This is just a quick story I felt like writing in dedication to the controversy surrounding Sylvanas. Let me know if I have attributed anything to the arguement.
To whomever receives this message.
This letter is to be hand delivered to Alliance representative and Gilnean resident 'Lord Genn Greymane'.
A messenger was permitted entry into the Stormwind Keep by the guard, an inspection of the state of the letter and the messenger to be examined. The messenger sprinted harshly up the ascending hall of the throne room until finally, he was greeted with the presence of curious stares.
The occupants of the throne room had expected him to arrive. Among them the royal steward of Stormwind, the young prince of the kingdom Anduin Wrynn, and the Gilnean master Genn Greymane himself.
The messenger was permitted entrance and approached the intimidating stance of the worgen lord, before dropping to his knees and kneeling with respect.
"My lord" the messenger began, "this letter was discovered in within the Postmaster's home, though he has no recollection of its origin".
Genn Greymane, intrigued by this, examined the letter in the man's hands, and was taken aback by its familiarity. The parchment binding the contents was a sickly aura of purple, the bow upon the seal a blood red with a makeshift skull symbol holding the ribbon tightly.
A letter from the Forsaken undead. From his sworn enemy.
Without warning, he snatched the letter from the man's hand, sending the latter stumbling back in fright, and began untying the ribbon. The parchment fell open and the letter was plucked out and opened. His aggravation beginning to surge in his veins, he began to read.
To Lord Genn Greymane, Master of the Gilnean Worgen.
The attempted invasion of Gilneas has become a blight on the Horde's reputation, not least due to the one who had carried out the offensive. Garrosh Hellscream had led his armies under paying of death to perform frivolous and tyrannical deeds, leaving a demonised outlook by the Alliance upon the Horde for their involvement.
The death of your son had clearly been the source of your crusade against the Forsaken. Since that day, you have sought vengeance upon the one who had taken the life of your child and successor.
And for this I must question, to what end are you willing to continue your vendetta?
As the leader of the Forsaken, and as of the tragic demise of Warchief Vol'jin, the Warchief of the Horde, I must request a parlay with you in order to discuss a means of preventing whatever future bloodshed may be spilled by this conflict.
With the ongoing invasion of the Burning Legion and our recent conflict within Stormhiem, I now intend, and am willing, to end our conflict as to focus our attention upon aiding our brethren. As a representative of the Alliance, I can assume you will agree.
I request you meet me along the borders of the Gilnean City, to the west along the rolling hills towards the Lighthouse. I will await your arrival within the week.
With regards and condolences, The Warchief of the Horde.
Sylvanas Windrunner.
Genn was reading this aloud as he read, offering the rest of his observers clarity on the situation. "This is absurd!" the worgen lord snarled with detest, "Does this witch truly expect us to play along in this game of hers?!"
Anduin, quite surprisingly, was more considerate of the letter's purpose and thought over the actions to be taken from this request. Perhaps Sylvanas's intentions were indeed pure. Despite being a deceptive opportunist, he believed the Banshee Queen had retained enough sanity to avoid inner conflict during this ongoing war against the Burning Legion.
And what if it were a trap? Would Sylvanas further betray the Alliance by assassinating his closest friend and ally?
Unlikely.
What purpose would it serve, and what profit would she gain from it? Very little. Little more than the death of a great asset in the war and birth to further conflict that he himself would have to support.
A trap and death to Genn Greymane would only cause more problems for everyone, and Anduin suspected that the Dark Lady knew this. Anduin understood Sylvanas's personality enough to know this.
"What do you make of this, my king?" Greymane turned to face Anduin with an expectant gaze. Anduin rose from his throne and held his hands behind his back in a professional stance. "If the Banshee Queen truly wishes to parley with the Alliance, then it can be of great profit to the war against the Legion".
Genn was surprised by this philosophy, "What are you saying?"
"Sylvanas is smart. I trust that she is aware of greater threats she must face than the Gilnean worgen. If she is as smart as I expect, I'm convinced that she would provide benefit to all if this feud between you and her were to meet a temporary truce".
"You cannot possibly trust this woman's word, my king. She has become the new leader of the entire Horde itself! And they-".
"And this means that she now has a responsibility for not just one people, but for several. To remain in control of the Horde, and to stay alive for that matter, it would make sense for her to make a decision like this. Thrall himself would do no different, to my knowledge" Anduin concluded with a confident and regal tone.
This all made more sense than Genn Greymane wanted it to, but he could not deny the logic in favour for his thirst for vengeance. "What would you have me do, my lord?"
Anduin raised his finger and declared "You will abide by the Banshee Queen's request. Take one of the harboured ships and follow the letter's instructions. However, should you truly sense a trap, have your stealthiest worgen accompany and hide from sight during this meeting".
"As you say, my lord" Genn Greymane answered as he began his descent towards the entrance of the keep, "We shall leave immediately".
"But I warn you, Greymane!" Anduin suddenly roared, "I am not to hear of the Banshee Queen's murder at your hands! I will not tolerate a rogue in my court!"
Genn was taken aback by Anduin's demand and the powerful tone it boasted. Genn had always expected Anduin to become more regal ever since his ascent to the throne, but nothing could have prepared him for this dominative attitude.
"As you wish" Genn answered and his continued his way to the docks.
The journey to the haunted lands of Lordaeran was one of pleasure and pain for the worgen. Memories of this land before the corruption had created a sombre atmosphere upon the ship as it journeyed through the cold mists.
To know that the treacherous blood elves and the savage Undead had claimed the land they once called their own, and worse to think that among these vicious undead monsters were their brethren. It was more than Genn and his allies could handle.
They had landed.
The ship was anchored off shore and the worgen approached the shore cautiously, attempting to catch the stench of death in their presence, but nothing. Genn gestured for his worgen to disband and over watch him as he approached the meeting destination.
Wandering through these cursed hills had no longer filled the worgen King with the previous sense of longing and emptiness, and had been replaced by the urge to claim justice. Irrational thought burned within his mind and compelled him to find Sylvanas and tear her limb-from-limb. He had to restrain these urges as he was approaching the destination.
He stopped to find a cemetery, one that looked all too familiar to the King. He descended the hillside path and approached the central tomb, his heart beginning to break as he neared the entrance. His son, Liam Greymane, the intended successor of the Greymane bloodline.
His mind was plagued by the horrid memories that haunted him since his son's death. The battle against the Banshee Queen herself. The poisoned arrow lodged in his son's chest. Dying in his father's arms.
Suddenly, a scent was caught. He turned around and began scanning the environment. He recognised this scent anywhere.
"So… you have come".
Greymane straightened his posture as he slowly turned with a dark glare in his eye. Behind him, leaning restfully against his son's tomb. None other than the one who had caused him so much grief. The Banshee Queen herself.
Sylvanas stared expectantly at what would be her worst enemy, had it not been for the long list of enemies that she had made in the past few years alone. Their eyes were interlocked, awaiting movement or action from the other. A long silence lingered as they judged eachother's inscrutable expressions.
As he watched her, Genn had been subtly sniffing the air to search for the lingering presence of other undead, but was honestly surprised to find that Sylvanas's scent was the only one he could trace.
"I'm surprised that you kept true to your word, Sylvanas. You are alone" Genn spat, feigning intrigue. Sylvanas smirked, "But I can see you have not. I was aware of your worgen brethren's presence from the moment they landed off-shore".
Sylvanas looked around her as if expecting to find the worgen in question in her sights, though she knew that they were stalking her from the hilltops and vegetation. Sylvanas turned back to Genn and shrugged "No matter".
Not wishing to waste any more time than he needed to with this arrogant witch, Genn Greymane snarled and questioned "Tell me, Banshee. What the hell makes you think that I would willingly accept your truce? Your reputation is one of deception and mistrust".
"All of my reasons for requesting this parlay were in my letter. Had I not expected you to share a mutual outlook on our situation, I would have not come. And beyond that, would never have sent you that letter in the first place" Sylvanas explained.
Genn's rage reached a boiling point as he yelled "The Invasion of Gilneas, plaguing Southshore, killing my son and hundreds of innocent people! You have far too much to answer for, Windrunner! You deserve nothing from the Alliance!"
Sylvanas fell silent as she turned her head away from her consultant, hoping to have hidden the remorse in her eyes from her rival. "I know I do" she muttered, suddenly sounding breathless. She turned to face her enemy, "That's the real reason why we are here".
Genn raised his eyebrow quizzically. This was beginning to take a turn.
"It will end. All of it. The use of the plague. The slaughter and transformation of living people. It will come to an end" she paused before lowering her head, "… if we can come to this agreement".
Genn was still less than convinced, but felt a sense of relief from Sylvanas's apparent surrender. "What has prompted this, woman? A guilty conscience, maybe a retained sense of honour you had lost, or perhaps the paranoia of suffering in hell?"
Sylvanas's eyes widened at this question, a detail that Genn clearly noticed and was intrigued by. Before he could question it, Sylvanas had turned her back and begun facing towards Liam's tomb.
She exclaimed hoarsely "The Horde are fighting this war as well, Greymane. The forsaken have as much a part to play as any other race in this world!"
Sylvanas remembered the face of Liam as her arrow penetrated his young and vulnerable body. "Before these last few months, the war between the Alliance and the Horde has had much time to blossom. But in these times, it must finally come to a complete end", she declared.
She turned around to face Genn once again, "Which is why, rather than offer you empty promises and make any more mistakes, I've chosen to flip-flop". Genn had, by this time, forgotten his previous intent to rend her to pieces and had become curious of her sudden change in personality.
"I bear no ill will towards the Alliance. And to prove it…" she paused to lift her hood from her head and finally show her entire face. "I offer you a gift… as a gesture of charity".
"There is no gift you can give me that can quell my revenge" Genn spat bitterly. Sylvanas smiled, not a smirk but a genuine smile that unnerved the worgen king. "I feel that this gift will beg to differ…".
Suddenly, before she could react, Genn had transformed and pounced at her, pinning her to the wall by his one arm against her throat. She held his arm with both hands, but made no attempt to break free. Greymane then suddenly roared "I WANT MY SON BACK, YOU BITCH!"
Threatening to snap her neck had not phased the Banshee Queen, who had begun chuckling to herself. "I am… ecch… aware of that" she muttered blandly, her voice expressing no emotion. She looked down to him and began "Pray tell, worgen king…", Genn glaring expectantly.
"Would you like for your son to be restored?"
Immediately, the grip upon her throat was released, and she landed on both her feet as if she had never even been lifted to begin with. Genn was spiralling beyond rationally organised thought, entirely taken aback by this offer.
"What?"
Sylvanas almost giggled at the shocked look on his face, but restrained herself. "I can raise your son from the dead, Greymane. You may finally be reunited with your family and the Gilnean Worgen can once again have an heir".
"At the cost of his humanity?!" Genn roared angrily, "To live as an undead monster?! I forbid it!"
Sylvanas was rather surprised by this outburst, but exaggerated her shock as she held the back of her hand against her forehead and pretending to swoon. "Oh, forgive me. I never realised your son being human was so important to you".
"HOW DARE YOU!" Genn crouched in preparation to strike, "You would mock my grief for my dead child?!"
"A grief that can be cleansed! I have offered a chance to commend for my crime and you willingly reject it?!" Sylvanas accused, "You would rather slaughter someone in revenge when the opportunity for correction is within reach?!"
Genn snarled in defiance to hide his confusion and speechlessness, though Sylvanas was not fooled. "How long will this continue, Greymane? How many more of your own people are you willing to sacrifice for the justice of one life?"
Genn lost strength him his muscles as his posture became relaxed, his head hung in shame. She continued "What of your allies combatting the Legion on the Broken Isles? Were they aware of your plight and departure for Stormhiem to oppose me and mine?"
Greymane didn't respond, unable to find a rebuttal or even an excuse. "This must end now, Greymane. I honestly wish to prove my good intentions to you".
"I will never let my son become one of your scum, witch!" Genn growled maliciously.
As he said this, a scent had suddenly caught Genn's attention, emanating around him and sourced from somewhere in the graveyard. As they argued, a mist had begun to envelop their environment, blanketing the surroundings into obscurity.
Soon, the sound of shuffling could be heard from a certain direction in the woods, the sound of grass shuffling was steadily growing louder. It was the stench of death that had repulsed Greymane on many occasions, though there was a difference in this particular smell. A scent that he immediately recognised.
No. It couldn't be. She wouldn't have.
The outline of a silhouette emerged of a forsaken man, sporting the exposed elbows and knees that forsaken are reputed for. It stopped in the centre of the mist, his eyes glowing ominously glowing as they set upon the worgen lord.
"Hello father" a calm and sinister voice greeted.
Genn fell to his knees in astonishment, his worgen featured dissolving as he returned to his human form, "Liam…" he mouthed voicelessly. Sylvanas stood unmoving as these events unfolded, having completed her role by this time.
Liam stepped forth from the shadow and exposed his entire visage to his father. Even in death, Liam detained the handsome charm he held in his original life, and was still wearing his aristocratic garb that he'd worn on the day he died. Sheathed against his left hip was his weapon of choice in his years of combat, his gold-hilted rapier.
"I had hoped you would come, father" Liam admitted as he analysed the pitiful gleam in his father's eyes. Genn studied his son and what he had become. "My son… what has she done to you?"
"What the Banshee Queen has done is offer me something that I could never have in my old life" Liam explained. Genn was mortified by his son's words, though Liam soon gave a sympathetic look. "She gave me true free will".
"What?! After all I have…" Genn exclaimed, but Liam interrupted him. "It's not your fault, father. It was my destiny to become the heir to Gilneas' throne. You could never give me the childhood you wanted when such a responsibility was placed on my shoulders".
Genn's head lowered as his eyes shut in anguish. Liam continued "But in undeath… I am given a new perspective. No longer do I have a destiny, no more human instincts or impulsive intentions". Liam stood before his father and kneeled before him, "Sylvanas has told me of the Burning Legion's return. I would like nothing more than to aid my father and old allies against them".
Genn raised his head as his mouth hung open, his heart filling with hope. Liam lowered his hand to his father and stated "I would relish the thought of fighting alongside the other races of Azeroth in a glorious crusade against the demonic bastards". Genn smirked delightedly as he grasped his son's hand, who hoisted him to his feet before holding his father's shoulders.
"But understand, father. I'm not doing this in the name of the Alliance. Not for the Gilnean monarchy or even because I feel compelled to help my friends" he explained to his father with a regal and lordly manner, "I'm doing it because I chose to".
After their reunion, Liam has explained his intent to be the connection between the Alliance of Stormwind and the Horde of Lordaeran, identical to the likes of Thrall or Jaina Proudmoore. With this connection, the bond between the Eastern Kingdoms could strengthen and provide benefit in the war against the demons.
Dismayed but respectful of his son's decision, Genn prepared his departure from the Gilnean lands with his worgen observers. Sylvanas watched over the departure as the worgen climbed aboard their anchored ship.
Genn was the last to leave, but felt compelled to consult the Banshee before his departure. He approached the elven ranger as she whistled into the distant shoreline, before turning to meet his gaze.
"I'm honestly astounded by this, Sylvanas" Genn remarked with a stern tone, "I would never have trusted you-". "Never mind it… I became used to distrust ever since I had joined the Horde" Sylvanas interrupted as she examined the yonder coastline of the sea, "But rest assured, my reformation will not end here".
"You seem so suddenly compelled to correct your mistakes. A great contrast to our last encounter" he huffed roughly from the memory. Genn then continued "But I understand it. I could sense the fear in your eyes… your motions. You fear something, and that something compelled you to do this".
Sylvanas tensed her muscles as she turned her head away from the worgen leader. "Damnation. Your crimes and dark, twisted practices. You fear hell itself" Genn analysed. Sylvanas was visibly twitching as what could either be fear or rage began to rise.
"Enslaving the Val'kyr… immortality… It makes sense to me now" Genn began his conclusion. From in the distance, a black skeletal monster vaguely resembling a horse ran towards the pair before stopping before the Dark Lady. Sylvanas, without another word, mounted her horse and was preparing to leave.
"I can only wish you luck, Banshee Queen. The past must be accounted for when we face our final judgement" Greymane warned. She paused after hearing this and soon smiled beneath her hood. "I do not need luck, not condolences or pity. I never have before".
"A lifetime of defiance of fate, all the while digging yourself an even deeper grave and making so many enemies. You had best have a plan to perform the greatest and most virtuous deeds to spare your soul from the furnace" Genn concluded.
Sylvanas tugged against the reigns of her mount and looked upon the king as he prepared to board his ship.
"Killing demons should definitely help, in that case".
I am honestly astounded that as many Sylvanas haters have emerged as there have. The people who are complaining about her rivalry with Genn and that she should be killed off. The potential for Blizzard to turn Sylvanas into a villain is more likely than I think it should be.
It doesn't matter if you are a Sylvanas fan or not, nobody wants Sylvanas as a villain.
Ever since her plot with the Lich King ended, Blizzard has had to write a new and cobbled-together plot for Sylvanas just because they have to keep the forsaken as a part of the game. The forsaken are permanent playable characters and because of that, Blizzard are forced to tell the story in a way that abides by their gameplay, and that sucks. There's potential for a great story in this game, but the gameplay just gets in the way of it.
The Plague was always something that bothered me about Sylvanas. Considering her hatred for Arthas and her intention to make the forsaken the exact opposite of the scourge, the Plague was possibly the worst thing she could have kept. Though honestly, I attribute this more to the lazy writing the Cata provided.
This story was just an exercise in ways that Sylvanas can be made to look like more of a hero again. I know this will probably not happen with the direction Blizzard is going in, but I feel like a great character like Sylvanas deserves a better story than the one she's getting.
P.S. Fuck you Vereesa. If you hadn't stopped Sylvanas from poisoning Garrosh, that piece of shit WOD would never have happened.