." Llane nodded at his son with a wry smile.
"Good to be back again father, the situation at Fort Maxim has been solved and the Beastkin hordes have been crippled"
The news seem to surprise all four of them immensely especially since it hadn't even been 2 months since I had been away but then Llane gave a booming laugh as he slammed the table in jubilation.
"That's my boy! By the Aspects finally some good news!"
"I have been hearing some things about your campaign from my agents my prince but it looks even I underestimated you" Mathias smiled in good humour.
"Haha I guess this is normal when it comes to you is it now prince Alastor" Frederick also gave his own quip.
Taria patted him on the shoulder. "You two did very good"
Alastor took pride in their praise but then asked what the meeting was about as their expressions turned serious again.
Llane hesitated only for a moment before he realized that his son wasn't a child anymore but someone of significance so he shouldn't have any problems telling him.
"The situation at Fort Clover has worsened beyond what we predicted"
Llane activated a holographic map that depicted Fort Clover and it's surroundings, Alastor frowned as he saw the multiple blinking green dots coming from it's front which was the Savage Lands.
"Greenskins activity had suddenly surged and not only is Fort Clover going have to deal with several Warbosses but also Black Orks"
"What!?" Alastor was understandably shocked since the way things were going this looked less like a Ork attack but instead an Ork WAAAAGHH!
Not to mention Black Orks were considered the most dangerous of their kind, since these artificially made Orks weren't just faster, stronger and durable but also more smarter and blood thirsty and any Ork force led by a Black Ork or having companies of Black Orks in them were automatically considered a large threat!
"I already sent an order for Fort Clover to be reinforced further by backend outposts and another army is being raised right here which would leave in a few days for Fort Clover as well"
"Father, I know you can see it too. This isn't like the attacks we were used to this might as well be a Ork WAAAGHH and soon we might have to deal with a green tide!"
Llane sighed as he massaged the bridge of his nose as he had realized this himself but aside from reinforcing he couldn't do much since Anduin was perhaps the best general he had already and his friend was already there.
But he couldn't help but worry regardless of his old friend and he if he wasn't bound to his duties as king and to safeguard Stormwind he would want to go to Fort Clover himself.
Anduin was practically his brother in everything but blood and he couldn't imagine something happening to him like it did with Medivh...
Llane shook his head lest he remember the other man he called "brother".
"Let me go." Llane, Taria, Mathias and Frederick looked at Alastor in shock.
"Alastor! you just got back from a campaign and you're asking us to send you to a even worse warzone!?" Taria looked at her son in shock.
Mathias and Frederick nodded agreeing with the Queen.
Alastor looked at his mother with a firm gaze.
"Yes."
"Llane! talk some sense into him."
Before Llane could say anything to dissuade him Alastor spoke first.
"It is was you two who had taught me about everything I knew growing up that made me what I am today."
"As a Royal prince it's my duty to protect our people to be the bulwark when despair consumes them and the pillar they could lean on."
"I might not be a Wrynn by blood but the creed is the same for me. I love this kingdom, this land and this world too much to not care so please let me offer my blade to the cause as well."
Llane looked at his adoptive son conflicted but he also felt immense pride surge within him and he wasn't the only one as Taria had also gone silent.
"Alastor...are you sure?"
"Yes" His reply was instant as Alleria who was silent up till now gave his hand a squeeze to show her support.
Llane was silent for a moment. "Then go! As King of Stormwind I put you in charge of the army once it's done mobilizing."
Alastor put his hand over his heart in a salute before turning around to leave along with Alleria.
Watching them go after shortly arriving, Taria sighed a part of her regretting the things she and Llane had taught him.
"What have we done Llane."
Llane's reply was a weary sigh but it was Court mage Frederick who had answered them while Mathias looked at the departing Alastor with admiration.
"My Lord, my lady if I may."
"I think you two had raised a truly brave and kind boy to become the man we see now."
Unknowingly time has passed before the King and Queen had noticed the little boy they had adopted in their family had grown up.
Shaping to be the Primarch he was meant to become.
As Darkness creeps in from the North so does Hope emerge from the South.
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