It was a peaceful day in the in the Valley of Spirits. I felt the gentle breeze as I sat with my eyes closed, my mind closely clear.
"There you are!" I opened my eyes to see an Orgrimmar grunt right in front of me.
"You be disturbin' my meditation, mon," I complained.
"Cut the attitude!" The cranky grunt handed me a letter. "A conscription notice from the Warchief himself. Now good day!" He immediately stormed off.
A letter from Vol'jin? I immediately stood up and opened up the letter.
Warriors of da Horde! Break out ya axes and sharpen ya spears. Da Burning Legion has returned ta our world!
We be shipping outta Bladefist Bay right away. With da full fury of da Horde, we gonna smash der line so hard dat Sargeras is gonna feel it in da Nether!
Get to da ships. We got demons ta slay!
I couldn't believe it. The Burning Legion has returned to Azeroth? I rushed to the check-in station without hesitation.
While I was standing in line, someone poked me on the shoulder. I turned around to see a familiar Pandaren. "Xao! It's been to long, mon!"
"Likewise!" We bowed to each other and then fist-bumped. "So you were conscripted too, eh?"
I nodded. "Da legion really is back, isn't it?"
Xao smiled. "Don't worry! With Vol'jin leading us, we'll be able to drive them back where they came from!"
I grinned. "Vol'jin has lead us through some of da darkest time. Ain't nobody more fit ta be Warchief."
It was finally my turn to check in. After checking in, Holgar Stormaxe said, "The ships are leaving from the dock in Bladefist Bay. Before you leave, prepare yourself. I have the feeling that this fight won't be an easy one."
I waited for Xao and then we walked to get our armor polished and weapons enchanted together. We then headed over to the tables where our food was prepared.
"Thank you for the meal" I heard a Tauren say.
"It was nothing" said the chef as he bowed. "It is an honor to prepare the last meals for the soldiers."
I turned to Xao. "Last meal? We're not gonna come back?"
Xao grinned. "Don't worry! We are an unstoppable pair. I'm sure that we'll both come back."
"I'm sure dat you will come back. Ya too strong to die out der!" We buried our faces in the food until our stomachs were full. "Dey said we need ta warm up with a duel."
"I'd be honored if you warmed up with me," replied Xao.
"Of course!" We bowed to each other and then began. Several long minutes lasted before Xao finally pinned me down. "Ya always one step ahead of me!"
"You did a great job too!" Xao and I bowed to each other before heading over to the ship and boarding it.
The boat ride felt like it lasted forever. I finally heard Captain Russo yell "Alright Horde troops, this is your stop, a beach lined with demons! Bring her in snappy now!"
As the ship turned, we could see a large green light of Fel energy radiating into the sky. It was the most ominous thing I had seen since Hellfire Citadel.
"August Celestials! What is that?" asked Xao.
"Dat be da power of da Burning Legion. Dey ruthless" I explained.
The ship finally reached the shore. Up ahead, I could see another group of Horde forces led by Thrall and Vol'jin.
"Looks like our reinforcements have arrived" exclaimed Thrall.
"Good ting! We don't got much beach left ta retreat to," replied Vol'jin.
"There's only one way out of this one, old friend."
"Listen up! Dere's only one way offa dis beach, and it be t'rough alla dose demons ahead of us. But dey don't know who dey be dealin' wit. Let's show dem what it means ta be Horde!" Vol'jin commanded.
At that point, we charged the demons guarding the beach. Xao and I destroyed many demons using just our bare fists.
Eventually, we noticed spires that were surrounded by crystals. We were ordered to destroy them. At one point, Xao got hit by some Fel fire so I had to cast Effuse on him.
"Careful there, mon!" I yelled.
"Yes ma'am!" he responded.
"Weaklings. Must I do everything myself? Very well, prepare yourselves!" yelled a Dreadlord as he approached us. We all grouped together to stand against him. I summoned my Jade Serpent Statue and kept casting Vivify while channeling Soothing Mist to keep as many troops alive as possible. The Dreadlord eventually fell.
Thrall looked over at Vol'jin and gave him a brief smile. "It is good to fight with you again, Warchief."
"Ain't never gonna get used to you callin' me dat" replied Vol'jin. I couldn't help but grin briefly. Vol'jin has been a great leader to me for a long time and I am proud that he is now our Warchief.
We continued up a hill until more of the shore came into view. We saw hundreds if not thousands of demons. It was more demons than I had ever seen before. I could also see a crashed gunship. I glanced over at Xao and could see shock in his eyes.
"What?" asked Thrall in disbelief.
"Dat's no invasion force. Dat's an army!" said Vol'jin in response. I nodded in agreement with him.
"Nock your arrows! Hold! Fire!" yelled a familiar voice. I looked into the distance and noticed that it was none other than Sylvanas Windrunner.
"They're alive!" exclaimed Thrall.
"Let's move!" commanded Vol'jin.
As we made our way toward the dark lady, a bombardment of meteors rained upon us.
"Watch out" yelled Xao! I rolled forward and barely managed to dodge one in time. I then sighed in relief.
"Da pain!" I heard a voice yell. I wanted to glance back but I knew that I had to press forward.
"It's about time you showed up!" exclaimed Windrunner.
"You looked like you could use a hand" replied Vol'jin.
As our leaders were discussing our next course of action, I whispered, "I have your back" to Xao. He nodded. We then charged forth to shut down a portal. I paralyzed some of the demons while the others ran ahead to destroy the crystals.
Afterwards, we headed down into the Black City. Many corpses of the Argent Crusade were lying around. We eventually found one who was still alive.
"This is Argent Crusade insignia, can you speak? Where is the rest of the crusade?" asked Sylvanas.
"Dead... dying... they descended on us in seconds... nowhere to run..." said the lightbringer as he was gasping.
"An no sign of Tirion" added Vol'jin.
"We will find him. Horde forces, keep your eyes open for survivors, rescue as many as you are able!" shouted Thrall.
We stormed the city and struck down as many demons as we could. I stayed closed behind Xao and healed him when needed.
Eventually, I heard Thrall yell "There, across the chasm, Gul'dan He has Tirion!"
"All da Horde, get ta Thrall!" commanded Vol'jin.
In front of us, there was a chasm that was completely impassible. Even Sylvanas asked, "Anyone have any ideas how we're going to get across this thing?"
"Spirits of the earth, aid me!" begged Thrall as he formed a bridge made of stone.
"Convenient" stated Sylvanas as we ran across the bridge and headed to the Highlord. When we caught up to him, I could see the Alliance forces on the other side.
"Tirion!" I heard the king of Stormwind yell.
"Gul'dan! You will pay for this!" declared Sylvanas.
"Stay back... it's a trap... the Light will protect me..." begged Tirion in agony.
"Hah, you fool! You stand before the temple of a GOD. Your pitiful Light cannot reach you here. How fortunate that your friends have arrived just in time to watch you die" cackled Gul'dan. The warlock then summoned a Doomlord. "Destroy him!"
"The Light... will... aah! Aaahhhh!" yelled Tirion in pain as Fel fire was being breathed onto him before he was dropped into the lava. I immediately clenched my first even though I did not know the Paladin very well.
"No!" I heard the archmage of the Kirin Tor yell.
"Fordring!" yelled Thrall in anger.
The Doomlord then charged at the Alliance while other demons attempted to ambush us from behind. Xao and I stood back to back as we fended them off. Eventually, the Doomlord moved over to us and we fought it until we took him down.
"Ha, the bigger they are..." gloated Varian.
"No time to gloat, Wrynn. We've got to stop Gul'dan before he summons another one of those things!" interrupted Sylvanas.
Thrall then made another bridge from stone as the archmage made one from frost.
"We'll take the ridge and cover your flank," said Sylvanas to Varian.
"Good luck, Varian."
"And you."
We headed up to the ridge above and I could hear Varian and Gul'dan shouting at each other. We quickly took down the first group of demons but then more began to swarm us.
"Down the ridge behind us, another portal!" yelled Baine.
"We've got ta hold dis ridge, no matter da cost," replied Vol'jin.
"Take up positions. We hold them off. We have to" commanded Sylvanas.
I summoned my Jade Serpent Statue and kept healing everybody. However, I still saw some soldiers fall. I eventually heard Varian and Gul'dan yell at each other again.
"Less chatting, Wrynn. Kill him already!" yelled Sylvanas.
Even more demons began to charge at us and I saw blasts of Fel fire as well. I was beginning to pant with exhaustion and noticed Xao panting as well.
"I cannot... take much more of this..." shouted Baine.
"Pull Baine back to my position, close ranks!" ordered Sylvanas.
Thrall began to slouch. "There are... too many of them..."
"Everyone pull back to me! We make our stand here!" shouted Sylvanas.
We backed to the dark lady as more demons arrived and others began to fall.
"Dere comin' from behind! Cover da flanks!" shouted Vol'jin. Seconds later, a Felguard stabbed him in the abdomen.
"Warchief!" exclaimed Sylvanas.
"Damnit!" I shouted as I ran over towards him. However, Felhunter tackled me and used its horn to impale me in the stomach, though it was not that deep. I kicked it away and casted Crackling Jade Lightning on it.
"Watch out!" I heard Xao yell. I turned around just in time to see him shield me from a Felguard.
"Xao!" I screamed as I unleashed a furry of kicks and jabs to kill the Felguard. I then grabbed the body of my Pandaren friend and noticed a deep wound in his chest. "Shit!" I immediately began casting all healing spells on the wound but it was barely healing. Suddenly, I heard a horn blow and something swept me off the ground and placed me onto a skeletal horse.
"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled.
"We need to get out of here!" replied the dark ranger.
"Xao…" I looked back towards him as tears began to well up in my eyes. We eventually arrived at the ship. I began to cough up blood and then everything turned black.
By the time I woke up, the ship was docked back in Durotar. "Careful!" yelled a druid as she approached me. "You're wound isn't that bad but don't do anything stupid.
I began to clench my fist, but then Eitrigg approached me. "High Overlord Saurfang has been asking for you at Grommash Hold. He will not say why... but he was insistent that I send you to him."
I immediately got up and went over to Grommash hold. Citizens stared as I passed by, remarking about how long the meeting was and demanding to know if the Warchief was okay. Saurfang greeted me at the door and let me in.
As I walked in, I saw Vol'jin slumping on the throne. He was bandaged up and I saw a green spot where he had been stabbed. His veins were black and he did not look well at all. Trolls are known for their ability to heal fast. Vol'jin wasn't healing at all.
"Warchief! The monk you called for has arrived. We only await Sylvanas now" said Lor'themar.
"It's... good ya came. Time be... runnin' short" he weakly replied.
"Let me call in my healers, Warchief. Your wound must be tended!" demanded Baine.
"Too late for dat, Bloodhoof. Me got one... final duty. Ta see dat da Horde... stays strong."
"No." Tears began to well up in my eyes. "You are our leader. You led us through the worst times. Da Horde needs ya more than ever!"
"The Alliance lost its king on the Broken Shore. Its people cry out for vengeance" stated Lor'themar. My eyes widened in shock. I did not know that the Alliance had lost their king.
"We need them focused on defeating the Legion, not fostering old hatreds" said Ji. Looking at him reminded me of Xao and I had to swallow my tears again. The banter continued until Sylvanas finally walked into the room.
Vol'jin had a nasty coughing fit. It sounded like it was painful. "Windrunner. Come... forward."
"Warchief" replied Sylvanas as she continued over to the throne.
"Da loa spirits say death will claim me soon."
"In the end, death claims us all. But the Horde will live on."
Vol'jin mustered up all of his strength to continue speaking. "I have never trusted you. Nor would I have ever imagined... in our darkest time... dat you... would be da one to save us. Da spirits have granted me clarity. A vision... dey whisper a name. Many will not unda'stand. But you must step out of da shadows... and lead. You must be... War...chief..." The Warchief then went still.
"No! No!" I was unable to hold back my tears. I was then escorted out of the hold as I screamed in despair.
I stood in the front of the crowd as we saw our beloved Warchief burning on the funeral pyre. Sylvanas was standing in front of it. "Vol'jin is dead." She then turned to face us. "Who among you will help me avenge him?"
"For Vol'jin!" I immediately shouted. "For the Horde!"
The crowd around me began to chant as well. "For Vol'jin! For the Horde!"
Tears streamed down my face as I continued with the chanting. I managed to survive the battle yet I lost both my friend and my Warchief. But I cannot dwell on it. I am needed to fight the Burning Legion. For the Horde. For Vol'jin. For Xao. For Azeroth.
