The sea was almost black, reflecting the dark steely grey of the stormy sky. The clouds brightened momentarily as lightning streaked across them, the thunderclap reaching the people on the ship seconds later.
It had not been an easy journey back from Orgrimmar. They had been forced to delay their departure from Durotar by a day because of the weather, and had lost an additional two days, having had to be careful while navigating the waters.
Below deck, Faith was sorely regretting not having teleported herself and Sylvanas back to Undercity. She was feeling so ill now that she couldn't even think about the necessary spell to accomplish the task. The ship was rocking too much anyway, and she was afraid her spell would go awry.
She wasn't the only one suffering ill effects from the turbulent voyage. Several orcs, trolls, and tauren had been assigned to outposts in the Western Plaguelands, and had therefore boarded the Forsaken ship to the Eastern Kingdoms. All of them were now below deck, lying down and trying not to lose whatever remained of their dignity.
The door to her cabin opened and Sylvanas staggered in, her hand on the wall to keep her balance.
"By the light of the sun, I haven't rocked like that since I drank five pints of ale one day during Winter's Veil," she said, quickly taking a seat on Faith's bed.
Despite feeling as though her stomach was about to turn itself inside out, Faith smiled. "I remember that day. And it wasn't five pints, it was more like seven."
"I'm a little fuzzy on the details, to be honest."
"No kidding. I'd never seen you that sick before."
"You held my hair back while I vomited, I remember that." She ran a blessedly cool hand over Faith's heated forehead. "How are you holding up?"
Faith made a miserable sound in the back of her throat, burying her face in her pillow.
"That good, huh?" Sylvanas kissed her cheek. "Would it help if I stayed with you?"
"I don't want you to see me like…" Her face went a chalky white, and she rolled to the side. Sylvanas supported her, but her stomach was empty. Only bile fell into the bucket that had been placed next to the bed.
Taking a handkerchief, she gently wiped Faith's mouth, "Shh, it's okay. And just so you remember, I've seen you in much worse conditions than this." She took Faith in her arms and settled down next to her, trying to keep her still as the ship kept making its way through the waters to reach Tirisfal Glades. Faith kept her eyes closed, waiting for everything to end.
The storm let up just as Tirisfal Bay came into view.
Pale and shaking, the living emerged into the deck, trying to breathe in the fresh air before they reached the Forsaken lands.
"We are not in the right place if we want clean air," muttered an orc.
Faith, supported by Sylvanas, waved her hand around once, murmuring a spell that surrounded them all with the gentle smell of a breezy spring day. A tauren who was closest to her closed his eyes in appreciation. "Oh," he said. "That smells like the plains of Mulgore. Thank you, Major."
"No problem," she whispered. "The smell of undeath isn't the best thing after the journey we've just had,"
"D'you want me to leave?" asked Sylvanas, her tone only half-mocking.
"If you do, I'll just come with you."
Sylvanas rolled her eyes, but securely kept an arm around Faith to make sure she stayed on her feet.
It was obvious as they drew nearer to Tirisfal Glades that the coast had been violently battered by the storm. Dozens of dead murlocs floated in the water, and uprooted trees littered the shore.
"The waves must have been high," remarked Sylvanas, frowning.
"Look at the docks," whispered Faith.
Several Forsaken were there, working as quickly as they could, but it was obvious that the docks had been destroyed by the storm.
"Can you guide the ship in?" Sylvanas asked Faith.
"Sure."
An hour later, the Windrunner was docked, its passengers sitting on the firm ground and thanking whatever deity they believed in for the end of the voyage. Faith was still swaying, and kept her hold on Sylvanas.
"Will you listen to me next time I ask you to teleport yourself home?"
Faith could only nod. Her stomach still hadn't fully settled yet, and speaking didn't seem to be a good idea just then.
They reached Undercity a couple of hours later, finding that Rotvine was waiting for them, a look of worry on his face. He held a scroll in his hand, which he had evidently read more than once, for it was no longer tightly rolled, but flapped limply as he paced.
"What's the matter?" asked Sylvanas right away.
"Your Majesty," he said, bowing. He held out the scroll to her, "We've just received some news."
Faith felt a thrill of premonition coming over her, as though something bad were going to happen. As Sylvanas began to read the scroll, the city shook once, a loud rumbling echoing throughout the halls. Losing her balance, Faith dropped to one knee, glancing up at the queen to make sure she was all right.
"That's the second earthquake since yesterday," murmured Rotvine. "Things have been shaking throughout the region, apparently. I heard there was a bad one in Khaz Modan a few days ago."
Sylvanas held up the parchment, "Is that what this is about?"
Rotvine shook his head, "No… King Magni Bronzebeard is dead."
"Dead?" cried Faith, getting back to her feet.
Holding up a hand, Sylvanas read the letter quickly, "Apparently he was worried about the same elemental unrest Thrall told us about, and decided to look for a way to communicate with the earth to figure out what was happening."
"And that killed him?" Faith's eyes were wide and scared.
"What he did killed him. Does that say that he was turned into a diamond?"
Rotvine gave a slow nod, "Our sources state that he tried to become one with the earth. He must have performed some kind of ritual that went wrong."
"You're not kidding," said Sylvanas quietly. "Give me a minute to think about this." She went to her office, closing the door behind her and leaving Faith and Rotvine alone in the throne room.
"Have there been any other problems?" she asked him.
"Just some storms. And a couple of shaman in Silverpine Forest said that they had seen a few water elementals in Lordamere Lake."
Elementals weren't common in Lordaeron. Faith frowned, "I guess Thrall is on to something, then." She quickly explained to him that he had stepped down as warchief, and that he had handed the mantle to Garrosh.
He reacted the same way Faith thought he would, "We just got out of a war… I hope he's not going to drag us into another one," he said, shaking his head again.
"I think that we should enjoy this moment of peace while it lasts, because it won't for much longer."
Sylvanas came out of her office an hour later, having composed a reply to the letter she had received. She walked over to Faith, "Hey. You feel like taking a little trip?"
Faith blinked, "Not by boat."
A chuckle, "No. I suppose you can teleport there."
"Where am I going?"
"Ironforge. I'm sending you there as an ambassador to the Forsaken, so that you can pay your respects on our behalf. You're the perfect person for this job, what with the way you helped the Alliance throughout the Northrend campaign."
"I thought I was never supposed to leave your side again," said Faith, coming closer to her.
"You're not supposed to leave my side again. Unless I ask you to go somewhere for me."
"I'm going to miss you."
"You won't be gone long, just a couple of days at most."
That didn't change the fact that Faith was going to miss her, and Sylvanas knew it. Faith could tell Sylvanas was feeling the same, but she was keeping that to herself. "When do you want me to go?"
"Today, if you're up to it."
Faith nodded. She dragged her bag to her room and began to unpack, at the same time preparing a new bag to take with her to Ironforge. Sylvanas walked into the room a short while later, coming to her.
"By the way, Faith, how's your hand?"
"My hand?" Faith looked momentarily confused.
"The one that Garrosh broke."
"How did you know that he –."
"I know how to make myself invisible." She took her hand, rubbing the pad of her thumb gently across the knuckles, "I would have showed myself, but he seemed intent on speaking to you alone."
"It was nothing."
"Nothing," she repeated. "You should have told me."
Faith kept quiet for a few moments, memorizing the feel of her hand within Sylvanas'. "He wanted to intimidate me."
"It's more likely that he wanted to intimidate me, and he went through you because he can't openly defy me. Nor can I openly defy him."
"You can't really defy him at all," whispered Faith.
Sylvanas' smile was a little too cold. She was livid, and Faith knew it. "I've had a new tabard made for you," she said in an obvious effort to calm herself down.
"New tabard?"
She held it up, a look of distaste on her features. It was the same tabard that the Undercity guards wore, except that it was snow-white, with the broken mask that made up the Forsaken crest outlined in black shading to make it visible.
"Ah, you know I don't wear white," said Faith quietly, taking it from her.
"You will for this."
"You don't do peace with the Alliance."
"Silvermoon will be sending an ambassador to Ironforge as well," said Sylvanas, ignoring Faith's remark. "And I think that Orgrimmar will as well, so you won't be alone."
Faith nodded, putting on inky black leggings and a matching tunic, along with fingerless gloves and leather boots. Sylvanas slipped the tabard over her head, making a show of smoothing it out.
"You look good in white," she murmured. "I miss you wearing colors."
Putting a hand on Sylvanas' face, Faith smiled, "Which colors would you like me to wear?"
Sylvanas looked at her, "Blue. I've always loved you in blue."
"Okay. I'll wear blue for you when I get back from Ironforge." Faith leaned over and pressed her lips to Sylvanas' cheek.
"You will?"
She nodded, "Yes."
For a moment, Sylvanas didn't know what to say. She just stared into Faith's eyes before resting their foreheads together. Faith could only stay there, feeling everything. The intimacy with her lover was stealing her breath away, and she felt the force of their combined love. She took a step towards her, tucking herself into her arms and closing her eyes.
Sylvanas held her. "Come back to me soon," she whispered.
"I will. I promise."
Releasing her, Sylvanas stepped back. She cleared her throat, trying to disguise the fact that she wanted to cry. She hated herself for feeling so weak around Faith. She was supposed to be the strong one in their relationship, but over the years, she had found herself leaning on her more and more. She didn't want Faith to go.
"Hey. I'll be back before you know it. And I won't be in any danger."
"Won't be in any danger, is that what you think? You're going into an Alliance capital."
"As an ambassador. I'm not going there to kill anybody."
Sylvanas didn't feel any better about needing to let her go, but she kept quiet. Squaring her shoulders, she watched, hoping she appeared disinterested, as Faith gathered her things. She didn't take her staff with her, or a spellblade, but instead carried a crystal-topped wand, which she strapped to her waist in full view of everyone. She finished getting ready by fastening a new floor-length black cloak around her shoulders.
"How do I look?" she asked.
"You always look perfect," whispered Sylvanas before she could stop herself.
Faith smiled again, putting a spell on her bag to make it smaller to carry. "I'll see you in a few days," she said.
"You will." She kissed her, meaning for it to be soft, but Faith wrapped an arm around her and snaked her tongue inside her mouth for a deeper kiss. "I love you."
"I love you."
Together, they walked towards where some of the mages had already created a portal to the region of Dun Morogh. "We've warned them that you were coming, so you shouldn't be attacked on sight."
"Is that supposed to reassure me?" asked Faith playfully. "Good job, Sylvanas."
"Just go. And be safe."
Faith nodded and gave Rotvine a hug, "Look after her for me," she said to him.
"I'll be fine," said Sylvanas, leaning close to Faith, who jumped in surprise.
"Humor me."
"Consider yourself humored," said Rotvine.
Faith thanked him, squeezed Sylvanas' hand, and stepped through the portal. Sylvanas watched her go, feeling a familiar sense of loss, and a sudden urge to burst into tears. But she kept herself busy for the rest of the day, holding various meetings to tell her advisors about the newest developments and Garrosh's new appointment as Warchief of the Horde.
Anybody watching her couldn't have guessed that she felt wretched inside without her Faith.
For her part, Faith had landed in the middle of a snow storm that was strong enough to rival the ones of Northrend. She wasn't alone. The Silvermoon ambassador, Edinor Bloodthorn, was already there, wrapped in a thick fur cloak, and stood next to a tauren female whose eyes were squinted against the snow.
"Ah, there you are, Faith," said Edinor, needing to shout so that Faith could hear him over the howling wind. "We're just waiting for the orc ambassador, and we'll be able to go!"
She nodded, turning towards the tauren. Her eyes widened, and she smiled, "Ishaka!" she cried.
The grey female extended a hand, "I knew you would be here," she said. "I told Hamu that I had to come so that I could meet you."
Ignoring the hand, Faith hugged her, "Oh, I'm so happy you've agreed to be Hamu's life-mate. He was so excited when he told me about you!"
Ishaka, seeming a little taken aback, put one arm around Faith quickly before letting her go. As she did so, a portal materialized in front of them, and an orc appeared, a tall and burly male with dark green skin.
"I'm Katuk," he said in a growling voice. "There will not be anybody else joining us, so we can go now."
They started walking, spotting Ironforge nestled into the mountain a short way away. All of them were wearing white, but with the snow, it was difficult to know whether the dwarves would notice, and, indeed, whether they would shoot first and ask questions later, or do the opposite.
Half an hour later, they came across a group of dwarves who appeared to be fighting a couple of angry-looking elementals made of ice. Faith had come across some of them in Northrend, but they had almost seemed subdued by comparison.
One of the dwarves was lying in the snow, his arm bent at an odd angle.
"Move aside!" called Faith, beginning to cast a strong fire spell.
The dwarves that were still fighting scrambled out of the way as a tongue of flame hit the first elemental squarely in the chest. Its form began to melt rapidly, and once it was gone, Faith's companions converged on the second one, dispatching back to the elemental plane.
"Thank yeh!" said the dwarf on the floor. "Yeh're the ambassadors of the Horde?"
Faith nodded, "Yes, master dwarf," she said, walking to him as the other dwarves helped him to his feet. "How's your arm?"
"The priests'll be able to fix it."
"We'll escort yeh to the gates," said another dwarf. "Yeh're not safe here. That was the third group of elementals that have come through here today."
"Which is three more than we usually get. We have water elementals at Helm's Bed Lake, but nothing usually comes this close to our settlements."
"The elementals have been restless in Durotar as well," said Katuk. "Just the other day, earth elementals began to fight water elementals near Southfury River."
"Aye, so we've heard. Our king tried ter find out what was going on with them…" the dwarf's voice trailed off, and Faith put a hand on his shoulder. A particularly violent gust of wind prevented her from speaking, however, and they quickly went on their way, going up the road that led to the gates of Ironforge.
Never having been there before, Faith was struck by how massive they were, carved into the side of the mountain that way. She hadn't often given dwarves much thought, but the few times she had thought about them, she'd never imagined their society.
Now, entering the city, she looked around, noting the intricate carvings that had been beautifully rendered within the mountain itself. Hundreds of braziers lit the halls of stone, their merry glow reflected on the walls. Distantly, she heard the sounds of the giant forge that she knew made up the center of the city. Unlike her beloved Undercity, which was also underground, Ironforge was warm, despite the fact that many of the inhabitants were clearly in mourning. Black banners had been hung on the walls as a sign of respect to the fallen king.
"It's beautiful," she breathed.
The dwarves looked at her, "Thank yeh. It's not often that members of the Horde say things like that ter us."
Someone walked over to meet them, a dwarf with a familiar face.
"Haldren!" exclaimed Faith.
The paladin smiled, shaking her hand warmly, "It means a lot ter me ter see yeh here, Faith," he said.
Faith turned to the others who were with her, "Please meet Haldren Brighthammer, everyone. He was part of my team when we killed Arthas."
"Then we owe you our gratitude, paladin," said Ishaka, shaking his hand.
Katuk shook his hand as well, while Edinor merely nodded, looking like he had a toothache.
"Welcome ter Ironforge," he said. His smile faltered, "We haven' had an easy few days, I can tell yeh."
"We know, Haldren. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to King Magni."
"Thanks, Faith." He cleared his throat, "I've bin assigned as yer bodyguard for the duration of yer stay in Ironforge."
"Our bodyguard," repeated Faith quietly. She suspected, correctly, that this had nothing to do with them needing to be kept safe, but rather with everyone wanting to keep an eye on them. She understood, though, as she knew that any Horde leader would do the same. "Sounds good, Haldren."
He led them through the cavernous halls, briefly explaining what had happened to the king. "I kin take yer to see him, if yeh'd like, after yeh've been settled."
"We are here to pay our respects," said Ishaka in a low voice.
Haldren nodded, turning a corner into what was obviously the Ironforge throne room. A figure dressed in fine blue and gold stood there, facing the wall, a book in his hand. His golden hair shone in the torchlight, but his eyes were sunken, his face pale.
"Prince Anduin," said Faith as she saw him.
He turned to look at her. He had obviously had a rough few days. Upon closer inspection, Faith noticed that his skin appeared grey. "Major Everstone," he whispered. He stepped forward, and Faith did the same, shaking his hand.
"I'm sorry for your loss, your Highness," she told him.
His eyes searched hers, and she could swear that she saw tears there. However, he kept them at bay, "Thank you." He opened his mouth, hesitating.
"It wasn't just King Magni," said Haldren quietly. "His instructor was killed in one of the earthquakes we had last week as she tried to rescue victims of a previous quake."
"A hero," said Katuk.
"What was her name?" asked Ishaka.
Prince Anduin's voice was shaky, "Aerin. I tried… I tried to save her…"
Faith nodded, putting a hand on the prince's shoulder and squeezing it briefly. "Sometimes there are people you cannot save," she said softly. "Believe me, I wish that wasn't the case."
"I know. It's just… unfair."
There was nothing else to be said about it. He was in pain, and had the circumstances been any different, Faith thought that she would have hugged him. He sure looked like he could use a hug, and she felt bad about the fact that he had to act brave just because he had a title attached to his name.
They were shown to their room, which, incidentally, was close to the throne room, in one of the more heavily guarded areas of Ironforge. Edinor grumbled at this, but nobody else was surprised. They were lucky to be accepted within the dwarven city at a time like this.
Of course, none of them had counted on a very unexpected visitor.
Moira Thaurissan, daughter of King Magni, arrived only an hour after they did. Had she simply been a princess of Ironforge, Faith didn't think that there would have been any problems with accepting her claim to the throne. However, she had married Dagran Thaurissan of the Dark Iron dwarves, which made things a little… complicated.
"I don't know much about dwarven politics," said Katuk quietly as they gathered together in a corner of the throne room, trying to make themselves invisible. "But this doesn't look good."
Faith agreed. Most of the dwarves, while not fond of the Horde at all, had been accommodating to them during the short amount of time they had been in Ironforge. Moira, however, had glared at them the moment she had seen them.
"And what, pray tell, is the Horde doing here in Ironforge?" she asked, her voice carrying unmistakable authority.
"We came here to pay our respects to King Magni, as ambassadors of the Horde," answered Faith diplomatically.
"Hm." Moira looked at her up and down. Despite the fact that she was several feet shorter than Faith, the way she was scrutinizing her almost made her feel small. "Are you sure you haven't come here with the express purpose of spying on us? Perhaps to see who was going to be king or queen now?"
She didn't wait for an answer, merely going up to the throne and taking a seat. A pair of burly Dark Iron dwarves flanked her, their red eyes and dark skin making them look more undead than living.
"Kill them," she said.
