Chapter 2. Noble Strength
The next morning, after having a good night's rest at the inn, in the trade district, our bags were packed of everything we might need. Of course we took special bags with us, little leather purses that we could attach to our belts, with plenty of space for at least ten swords in each. We both had tree. Magic certainly was useful.
I placed my axes safely behind my back and before leaving, we had to speak to the King.
...
Several minutes later, we reached the end of the long corridor, walking into the throne room.
"Excuse me !" Said suddenly a skinny man, blocking the way. "Have you asked for a meeting with the King ?" He said as he adjusted the tiny little glasses on his nose.
"No, we-" Aysa started to say.
"No ?!" Said the old, skinny man, an octave higher. "You shouldn't be here if-"
"Let it go, Popane." Said a deep voice.
"Yes, your Grace." Said the man a bit reluctantly, but still stepping away.
We shortened the distance to the King and us and bowed. "Greetings, your Majesty." Said Aysa, politely.
"What have you come here for, Aysa, Tuarwen ?" Asked the King neutrally.
"We came to announce that we will be leaving, sire."
"Leaving ?" Stated the King, clearly startled. "You have barely arrived yesterday, why in such a hurry ?"
Aysa glanced at me briefly and so did I. "We wish to continue forward, your Majesty. Tuarwen thirsts for adventure, " I looked at her, a bit surprised, was I that obvious ? " and I wish to spread word of our way, sire, and more importantly, there may be a lot of people out there who could use our help. We did come for that after all. To be of help."
"Yes, indeed. I have a task of the utmost importance to give you, pandarens, but before I assign you to the quest, there is something I must do." After a pause he said, "Do you not have a last name, Tuarwen ?"
The question caught both Aysa and me offguard. A little confused as to why he would ask me that, I said, "No, I don't sire. I am an orphan, your majesty. I was raised by my master."
"Shame." He said, looking sideways.
He then took out his sword and said, "Kneel." I frowned, confused as to why he was ordering me to do that, but I complied anyway. He brought the flat side of his sword to my shoulder, head and to my other shoulder, all the while saying, "I hereby declare you, Tuarwen, Warrior of Justice, for you fought for both sides not giving one side more attention than the other, you were equal to everyone, and kept the balance, willing even to sacrifice yourself so blood wouldn't be spilled. You were the bridge between the Alliance and the Horde, Tuarwen." I stood back up, dumbstruck. He then turned to Aysa and ordered her to kneel as well, before saying, "I hereby declare you, Aysa Cloudsinger, Defender of men, for you defended my soldiers and protected them of any threat inflicted on them, you fought fiercely and never gave hope for the sake of my people, staying by their side no matter how perilous the situation was. You were the shield of my people, Aysa." As we both looked at him, dumbstruck, a maid walked to us, holding two objects. "This is for you, Aysa, a true ally of men." He handed her a pendant of a lion, the emblem of Stormwind. It was beautifully carved out of gold, it's eyes incrusted with two glistening, dark blue saphires. He then turned to me, giving me clothes. "This is for you, Tuarwen, a brave warrior of noble strength."
It was a uniform with the emblem of Stormwind in the middle of the chest, between two rubies, it was beautifully coloured with a bright red and a little bit of faint purple covered with gold plates on the shoulders and the side of her waist down to her thights.
I kneeled once again, keeping my head low. "I gratefully and honorably accept you gift, your Majesty."
Aysa did the same and said, "I do not know how we can repay you, your Majesty."
"You do not need to, this is a mere token of my gratitude for what you have done for my people. If it were not for the pandaren, I would have lost a whole fleet, and my people would have lost their families. It would have been a great loss." After a pause he said, "As I had said, Aysa, Tuarwen, there is a matter of the utmost importance we must talk about." Aysa and I exchanged a worried glance. "About a week ago, the elves have sent me an urgent letter. The letter contained words that spoke about a sickness that was gradually getting worse by day and it was plaguing their people faster than they could heal." Said the King, his eyes suddenly dead serious.
"A plague ?" I asked shocked, the disbelief clear in my voice.
"A plague or a curse- they haven't yet discovered what was the cause of these symptoms, that are worsening every single minute as we speak. Aysa, Tuarwen, the race of night elves is endangering. Which is why they sent me this urgent letter where they clearly stated the urgency. They need help NOW. I can give them medicine, and only a few of my healers but soldiers I cannot give, no matter how perilous their situations are. Many of my soldiers are injured and need rest, and if any more are injured- or even worse, inflicted with a sickness with no cure, Stormwind would be weak to it's enemies eyes, which could lead to an invasion. I cannot lend them my men, which is why I trust you two pandarens, to keep the situation under control. Can you handle it ?"
We exchanged a glance at each other and nodded. The night elves needed us now, and now we would give them the strength they needed. It was what we came here for.
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Yes, your Majesty." We answered at the same time, our voices sure and unwavering.
"We will do everything in our powef to help the elves, your Majesty." Said Aysa.
...
About an hour later, we had embarked on the ship leading us to Darnassus, with three priestesses, two humans and one dwarven lady, plus bags of medicine and food. One of the women was an alchemist.
We both sat on the bed, in the only room of the ship, reserved for us. I had changed into the uniform the King had given me.
"You look very noble, Tuarwen." Said Aysa, as she glanced at me.
"Thank you, Aysa. The pendant looks beautiful on you." She smiled at me in answer.
While she read, sitting at one side of the bed, I layed down, looking at the sealing but not particularly staring at anything in particular.
Finally, I decided to break the silence. "Do you think we made the right choice by choosing the Alliance ?"
Her head whipped around to look at me, frowning disapprovingly. "Are you having seconds thoughts ?" She asked cautiously, almost growling. I sat up quickly. "No, that is not what I meant ! The choice to make between Alliance and Horde were incredibly hard for me to make. And now that I have made that choice...I was wondering, do they really need me ? Wether I am here or not, would it make such a big difference ?"
Her frown softened. "Do you really think that ?" She asked, her voice soft. I just stared at her, my expression blank. She smiled. "Tuarwen, the King did not give you that title just so you could think so little of yourself. He gave it to you because you have done a heroic deed for his people, one they will never forget, one Shen-zin su will never forget. You have barely just started, the population of the alliance is vast, the lands are infinite, your quest has barely started my friend, and I can assure you, that you are quite needed in this world. Do not doubt yourself as such." A smile played on her lips as her hand touched my shoulder. "Now, I will go outside and meditate on my own thoughts. I will see you later, Tuarwen." I nodded before she left the bedroom.
Truthfully...I did not even know what I meant when I asked that question. Did I think I was better off with the Horde ? Hmm...no. I did wonder if maybe they needed me more than the alliance, but the thought of changing sides didn't even cross my mind. I was happy were I was. But something was off, something wasn't normal and I couldn't put a finger on what.
Those were the first thoughts that would later form my decisions, my will, my future, though I did not yet understand or even have the slightest clue of the weight of these thoughts.
To be continued...
