MLFMP 2: Son of Kael'thas
(Disclaimer: This story is based upon a game called World of Warcraft. Therefore, I do not claim any rights to their story, or game.)
Welcome. You've walked into the middle of the My Life for My Prince series. These fanfictions are meant to be an imaginary tale of the redemption of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider. I recommend that you read the first part, entitled My Life for My Prince before this one, because you may become lost. I will try my best to catch you up on various things as we go, but consider this fair warning that if you start reading and it seems to you that certain characters are underdeveloped, or that there are confusing plot lines, it's because you are essentially seeing only half of the story. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that given the complexity of MLFMP, it would be too much extra work for this hobby of mine (I did summarize entire plots in the Romancer series, but that was a simpler story, you see).
Of course it is a free country/world, and MLFMP is really super-long, so you're going to do what you like anyway. smiles And, I also assume that you will pop over to MLFMP and read a chapter or two, if you do get stuck.
Well, however you've arrived at the second story in this series, thank you, and enjoy what has been and continues to be a fun write for me and a fun read for lots of other people.
Premise:
When Prince Belorim Sunstrider, a three-year-old, arrives at Tempest Keep, his father learns that he's inherited a royal mess whether he wanted to or not. As if his enslavement to Illidan Stormrage weren't enough, a shifty secret order of Bloodknights and a tempting offer from the Burning Legion are at last forcing Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider to choose either Quel'thalas or Outland. Unless… Kael'thas can find a way to be a daddy and a villain?
Prologue:
It took three years for Lady Liadrin to confirm her secret theories regarding the Whiteblade, as all of Quel'thalas now called it. She believed that the son of Kael'thas Sunstrider was trapped inside of his deceased mother's sword.
That long ago, Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider returned from Outland and drove the beautiful sword into the rock foundation of his ancestor Dath'remar's shrine. But it had not been the Prince's intention to desecrate the memorial of the first King of the Blood Elves. People still whispered that Kael'thas had come all that way just to bury the woman he once loved, a slain Bloodknight named Saturna Whiteblade. No one knew exactly how she died in Outland or how Saturna and Kael'thas even met, since her tombstone said so little. But it was impossible to mistake the kind of love the Prince of Quel'thalas had for the woman. You see, when Kael'thas tried but could not gain access to the Sunstrider family crypt beneath the shrine of Dath'remar, he angrily ruined its rock foundation with fire spells to get at the gravesite however he could. In that way, the woman was laid to rest near the bodies of his ancestors if not right beside them miles beneath the earth. To be buried with a thousands-of-years-old dynasty of Sunstrider kings and queens, there was no greater honor in Quel'thalas. But Lady Liadrin guessed it wasn't just an honor. Maybe it meant that Saturna Whiteblade had somehow become part of the family…
The enchanted white sword glowed with a thick haze of curious Light magic that no one understood. People kept coming back to see the Whiteblade for years after Kael'thas was forced to flee the site by the Lord of Outland Illidan Stormrage himself. The eyewitnesses to this encounter spoke about the horror of the revelation, that their Prince was merely a slave to the Demon Lord of Outland. Many who had not seen their Prince suffer at the hands of the Betrayer, only the beautiful sword Kael'thas left behind, insisted that the Whiteblade was a sign Prince Kael'thas would return one day. Kael'thas left it on purpose, to give them hope, these people said. The way they all lived suppressed under Grand Magister Rommath's harsh rule, most Blood Elves were afraid to believe anything else. Unfortunately, many of the first-hand, pessimistic witnesses to the return of Kael'thas were silenced by Rommath. No one could think ill of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider and survive for very long in the reformed Silvermoon City to spread those sorts of ideas.
But Bloodknight Matriarch Lady Liadrin felt she knew Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider and Saturna Whiteblade better than anyone else in the kingdom. Among many other scholarly theories Liadrin had regarding the nature of Light magic and its effects on the late Commander Whiteblade's sword, there was one superior proof as to the Whiteblade's true meaning for the Blood Elf people. This was an inviolable destiny set forth despite the pitfalls of their tragic history. It was born of the very desperate ends to which some fanatical Blood Elves resorted as a consequence. For, what was more desperate than zealous self-inflicted delusion? Or, more hazardous to their country's progress over many thousands of years than unworthy celebrity?
That is to say, because Lady Liadrin knew for a fact that the Bloodknight Saturna Whiteblade had been a hopeless Kael'thas fangirl in life, it was fairly obvious that the woman got herself entangled in some epically outrageous romantic misadventure with the Prince before she died.
Following that train of thought, one could safely assume that Saturna Whiteblade had been slain as a consequence of her delusional fangirl tendencies… but by whom, and to achieve what nefarious ends? And then, of course, the secondary important evidence as to the existence of Kael'thas' unborn baby son was his mother's dormant Whiteblade spell. It lived on in the sword though the one who cast it in the first place died long ago. You see, a part of the mother clearly lived on in her weapon…
And so, under the dictatorial rule of Grand Magister Rommath, the Bloodknight Matriarch herself was harboring a dangerous secret: Kael'thas had a son. If the boy—called Belorim on his mother's tombstone—could ever be safely extracted, there would be a new Prince of Quel'thalas. With his father selfishly absconded to Outland and having made so many enemies on that alien battlefield, a new Sunstrider who'd inherited a thousands-of-years-old unchallenged right to the throne—and better yet, was completely beholden to the counsel of others who could guide the son of Kael'thas like a weapon—could unseat Grand Magister Rommath and change everything. Lady Liadrin considered herself a champion of the people and so, of course, she realized the son of Kael'thas could be used to achieve a great deal of good. But to divide father and son forever, especially in the face of such tragedy? After three years of searching for answers and sacrificing for the truth, Bloodknight Matriarch Lady Liadrin decided that no matter what anyone else thought, she was prepared to do a little evil, for Kael'thas…
And so this morning, with the help of Lord Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing, whom she'd blackmailed, Rangers marched all of Rommath's Magisters out of Silvermoon City. The Thalassian military force knocked arrows to bows and pointed them at anyone who dared intervene. Among their protective ranks were Liadrin's own Bloodknights who pressed sharpened blood-tempered ranseurs to the throats of the Magisters, lest they try to flee The large procession marched out of the city, right under the nose of Grand Magister Rommath to the grave of Saturna Whiteblade on Sunstrider Isle.
Now, Bloodknight Matriarch Lady Liadrin stood beside Lord Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing, watching her dark designs manifest themselves at last. A ring of superior marksmen in green mail armor stood around the desecrated shrine of Dath'remar, bows cocked and facing out at anyone who dared challenge this coup against Rommath. It amused Liadrin to see that there was little resistance. A second inner ring of Bloodknights in black plate held fifty-five Magisters hostage—it had taken all the Magisters within the city—until they finished freeing the sword from the stone. Threads of their blue conjuring leapt through the air at once and flowed up and down the fiery white surface of the blade before sparking and trickling earthward, onto the jagged rocks that covered over Saturna's years-old casket.
All this to undo what one Sunstrider had conjured three years ago with half a thought.
"Oh, don't look at me like that, Halduron." Lady Liadrin whispered and folded her arms across her chest. Her silver armor reacted a little too cheerfully to the sunrise and the pretty work of the Magisters for her taste, so the intense Bloodknight Matriarch took a large step west. Now she stood in the long shadow of the desecrated shrine.
Halduron was much younger than Lady Liadrin and wouldn't let her forget it. "Sleeping pills… sleeping pills? Did I really agree to drug the Grand Magister of Silvermoon City? And that's such a common trick, from the pre-Scourge era… Do you know just how easily Rommath is going to see right through your old courtly tactics? And then how fast he is going to have all my Rangers lined up and shot!"
"Oh, calm down, Halduron. It was the best I could do on short notice, you know why I'm being rushed right now." She eyed him, and he became quiet. "Besides, Rommath will only remember the card game and the good spiked liquor you he and Lorth'remar shared last night… after he wakes up late this afternoon. And who's putting whom in front of a firing squad? Don't your Rangers normally fire the arrows on revolutionaries? They can't knock bows to each other, they won't. Just like my Bloodknights are not going to imprison your men for helping me, nor are they going to bully and police each other for breaking the law. I will not have them police anyone anymore if this works and we are free of Rommath's rule. Rommath put both the Rangers and the Bloodknights up to making life a nightmare for the citizens of Quel'thalas, but this morning he is simply going to suffer from the fruits of his careful labors, just like everyone else. I will make short work of his dictatorship." She cocked an eyebrow.
Halduron rocked nervously on his heels. He still didn't like it. "And you say… you're sure this is the right thing to do? We're risking Kael'thas being furious with us as well, you know."
Lady Liadrin glared at the man a long time before answering in a harsh whisper, "How many times do I have to tell you, Lord Ranger-General? Years of research have confirmed that the son of Kael'thas is in that sword!" That much was still a precious secret and Lady Liadrin had not shared it with anyone except for Halduron and the woman who'd agreed to help retrieve Belorim Sunstrider from the sword at the last minute. "Kael'thas will not be angry when we save his son's life. How could he be?"
"But what if Kael'thas left him there in the first place—"
"I told you, he doesn't KNOW! Kael'thas would never do something like that. And I know him well, he is not a monster, Halduron!"
Rangers just behind them flinched at Lady Liadrin raising her voice. She cleared her throat and turned attention back to the task at hand. There was no point in arguing further with Halduron. The man also had singular access to recent intelligence from Outland. There were rumors—and had been for years—that Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider was actually an enemy to the cause of right. Lady Liadrin had her own spies that tiptoed around Rommath and his well-kept secrets, and no doubt Regent Lord of Quel'thalas Lor'themar Theron did as well. The three of them were the sorts of people who needed access to important knowledge if they wanted to remain in power—what little of it Rommath allowed them—in Silvermoon City. As a result, Halduron, Lorth'remar, and Lady Liadrin all knew that Kael'thas was considered a villain, and there were even whispers that he was working for the Burning Legion, not just Lord Illidan Stormrage whom many referred to as The Betrayer. Halduron obviously believed the worse about their Prince.
Lady Liadrin looked away from him and said, "But you haven't really given up hope, have you, Halduron? Or else you wouldn't be helping me do this today."
"You didn't give me any other choice, Lady Liadrin. Don't speak to me as if this were some mission of mercy. If I had my way, the lesser of two evils in this country would be eliminated over this, to make work for the Rangers easier. I'd tell Rommath everything and he'd put you and your selfish, irreverent Bloodknights in shackles so fast—"
"Forget Anveena." Liadrin swiftly cut him off. "I am talking about Kael'thas. If you thought he was any danger to us, to Quel'thalas, you would have found some way to get at me, despite what's going on over at Sunwell Isle… I refuse to believe what Rommath and Lorth'remar say about you behind your back, that you are weak-willed. You want to do this."
"I am not weak willed… are they really saying that? That's awful!"
She sighed. "Please, Halduron… stop talking. And, by the way, if you have any more objections to my plan then I encourage you to take them up with your Anveena. Afterall, she is the one who deftly confirmed all of my speculation in the first place. Who knew that the living Sunwell herself would be so obliging…"
Halduron flinched then and promised to keep his mouth shut for her, if Lady Liadrin continued to keep his secret.
You see, Lady Liadrin had not even known about Anveena until recently. That, at last, was the leverage she needed to force Halduron and his Rangers to take the side of her Bloodknights.
Anveena was Halduron's big secret where Quel'thalas was concerned. It was a secret just as dangerous, if not more precious than that of the Whiteblade. That was exactly why Lady Liadrin had found about Anveena in the first place. A year ago, Lady Liadrin—confident in her theory that Kael'thas' son lived within the Whiteblade—was looking for someone to help her safely extract the boy from the sword. The Bloodknight Matriarch was willing to sacrifice everything for the precious future of her people, but she was no fool. If she ever found someone who could help her, they would have to be exceptionally powerful and their services capable of being bought. But the price for something like this would be extremely high, perhaps even too much. And Lady Liadrin had limited resources to begin with, since in many ways, she and her Bloodknights were only pawns of Rommath. And so, Liadrin grimly decided that she was going to have to threaten someone to make this work. No one was going to help the head of a wayward and oft-considered blasphemous sect of Thalassian paladins out of the kindness of their hearts… or so she thought.
Lady Liadrin knew from her experience as a Lady of the old Thalassian Court that where there were secrets of comparable value, there was potential for exchange. So she started looking for people to blackmail at the top. Rommath had dedicated Magisters who were starting to engage in what one could only really call cultist activities, but blackmailing the dictator himself over mere suspicions of strange behavior? Nigh impossible. Lor'themar's extramarital affairs were interesting… but that was sort of common knowledge in the first place, the way he went about it. Other lords and ladies in the city had your run of the mill antebellum financial troubles, drinking problems, addictions to various kinds of magics and substances after the loss of the Sunwell, etcetera… but none of those juicy secrets were worth trading for the life of Prince Kael'thas' son. She knew not a soul in the other factions of the Horde that she could trust either, since the Blood Elves had only joined with them a few years before.
In the end, it was her intimate knowledge regarding Light magic and a rare chance overheard conversation that finally gave Lady Liadrin the edge she needed. Once, while in the royal palace, she observed Lord Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing having a very strange conversation in the shadows: A man who was not truly a man… Lady Liadrin did not know how else to explain it, spoke with Halduron regarding 'non-linear barriers to the isle that were fading.' Only the Light was a non-linear magic, she knew. Also, there were only two islands nearby Silvermoon: Sunstrider Isle, which had no magical barriers, and the Sunwell Isle, that after the war, was being carefully guarded. No one, except for the Lord-Ranger General was allowed to go there. And it was always odd that he visited what was supposed to be a bereft, wasteland destroyed by the Scourge… so very frequently.
It occurred to Lady Liadrin that a barrier made of the Light, which was a magic based on the essence of life itself, could not possibly fail. Someone very powerful would have to fiddle with such defenses from within. And it would take something or someone extremely adept at using magic to be able to manipulate a barrier that encased an entire island. Halduron did have visit Sunwell Isle regularly because of the magical defenses, at least that's what he told everyone… but when Lady Liadrin considered all these clues and the strange conversation together, it only made sense that Halduron wasn't visiting the Sunwell every fortnight or so because of the barriers, since those weren't capable of failing. There had to be something or someone living on Sunwell Isle that needed his constant care. And from the way Halduron's face looked when the other man who was not exactly a Blood Elf said, 'Anveena', Lady Liadrin was sure that this Anveena person was a woman Halduron cared deeply for. Was Anveena his lover or something?
Lady Liadrin hadn't known then, of course, just how far from the truth that assumption was…
It was that very same overconfidence in her assumptions that drove Lady Liadrin to do something foolish, rash, and deadly. But she'd already waited almost three years for answers and solutions at that point and she was beginning to get desperate. Liadrin decided to go to Sunwell Isle immediately and see this Anveena person, who was being guarded by a barrier of Light and the Lord Ranger-General of Silvermoon for herself.
She rowed a small boat off the north coast of Sunstrider Isle that very night. About an hour later, the shimmering gold dome barrier around the series of islands came into view on the horizon. So beautiful… and she had imagined that the Whiteblade was the most glorious magically enchanted thing she had ever seen. Before anyone could see her approach, because she imagined that people guarding the place might expect something like that, Liadrin removed her plate armor and slipped into the cold sea to swim the remaining distance in slacks and a shirt. She wasn't afraid to go unarmed because didn't expect to penetrate the barrier, only use her remaining priest spells to get inside the head of some hapless creature and guide it, like a spy, to confirm the existence of Anveena. Perhaps with enough of a physical description, Lady Liadrin believed she could convince Halduron that she knew everything about his secret lover, this sorceress. Then she would tell him that if he didn't get this Anveena to help her with the Whiteblade, she would tell the world of Anveena's existence.
But as Lady Liadrin sent her powers through the sparkling golden veil, Anveena reached back and pulled her inside.
"Who are you?" Anveena demanded.
Lady Liadrin found herself sitting on the other side of a breakfast table. Anveena, a young Human woman, was actually eating breakfast at this hour. Her voice was calm, but somehow it also threatened.
"I am Lady Liadrin."
"I knew that already." Anveena told her, the bright girlish features bordering on unpleasant. "In the same way that you knew me as soon as I touched you with my power and brought you through the barrier." She sipped from a cup of tea, then set it down on a white porcelain saucer. "Now, please answer the question: Who are you?"
Lady Liadrin gave up on trusting her senses. This was a very young woman who must have been nothing short of magic incarnate, to transport her in this way. And she was having breakfast in the middle of the night? Lady Liadrin looked up and saw a cheerful morning sky where the ceiling should be. None of this made any sense at all. Instead, she decided to rely on her feelings. Liadrin felt safe, for the moment. This creature could hurt her, but had chosen not to.
"Who was that man… who wasn't exactly a Blood Elf, that I saw speaking to Halduron?"
Anveena smiled. She could achieve such adorable gentleness when it was appropriate. "That was Kalec. He is a very good friend." But from she blushed, it was far more than that. "But you are only saying more irrelevant things now, because you already know that Kalec was truly a dragon in disguise. You are a scholar of Light magic, are you not? You understand that Dragons can puppet all forms of life at whim. Do not try my patience."
Lady Liadrin tried again. "I sense that… you want to know what I am about, why I'm here?"
Anveena folded her hands in her lap and nodded.
"I am here to ask for your help. There is a sword—"
"I know about the son of Kael'thas Sunstrider."
Lady Liadrin blinked. "You…"
"He is the same as I. We chat sometimes. The both of us are contained in these vessels." She tugged at the front of her simple dress, but Lady Liadrin got the feeling Anveena was referring to her very flesh. Anveena looked sad then. "He is so very young, and lonely."
"I want to take him to his father."
"Why?" Anveena immediately became defensive of her friend. And Lady Liadrin imagined herself Belorim's sole protector. A blessed child, indeed.
"Because Kael'thas is lost to us now. He needs to come home, for the Blood Elf people."
Anveena closed her eyes, thinking about this. "His life is his own. His mistakes are the results of his endemic flaws. If he so chooses to abandon his people, to indulge in villainy, then he does not deserve his son."
"Then you are condemning his son to a life of imprisonment!"
"Perhaps it is just, if uncomfortable. I am imprisoned as well. It is not for me to decide when I can be whole again, the Sunwell restored. Certain reagents are needed… and the people who own this land must prove worthy."
Lady Liadrin shook her head that she didn't understand.
Anveena leaned a little across the table. "I am the Sunwell."
A reverent silence.
Lady Liadrin wringed her hands. "Dear… by the Sun. That is nothing short of a miracle! No wonder Halduron…" she composed herself. "I understand you perfectly."
Anveena watched the other woman carefully. "You could have said to me, 'I want Belorim so that I can put him on the throne.' Why do you instead want to take him to his father?"
She looked up. A tiny rainbow had dashed across the miniature morning sky Anveena conjured into the porch ceiling and the happy unnatural event had the opposite sort of effect on Lady Liadrin. She shivered. "No, I don't want that for… for Belorim. I want his father to meet him. I don't think that, after being faced with the miracle of his own son, Kael'thas will deny the throne any longer. He will come home."
"Kael'thas may become enraged with you for showing his son his evil works in Outland, for traversing across that alien battlefield with Belorim and exposing him to untold dangers just to make a kingdom perfect. Halduron and the others run Quel'thalas very well already."
Lady Liadrin stood. "Is that what that blowhard told you? Halduron is a fool, he—" she let that ago when Anveena began to look offended. "But it isn't right… it isn't whole! A Sunstrider should rule… thousands of years of perfect leadership… Why should that legacy be sacrificed because one man is still reeling from grief out there, alone? It's a tragedy, Anveena."
"In my opinion, that is all it is, a tragedy. Not worth blackmailing Halduron over. Not worth endangering myself. Please, sit back down."
Lady Liadrin did as she was told.
"Your loyalty to Kael'thas, after everything moves me. I know few things about him… I don't live with very many people, but none of them are willing to say much more about who he is. I am lonely, though we disagree… would you mind staying a bit longer, and chatting with me?" Anveena became suddenly embarrassed after that slipped out. She tried to put in another way, "I am not wrong about many things… but perhaps for the sake of Belorim, my friend, please try and convince me that I am wrong to turn you away."
Belorim. Certainly the child of Saturna Whiteblade, named for the Light itself. Lady Liadrin thought. "You… are going to tell Belorim what I am going to tell you, aren't you?"
Anveena didn't blink. "Yes. I am capable of telling him word for word, so that there is no bias."
"He can hear us then?"
"Something like that." She shrugged. "But in the end, I will decide. I love him most."
Lady Liadrin nodded, and told her Prince Kael'thas' life story. Lady Liadrin was older than Kael'thas by twenty years or so and had heard a great deal about him. But it was more than just hearsay. Lady Liadrin could relay family stories, things she had seen and felt because she lived in the royal palace for a time and met Kael'thas back when he was a teenager.
When Liadrin reached the part about Kael'thas' falling out with his father all that time ago, Anveena laughed. It was a funny story afterall, the Prince's flight to Dalaran was borne in the classic pubescent nightmares of a teenager: embarrassment in front of his peers, an incident with a woman who was not supposed to be in his room, and scores of crazed fangirls that threatened to ruin the awkward Prince's innocence. At least, that was how King Anasterian told it. Lady Liadrin had been his confessor. Keeping those family secrets seemed immaterial now, with so much at stake.
Anveena raised a hand for her to pause. "You were close to Anasterian, his father."
Lady Liadrin firmly corrected, "Against my will, yes." To Anveena's curious look, she amended, "Not that I am disloyal to the royal family in any way… It's because Sunstriders are so charming you see, even if you disagree with them… but that doesn't matter anymore."
Anveena raised both her eyebrows. "Does that mean Anasterian was a dragon as well?"
It was a truly innocent question. Liadrin thought of Anveena's 'special friend' Kalec and laughed. "No, King Anasterian was not a dragon. He was clever and handsome, savage with his enemies… but just a mortal man."
Next was Kael'thas' flight to Dalaran that King Anasterian was actually relieved for. He hoped his son would come out of his shell a bit more.
"Kael'thas was a very compassionate person, and loving. His father was afraid that people at Court would eat him alive. He needed to be someplace where he could become a man on his own, without their selfish influences."
Then, she told Anveena about Jaina Proudmoore, and how delighted Anasterian was over that. Even if she was a Human woman, Kael'thas was pursuing her in the proper sort of way, like a gentleman. Not like that Prince Arthas… After that, Lady Liadrin had gone through her own spiritual crisis, became disillusioned with the Light and stopped being a priestess. Up until Jaina Proudmoore was all the intimate knowledge she had regarding Kael'thas' life.
"Lady Jaina Proudmore rejected him, Silvermoon fell to the Scourge, his father murdered by his son's rival Prince Arthas, and Kael'thas came back a man." Lady Liadrin became confident again. "Kael'thas rallied us together under a new banner, as Blood Elves. He arranged for repairs to be made to the city, so that we were nourished physically by our surroundings and spiritually by their renovated beauty. I started to believe again when he made that famous speech, and so many of us… including Saturna Whiteblade who was but a girl at the time, she was Belorim's mother… That speech changed her life. Then, Kael'thas went off to fight in the war against the Scourge with the Alliance. After already losing so much, they most certainly agitated Kael'thas further when they betrayed him. The story goes that Lady Vashj and her Naga freed Kael'thas and the soldiers he took, who later became the Sunfury. Then he met Illidan and it seems… his descent started there."
"Perhaps before then? Naga are evil creatures. He was a fool to trust them in the first place."
Lady Liadrin raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you are right. And it certainly was his choice to make." She paused. "Years after, Kael'thas sent a Naaru he captured from Tempest Keep. A Magister named Astalorn was ordered by Rommath to make good use of the Prince's gift. Astalorn asked me to help him use that source of Light magic to train the first Bloodknights. After that miracle and all the other amazing things Kael'thas sent back to the city with Rommath, we all were hopeful, Anveena. We expected Kael'thas to return soon as well with more victories and spoils from the Outland… Rommath worked us up so that we were fever-pitch waiting for it. But Kael'thas never did come home. None of us knew, unless Rommath has been lying to all of Quel'thalas over the years, what kind of trouble Kael'thas was in, until—"
"What kind of trouble he caused, you mean."
Lady Liadrin nodded. "Yes. It's obvious now that he has given into his anger. All that love and compassion has been twisted into something else. I've spoken to many eyewitnesses who were there the day that Kael'thas brought Saturna's coffin, the Whiteblade—and unbeknownst to Kael'thas, Belorim within that—to Sunstrider Isle. They say Kael'thas went mad in front of the people, cried out in agony… he yelled at Illidan Stormrage, The Betrayer in his head. Everyone knew then, that Kael'thas had gone down the wrong path. After, Kael'thas summoned a portal and fled, with three of my best Bloodknights. I can only assume that Kael'thas is in Tempest Keep now, with them. Doing what, I know not."
Anveena pushed her cold tea away. "A terrible fall from grace."
"Anveena… Belorim has a right to a life with his father. I hope that Kael'thas will meet his son and realize that he's finally gone too far, and come home. But even if he doesn't… after losing Saturna, who was my friend, the companionship of the Alliance he loved, his kingdom, his father, the Sunwell… so very much… I can't live with myself unless I bring him this one miracle. Perhaps the one beautiful thing in his life."
"He may not see it that way."
"I do not wish for Belorim to come to any harm. If I find Kael'thas unworthy of his son, I will bring him directly back here, and I will raise him myself. I've thought about this for a long time."
"No, I will." Anveena insisted. "It is safest here, if Silvermoon City is as dangerous as you say, the way Rommath is actually running things."
Lady Liadrin conceded this. Now they were negotiating the terms of the child's freedom.
Anveena looked down from the porch where they were sitting, over the moonlit garden around the veranda. "When I first reached through this Light barrier around the island meant to protect me… ironically, I did it to end my loneliness, I found Belorim. We speak in a unique way, magic to magic… My initial impulse was also to reunite father and son. But the ones I live with here, who have become my family, felt it was too dangerous, insisted that Kael'thas was a monster."
Lady Liadrin looked her in the eye. "So you agree that Belorim must be saved from that sword! Is that not the nature of the Sunwell, as the last vestige of the Well of Eternity in Azeroth? To be a manifestation of the Titan's powers, a pure force of creation capable of leading this world's creatures into the shining destiny that was intended?"
"Your understanding of the origin of the Light is acute, Lady Liadrin. But you cannot pretend to know what my purpose is. The races of Azeroth must earn the privilege of enlightenment, the Night Elves came the closest all that long ago. But with the World Tree gone, that is at an end…"
It made absolutely no sense, and was beside the point so Lady Liadrin decided not to ask more about the Sunwell. Though, she we was really tempted.
"But Anveena, you want the mortal races to succeed, don't you? That's what it seems like to me. You certainly don't want us to fail. Before man can enlighten himself he must first be humbled. I want to humble Kael'thas Sunstrider, make him look life, the Light in the eye and dare to deny it." Then she added, "And if he returns… he may lead the people in healing this land so that you can at last be freed from your prison of flesh."
"And Azeroth will be that much closer to salvation." Anveena smiled. "You bargain well. However, I won't helping you for those reasons." Anveena was thinking of something. Her expression went blank while she put it all together. This made Lady Liadrin nervous. What was the woman doing? Throughout this whole exchange she had been so passionate, open. And now secrecy?
When Anveena looked up again, she donned a knowing smile. "But most importantly, Belorim will be very happy. That is what matters. I believe what you say about his father, Lady Liadrin. I also know that Belorim so wants to love others, to believe in them, the way you say Kael'thas was when he was young. Belorim reaches through the Whitebade with the powers of the Light that flow through him, attempting to touch every person who comes near. He so wants to be alive, to touch and interact with people the way others do."
"Are we in agreement then?"
Aveena sat up straight. "The skull of Anasterian Sunstrider is needed to free me and Kael'thas has it."
"Anveena, I can certainly try but I can't guarantee—"
"That is why I am not asking for it." But somehow, she still was. "The ones who made me will not stand for the Titans to be defied for much longer. I love life, Lady Liadrin. It would deeply satisfy me if we could retrieve it, without using force. However, I don't worry about me, Belorim's life is what is most important in this situation. I will find some other way…" before Lady Liadrin could ask what she meant by that, Anveena said, "I will send Belorim with you freely, as a gift. But Kael'thas must not know who helped you to revive his son. Swear it."
"Of course… I swear that I will not reveal your identity, if that is what you wish."
"I am living here in secrecy for a reason." Anveena turned back to the night. "Eternal darkness… that is the Legion, and I am the Sunwell. They say, these days, that Kael'thas has become just as dark. You don't look surprised, Bloodknight Matriarch." She accused without turning her head.
"I am going to do everything in my power to bring Kael'thas back home. It will not be an issue!"
"As I already said, I choose not to solve my problems with force and violence if it can be helped. And another thing about the supremacy of life and love… The heart of a man cannot be predicted. Love is not precise, you see. But when we use it as a weapon, when we are committed, a great deal of good can be achieved through love. It is like magic in that way, the most powerful kind. That is why you came to me, Lady Liadrin, because you understand this."
They stood and shook hands.
"Tell Halduron he must help you retrieve the Whiteblade. I will take care of the rest."
And she had. Halduron's reaction to Lady Liadrin knowing absolutely everything about Anveena, and worse, that the clever Bloodknight Matriarch had won the Sunwell itself over to the side of Kael'thas was classic. Right after Halduron was done swearing himself hoarse, he promised Liadrin use of all his Rangers if that was what powerful Anveena, the Sunwell herself, wanted.
And so today, at last, the Whiteblade and the son of Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider were free.
Saturna's grave was reduced to rubble when it was done. That, and a scance view of the charred casket underneath several feet of loose rock was all that remained when the Magisters finished. It took four men to pick up the gigantic sword—and yes, it had been growing over the years—and presented it to Lady Liadrin.
At first, she was afraid to touch the enormous pulsing white sword a second time. The first time she'd communed with the weapon was when she learned of her protégé Saturna's tragic death. And even more horrible, this was moments after Kael'thas was forced to flee Silvermoon with her three Bloodknights. Over time, barely visible jagged notches in the blade's edge extended into points and these writhed and curled in steel, like stylized rays of the sun. The elegant metal sun rays decreased in size from hilt to tip. Finally, a disc of concentrated Light magic consumed the center of the long blade. That was the source from which the white enchantment flowed, its heart. It looked like the sun itself was burning up the sword, or rather, rising. That was how Lady Liadrin liked to think of the deathly beautiful Whiteblade. She had to believe that this was the beginning of a new hope.
Liadrin looked over her shoulder at Halduron, eyes wet. He seemed overcome as well. How is it that you never realize how much something means to you until you're bound to lose it?
He gently admitted, "I too… found comfort in passing by this spot, this sword in the mornings. My Lady, are you sure? What if it destroys—"
"Do it." Lady Liadrin grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the Whiteblade, forced him to look at it too. At his order, Rangers came forward and swaddled the burning sword in a rich dark cloth. That was put in a carriage with Halduron. A team of black hawkstriders pulled the entire entourage away from the burial site.
Lady Liadrin watched them go. The carriage rode south, as if Halduron's true intentions were inside the city. But Liadrin knew that, under cover of darkness, Halduron would return with the sword to Sunwell Isle, to kind and selfless Anveena.
The next morning…
It was rumored that Rommath was furious about the betrayal, and he'd ordered Lady Liadrin brought forth to the royal palace. Yes, a phalanx of Bloodknights rode down to the north coast of Sunstrider Isle on their red and gold armored warhorses to meet the Matriarch, but they did not apprehend her. As Liadrin had assured Halduron, they all had a sort of power to themselves under Rommath in this crooked dictatorship. Bloodknights would not betray Bloodknights. Anyways, they were being paid too well for it, by whom else but the Bloodknight Matriarch? So much for the Grand Magister's threats…
The ten Bloodknights shared knowing smirks as a majestic red Thalassian junk appeared on the horizon. The ship did not land, but a small rowboat was descended from the deck. After a while, she recognized the grim face of Lord Ranger-General Halduron Brightwing. He held the hand of a little boy. Halduron tied up the boat and helped Belorim ashore. He didn't look more than three years old. Exactly as she'd predicted.
Lucia the Tempestraven and Daphne the Weaver were Lady Liadrin's most loyal lieutenants and gestured for the eight other Bloodknights to stand back while their leader went to speak with Halduron privately.
"I disagree with Anveena." Halduron brusquely told Liadrin when they were alone a few paces away.
Lady Liadrin ignored Halduron and went down on her knees. "Hail, Prince of Quel'thalas."
Belorim wore a dark cloak. The hood was pulled over his face. Lady Liadrin reached up and pushed it back. Gentle blue eyes looked at her. They were not a blazing fel green, like other Blood Elves.
"Having been created with the magic of the Sunwell itself, he has no racial addiction." Halduron explained.
Lady Liadrin bid him hello, introduced herself. The little boy began to suck his thumb, said nothing.
At last Lady Liadrin acknowledged Halduron. "This is for the good of all Blood Elves—"
"There is something terribly wrong with the child. He rarely speaks at all, and when he does, he is mostly talking to himself. He acts out, then blames it on some imaginary friend of his… it's only been a day but it became clear to all of us that it's just Belorim. No doubt he's volatile like his father."
Liadrin glared at Halduron and he stopped complaining.
"I'm sorry, it's just that we were all so worried about him during the long process and then he tried to drive us all crazy once he incarnated. I and many others feared for our lives!" He sighed and began to look dejected. "Well, at first we thought it was something wrong with Anveena's conjuring… but, sadly, it is the child. Completing gestation inside the Whiteblade… changed him somehow. I did not understand Anveena's explanation, about the Light existing on an ethereal plane, deep within ourselves like love or music… but I think it is mostly to do with the fact that he wasn't born of a living, breathing woman."
"Halduron, what are you getting at?"
He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry but… he's dying."
Lady Liadrin gasped at the horrible news and hugged Belorim tight.
Halduron continued to tell her confidentially, sad, "I'm more angry at the situation the boy's been forced into. Belorim may never grow up to become the King you're imagining. His time in this life is very short. We tried, but could not fix the problem ourselves. We're not sure if it can be fixed." Halduron then let go of Belorim's hand. He did so reluctantly. "I am trusting you… we all are trusting you with his life. I beg you to heed Anveena's command. Bring him back if his father is found wanting. It would be a terrible tragedy to lose the father, as well as the son."
Halduron lowered his eyes, and after a pause he said, "All our hopes lie with you now Bloodknight Matriarch. I pray that the Light bless you."
Lady Liadrin kissed Belorim's forehead and hugged him. He felt so warm, so real at last in her arms. "I believe it already has," she cried.
But this was not an end, it was a beginning. A victory hard won that they hoped would lead to other victories.
Ten Bloodknights sensed it, clapped fists to their armored chests and triumphantly shouted their heartfelt salute to Belorim Sunstrider:
"My life, for my Prince!"