Oliktalv Warfury heard the reports of what was on the other side of the Dark Portal. From outside the walls of Thrallmar, his eyes scanned the vast, barren wasteland of Hellfire Peninsula. He had heard that this was the former world of his people. He was born on Draenor, but he was far too young to remember the land before him now. Some of the elder soldiers on the expedition spoke of the ground they they stand on being a jungle, and he believed the stories to be true. Yet, this was not Draenor anymore. This was now Outland, a twisted and broken world.
In the last two weeks, Oliktalv led five hundred soldiers of the Horde into multiple battles against the Burning Legion and the Fel Horde. They were the main threats to Thrallmar, but so far, they have not been defeated yet. To make matters worst, there have been heavy casualties on his side. Hopefully, reinforcements will arrive to help him. Until then, he could only wait for Nazgrel to tell him where to attack next.
He then realized that he was no longer alone as he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Oliktalv turned his head, facing Dal'bin, one of his most trusted scouts. Dal'bin towered over the commander, being a head taller, and styled his bright, red hair into a mohawk. His figure was slim, and he wore leather armor similar to the armor Oliktalv wore. Slinged behind his back was a rifle. When first meeting him, he was surprised by the choice of weapon, but the troll proved to be a deadly adversary with it. His face showed experience, with light scars and a deformed nose, likely broken from a fight before, yet Oliktalv knew that these scars hid the troll's youth.
"Commander," Dal'bin greeted, saluting the commander.
"Dal'bin," Oliktalv acknowledged, turning to face him. "Is there something you need?"
"Yeah, mon," Dal'bin said, nodding. "Nazgrel told me ta give ya new orders. We be needin' ta find a way ta end da Burning Legion's assault on da Dark Portal."
Oliktalv did his best to hide his shock from this announcement. He knew that the defenders of the Dark Portal fought against demons every day to ensure that the way back to Azeroth remains secured. He knew that it would be a good idea to deal with the demons while they were focused on attacking. Yet, Nazgrel was asking too much from him. His men, while experienced warriors, were not enough to stop the Burning Legion. That ruled out frontal assault on wherever the demons were coming. They would need both strategy and a miracle to secure a victory.
"It be a good idea. Da soldiers at da portal be fightin' ta hold out," Dal'bin told him. "Dey be needin' a break, mon."
"I know," Oliktalv replied. "But we cannot stop the Burning Legion so easily. They have numerous numbers of demons, so unless we can ensure that no reinforcements come, we'll fail with any offensive."
"I be thinkin' dat da Legion be needin' portals to bring more demons," Dal'bin said. "I can never get close enough ta find out. Dere be too many demons."
"Yes. If we can find out where they are, we can make plans for destroying them," Oliktalv said, rubbing his chin as he started to think of a plan. "If the demons are distracted, can you find the portals?"
" Yeah, but ya don't have da men to hold out a long assault, mon" Dal'bin told him. "Ya best be waitin' for reinforcements. Dey will be here tomorrow."
Oliktalv was glad he was getting reinforcements. Maybe they will be enough to battle the Burning Legion. However, Oliktalv would have to believe that they are not enough for victory. As a leader, he needed to think of every possible scenario, including if the plan failed. Regardless, the plan needed to start now. He cannot wait for reinforcements and risk fighting more demons. They would be better off helping destroy the portals than to be a distraction.
"As much as I would like to have more orcs to fight with us," Oliktalv started. "We cannot wait. We must find out about the portals today."
"Well, dere be no orcs," Dal'bin corrected him. "From what I heard, dey be Forsaken and our new allies, da blood elves."
Oliktalv heard of both of the undead Forsaken and the blood elves. He recalled that the Forsaken are not only undead, which he despised, but were once part of the Scourge. Even though they were loyal to the Horde, many were once enemies to the orcs in life. Although Oliktalv was too young to have fought in the Second War, he remembered the harsh treatment in the internment camps. He would not trust the Forsaken, but he would have to forget about his personal grudge in order to lead effectively. As for the blood elves, he knew little of them since they are the newest faction to join the Horde. He knew that they were once of the Alliance as high elves and fought against the Horde in the Second War. He was not sure why they joined the Horde, but they still need to earn his trust.
"That doesn't change anything," Oliktalv told him. "We continue as planned. I'll rally up my soldiers and prepare for battle. Once the battle begins, find the portals. Signal the retreat if you're discovered. I do not want to lose one of my best scouts. Now go."
Dal'bin saluted again, and ran east, towards the Legion Front. Oliktalv knew that the troll would follow his orders without question. He knew that no matter what the command was, Dal'bin would follow it. He knew that if he told Dal'bin to do the impossible, Dal'bin would still follow orders. He knew that if he fought in a battle where defeat and death were certain, Dal'bin would be right behind him in the charge. He expected such loyalty to be found in orcs only and not from a troll. Oliktalv smiled to himself, glad he was wrong.
Oliktalv turned back to Thrallmar, walking back. His men were already ready for battle, and only needed the order to march. This battle, he was not sure how many would make it to the next battle. He was not sure if he would survive today. Still, Oliktalv knew that he was going to do everything he can do to make sure as many soldiers as possible make it to see the next day. He has his orders, and he will follow them, no matter what the cost is.
Author Notes: Hey Everyone. I'm Archer, and this is my first fanfiction!
Let me tell you a little bit a background real quick. I was home schooled through about half of my elementary school days, and during that time, Warcraft 3 quickly became one of my favorite games, which I still play today. Not long after that, I started to play World of Warcraft on my dad's account, and now, I have my own account. Something that has stuck with me through those days today is that I'm still very imaginative. This imagination I have was actually what first started my idea for this story. Over time, this idea evolved into multiple variations, and I'm proud that I'm now brave enough to actually publish something that I've written, which has always been one of my flaws
I know this chapter doesn't have a lot of action in it, which is one of the main topics I love writing, but it helps build up the plot for what's to come. Also, I decided to set this chapter during BC because that's around the time where I first started to play WoW. I'm still writing Broken World, and with my busy schedule, I cannot make a promise on when I'll add an update. My goal right now is to aim for one chapter a week, but if I'm extra free time, I will do everything I can to add more to this story. If you managed to get this far, feel free to leave a review. Until next time.