The village of Thorne seemed content with the violent justice Gylledra had wrought. She'd also ensured that all who had any losses that could be bought were given more than enough gold to cover the cost of replacing their things. Though, whether people had suffered losses or not, she gave them gold if they asked for it. There were no comfortably wealthy people of that small place.
"You feel responsible." Vorna said, coming up behind Gylledra as she stared at the burnt corpses. The sun had set and the Nameless had made camp and were made to feel much more welcome than they had been originally. Some had helped with construction and projects that assistance was needed for and she intended to leave behind a detachment for a few days to ensure the people of Thorne were taken care of.
"Of course I do. I created this organization, they wouldn't have been here to do what they did if it weren't for me." She replied, glancing back at the young human.
"Were they not brought together by you, would they have ever been held accountable for these acts they'd have eventually committed anyway?"
"One might go crazy counting all the things that might or might not have happened." Gylledra gave her a sidelong look.
"After how even many thousands of years you've been alive, you still hold onto guilt despite knowing that their free will to do heinous things has nothing to do with you?" Vorna folded her arms, cocking one eyebrow.
"Yes, well, there is no one alive who is without flaws." Gylledra replied levelly. "The bulk of us will be gone before sunrise, and your village can begin to heal without further interference."
"I think you should stay through the morning…you may gain back a few of the numbers you lost today." Vorna shrugged but smiled and Gylledra turned, regarding her. She had seen it on the faces of all who were now Nameless, that desire to be a part of what she had created.
"You want to join us." It wasn't a question, and the human merely nodded.
"I do, yes." She replied. "And…I know you can see the hate in my heart that I feel right now, the grief…the desire to undo those who would harm innocent people, but…"
"If you're expecting me to tell you I only accept those who are pure of heart and free of emotional burdens or damage…you're barking up the wrong tree. I don't want the pure of heart with shining ideals and desires for a world full of peace and rainbows and daisies." Gylledra took a step closer, watching Vorna's eyes as they widened in surprised. "People who have never suffered do not make for good soldiers, Vorna. Suffering is what drives many of us, the things we have experienced, what we have seen, what we have been forced to do in our lifetimes…it hardens our hearts in a lot of ways, but our love for this world endures, the desire to save others from what we have been through is what keeps us going."
"I had not thought of that."
"You saw your father die, most of us have watched our loved ones taken from us in horrible ways. Almost all of my family was tortured and murdered before my eyes and the hate that erupted in my very core that day is what pumps through my veins when I call the Void forward." Gylledra pushed the void back then, returning to her usual visage and Vorna's eyes grew wider still. "This is who I am. My name is Gylledra." Her eyes stayed wide and she blinked, as though not believing what she was seeing.
"I know you."
"I don't think that you do…"
"I didn't think you were real." Vorna took a step back, still staring.
"Sometimes that's the idea, but…"
"We did not always live in Thorne, we moved south a few years ago when my mother died." She began explaining. "I thought it was a dream…but…"
"I don't think I understand…" Gylledra frowned, wondering if perhaps the girl was a bit touched after so much trauma.
"There were orcs."
"What?"
"Thousands of them. We were…we were sent to get berries for a pie when we came out of the tree line and saw them all marching. I had nightmares for months…they stopped and started coming toward us…"
"Hillsbrad." Gylledra finally made the connection.
"Yes! And it was you…you came to us and made a circle and that was all I remember. My brother was too small, he never remembered." Vorna laughed then. "I truly owe you my life."
"I don't even know what to say." Gylledra smiled, shaking her head before something else occurred to her. "Vorna, you do know that the Nameless span all factions, all people…that means Horde as well."
"Orcs even?"
"Yes, orcs too. Is that a problem?"
"I…I suppose not. I have never met an orc since then, whatever you did, they agreed to leave us alone." The girl gave a shrug. "Besides that, I have never met any Horde." Gylledra gestured to Pava and Reggie, who approached. Then, with Vorna, they followed Gylledra around the side of a building.
"Take off your helms." She told them. They exchanged a look, but then did as they were bidden, and Vorna gasped, face to face with orcs for the second time in her life, though the circumstances had changed markedly. "This is Pava, my first lieutenant. All other lieutenants report to her. This is Reggie, my master of espionage."
"I…it's nice to meet you." Vorna told them. "And there are other orcs out there? And trolls? They've all been helping us all this time?"
"Yes." Pava replied. "When we serve our general, the political alliances and enemies forged over the years are no more and what matters most is Azeroth. All other conflict is beneath us." She glanced at Gylledra, the question clear in her eyes, is this human joining us? Gylledra gave a nod. "It is harder for some than others, but in time, friendships form between even the most unlikely of people. But something imperative for us all is trust. Even if one of the soldiers despises another, that soldier trusts that the one he loathes will have his back regardless. Our own desires no longer matter when we serve, only Azeroth matters." Pava went on.
"I understand." Vorna nodded.
"If you need time to think it over…" Gylledra started and her head snapped up, her brown eyes determined as she shook her head.
"I need no time. Before today I had no direction, I wish to join the Nameless. What must I do?" Vorna squared her shoulders.
"You must swear an oath that you will not break on pain of death. You saw today what happens when my soldiers betray me. And as you are not currently a trained soldier, you must decide what it is you wish your part to be in our army, whether it is a soldier or a gatherer of information, either way, you will need training." Gylledra explained.
"Initiates, once sworn, serve and train, and when the General thinks you are ready, you will receive your armor, your rank, and your place in formation." Pava added before she and Reggie replaced their helms.
"I understand." Vorna said again. "I lack the subtlety to be a spy, I'm afraid, I feel I would serve you best as a soldier."
"I accept." Gylledra nodded. "You will swear first to me and again before your future brethren. Now, tell me your full name."
"I am Vorna Undelga of the village of Thorne of the kingdom of Stormwind."
"Do you swear to do any and all things in your power to protect all people of Azeroth regardless of their origin, forsaking any and all prejudices?"
"I swear."
"Do you swear to be trustworthy to your brethren and give even your life to defend this world?"
"I swear."
"Do you swear your loyalty, obedience, and service to me, Gylledra Alenos, General of the Nameless, above all others, all sovereigns, and all authority?" Gylledra watched closely as Vorna blinked for a very brief moment before nodding.
"I do so swear, General."
"I accept your oath, you are now Vorna Undelga of the Nameless. You are sworn to keep secret your identity and that of all other Nameless. We do not fight for glory, we do not fight for recognition. We fight and we die so that Azeroth endures." Gylledra reached out, laying her hands on Vorna's head, her thumbs meeting at the middle of her forehead. "With this mark you will be known to all other Nameless, and all others will be known to you." The mark was not a visible one, but from one Nameless to another, they knew in their hearts who bore it.
"Thank you, General."
"Welcome to the Nameless, Vorna." Gylledra smiled, genuinely pleased and Pava clapped her on the back.
"Welcome. It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better." The orc chuckled.
"Now what?"
"You spend your last night in Thorne as an initiate. When your training is complete, you can return to your life until called to march, or seek more specific assignment." They strolled back out to the main square and Gylledra put her helm on. "It is important to remember that even as Nameless, we are still people of Azeroth who deserve to have the lives we wish for ourselves."
"What life do you wish for yourself?" Vorna asked. Gylledra paused, no one had asked her that in a long time.
"I've already had the life I wished for myself." She replied. "Best you go and take care of what you need to, we leave at dawn." Vorna simply nodded before heading off.
"Called it." Nasorya said suddenly, coming out of nowhere as she was often wont to do.
"You did not." Gylledra rolled her eyes.
"You're right, I definitely haven't witnessed the recruiting of thousands of people over the last decade, silly me." She folded her arms. "She made up her mind the instant the fire started."
"She'll make a good soldier I think, once she's trained up. Usually the ones that have nothing else to live for are rather dedicated." Pava observed.
"Who will have that assignment?" Nasorya asked and quickly put a finger on the nose of her own mask. "Not it."
"I will do it, I think."
"Ooh, a little protégé…you going to shape her young, fragile mind into as twisted a killing machine as you are?" Nasorya laughed at her own joke.
"For their sakes, I hope no Nameless becomes that." Gylledra scoffed. "We met her before, you know."
"What?" Pava and Nasorya asked in unison.
"In Hillsbrad, it was her and her little brother I stopped the orcs from killing."
"Wow." Nasorya murmured.
"So…it comes full circle." Pave gave a nod. "Her loyalty will be especially strong."
Beneath the cool exterior and the jokes with Nasorya, the day's events tore at Gylledra like a clawed beast. She tossed and turned on her bedroll in the tent as Nasorya snored obnoxiously, mouth agape, across from her. It felt like hours before finally her eyes grew heavy and she at last found the reprieve that only sleep could bring.
A room slowly came into focus, it was the room at Warsong Hold, though it seemed fuzzy, shrouded in the haze of memory. A fire burned low in the fireplace. On the bed, asleep, was Varok, one arm behind his head, the blankets covering him to the waist, the rest of him bare. She'd seen him that way countless times, and dreamed of him often. Before falling asleep she had been longing for him, to be comforted after carrying out executions of her own people. Her mind gave her what little reprieve, what little comfort it could.
Moonlight shone in through the window and she silently went to him, kneeling on the bed in the empty place beside him, a spot she once occupied. Even asleep he looked troubled and she lay a hand gently on his shoulder, his skin hot to the touch, as always.
"Varok." She whispered, her own voice strange, faraway. His eyes flew open and he jerked into a sitting position staring at her, blinking several times and she gave a small smile.
"Gylledra…" He grunted.
"This is a welcome change from my usual barrage of nightmares." She replied. Varok pulled her against him and kissed her and she happily reciprocated, her arms around his neck, tasting him, and he was the same as he ever was.
"You look sad." He whispered.
"I am sad every day." She told him. "Today, I was forced to execute some of my soldiers who had betrayed me." He gathered her close in his arms as her cheek pressed against his bare chest. "I have done many difficult things, but to face such betrayal and look into their eyes as they died by my hand…"
"How did you execute them?" He asked and she almost laughed that that was the question.
"Fire." She replied. "So I suppose I wasn't really watching their eyes specifically as they died…"
"I am sorry they betrayed you. You've endured more than your share of betrayal…including mine." Varok took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She closed her eyes, pushing back the ache in her heart.
"I don't want to talk about that." She buried her face against his chest. "I just want to feel you…and pretend like nothing ever changed." Even in sleep, within a dream, he still had the power to open her up so she bared the most vulnerable parts of herself. It was only with him that she ever truly felt completely herself, that there was nothing of who she was that she needed to hide.
"You did what you had to do." He told her quietly and Gylledra sighed, knowing it was true.
As she breathed deeply, his musky scent filled her, warming her from the inside out. Memories were potent things and she shifted, straddling his lap. Varok met her eyes, stroking her hair, but his brow was furrowed.
"Aren't you cold?" He murmured, a question he'd asked her often.
"Not at all…" Gylledra kissed him as he took her by the hips, pulling her against him with a soft groan. She moved, everything blurring around her briefly as she pulled back, there was more movement, indistinct as she felt fabric in her hand, her night shirt, then nothing as it was gone. His fingers moved over her bare skin, up the curve of her backside, her waist, her shoulders, feeling her breasts, and every other inch of her. "My body has never known the hunger that has plagued me all this time apart." She whispered before taking his earlobe between her teeth. Varok let out a shuddering breath, her mouth trailing down his neck until he couldn't stand it any longer and shoved the blanket down. He took her by the waist and pulled her down to sheath him completely. She gave a small, startled cry but put her head back as the ripples of sensation tremored through her. The vision of him rippled like the reflection in a pool.
"I would have been satisfied with a kiss." Varok breathed, the words echoed around and through her.
"But is this not more satisfying?"
"Much." In one fluid motion, he had her pressed into the mattress before drawing back his hips and filling her again. He grunted, finding a steady rhythm, each stroke drawing Gylledra closer and closer toward that little death he was so skilled at achieving. It wasn't slow, languid love-making, it was urgent and full of need. She held onto him and cried out, months of longing finally releasing in a spasm that gripped her body harder than any she could remember. Varok panted, her limbs were shaking, but she watched his amber eyes until his brow furrowed and he moved hard, trying to stay quieter than she had.
Darkness closed around her before it melted away again, they lay together and Gylledra closed her eyes and pressed a kiss to his bare skin.
"I don't know how to not love you, so whatever happens, I think I just always will." She whispered. "However painful…even if you never want to see me again."
"I do love you…" His voice rumbled in his chest.
"I want to believe that." She sighed, nestling closer. "But it isn't real." Varok kissed the top of Gylledra's head and she looked up then kissed his lips again. His hips moved, he was still inside her…still hard, and she moaned softly.
Gylledra woke with a start in the darkness, the first pre-dawn birds only chirping quietly still. She wiped at her cheeks, they were wet, and let out a long sigh. The dream hung vividly in her mind, and with it, the disappointment of waking up alone again. She gave herself a few moments to let the sadness wash over her as she usually did when dreaming of him, but then she neatly packed it back up, pushing it down where it could not plague her until she slept again.
Shortly after dawn, the Nameless had broken down their camp and were bid goodbye by the people of Thorne. Gylledra had destroyed the burnt corpses and removed the poles they'd been tied to, all that remained were the scorched marks on the ground. Her soldiers returned from whence they came, Nasorya departed to spend time with the dragons, and Pava and Reggie returned to Orgrimmar.
"Have you ever been to Darnassus?" Gylledra asked Vorna.
"Stormwind is the only city I've seen. I've seen night elves and gnomes and dwarves there, but I'm a poor farmer's daughter, I have no means to travel nor any reason to." Her new companion explained.
"Well, you'll be in for a shock, then. I travel more than just about anything else." She replied, opening a portal. Vorna stared at it and the shimmering, wavy image of Darnassus within it. "Just step through, it will be fine." The young human put her shoulders back and strode through, Gylledra following close behind.
On the other side, they'd come out in the woods behind Gylledra's quarters and Vorna was on her hands and knees shaking somewhat, her face pale and sweaty.
"What…the hell…" She gasped.
"You'll grow accustomed to it. The shorter the distance, the less the effect, but we've just gone from Elwynn Forest to the northern most point of Kalimdor, so I imagine it's a bit of a shock to the system. Get up, you'll shake it off." Gylledra told her. "There are two people you must meet, since generally it is polite to ask permission to have a guest when you are a guest."
"You're a guest here?" Vorna's color was returning and she was at least upright again.
"Yes, I am Nightborne, not a night elf."
"How?"
"You have a healthy thirst for knowing things; that will work in your favor." Gylledra chuckled. "The night elves follow druidism and Elune, the Nightborne have mastered the arcane."
"I see." The girl murmured. "My one question has left me with many others."
As they made their way through the city, Vorna took in everything there was to see, her eyes wide as though she could not get enough. They climbed the stairs to the temple of Elune where Tyrande, ever watchful of everything that happened in her city, stepped out.
"Surely a portal doesn't count as use of the arcane. Conventional means of travel would have taken us…weeks." Gylledra told the tall, imposing night elf leader.
"Seeing as you have refrained from its use or even its mention to the children, I can forgive it. Who is your friend?" Tyrande replied as they reached her.
"This is Vorna, she comes from Stormwind. She's never left Elwynn and so, I have brought her with me so she might become more worldly." Gylledra explained, a little mischief in her smirk. "Vorna, this is Tyrande Whisperwind, along with Malfurion Stormrage, they lead the night elves."
"A friend of Gylledra's is welcome here. What other stops do you plan on your journey?"
"Theramore of course, probably Thunder Bluff…" Gylledra started. Tyrande bristled ever so slightly.
"You will take her to see the Horde as well? Why not take her into Orgrimmar too?"
Gylledra sighed. "My presence in Orgrimmar is accepted because it was my home, a human would likely not be so welcome, particularly with Garrosh Hellscream as acting Warchief." She made an unpleasant face.
"We can agree on that, at least. We bear no love for the orcs, but Thrall was interested in finding ways to coexist. The monster they have now…it will end very badly with him, I can feel it." Tyrande told them.
"You lived in Orgrimmar?" Vorna looked up at Gylledra who exchanged a slightly awkward glance with Tyrande.
"Yes, for many years." She cleared her throat. "Tyrande, would it be acceptable for Vorna to have quarters near mine during our visit? She wishes to learn to fight, so we will be spending a good deal of time doing that in the woods."
"Yes, I will see to it. Be sure to see the children, they ask after you constantly."
"The children?" Vorna inquired as they made their way back in the direction of their rooms.
"Both the night elven children and the Gilnean children who reside here, they seem to have a fondness for me that initially was completely baffling. I do my best to instill tolerance in their hearts. Different is not bad." Gylledra told her.
"You're…quite odd, you know that right?"
"Watching countless worlds destroyed before your eyes can have that effect."
Vorna had spent her life working on a farm, she was strong, all Gylledra had to do was teach her to use that strength in a new way. They dressed simply and headed out into the forest armed only with staves.
"When did you start training?" Vorna asked, breaking what had been quite a long silence.
"As a child, when I was big enough to hold a weapon. I was selected to be a part of the Moon Guard before even my tenth birthday." Gylledra told her.
"They recruited children? What about your youth? Your childhood…"
"It was not typical for it to happen that way, most were selected well into adulthood and already proven practitioners of the arcane arts. But…they decided there was something different about me. My parents had many children, so I suppose it was not such a great matter to have one taken away." There was, of course a hint of bitterness in her voice. Her mother had wanted their family associated with greatness and so did not protest. Her father and grandfather had not agreed, but ended up overruled. Needless to say, her relationship with her mother had not been very good and it had worsened farther when her mother had so willingly hidden in cowardice in Suramar.
"I see." Vorna murmured. "My mother died a few years ago, my brother caught sick and passed three years ago, so my father and our little farm in Thorne was all I had."
"And so you've elected to join an organization that will show you the entire world and all the horrors in it." Gylledra moved far more quickly than Vorna was expecting and it had barely registered that her legs had been swept out from under her with a staff until after she was flat on her back, gasping for breath. "And you've got a long way to go. You've sworn your service to the Nameless; it is not easy, it will not be fun, and you will rarely feel rewarded or satisfied by what you do." Vorna caught her breath, scrambling to get up but Gylledra knocked her down again, intending to incite the rage she knew the girl had and was pushing down. "You will look into the face of genuine evil and know it may be the very last face you ever see." Gylledra swept Vorna's hands out as she got to her knees so that she fell, prone, baring her teeth as finally she rolled sideways, grabbed her fallen staff and got to her feet. "You will feel one moment that you have victory, only to have it taken from you again." Gylledra struck her knuckles and Vorna nearly dropped her staff and grew angrier as her shins took the brunt of the next assault.
It was the thwap Vorna took to the face that finally made her attack. She let out a snarl, lunging, and Gylledra neatly stepped aside then deftly ducked the swing of the staff made at her head. Upright again, she slapped the girl in the face, easily avoiding another strike with the staff before slapping her with the other hand. Vorna snarled again, hurdling toward Gylledra, getting low to tackle her. Gylledra casually set aside her staff and using Vorna's momentum, easily lifted her and threw her down, now in possession of the staff, which, crouching down, she held to the girl's throat.
"You are angry…you should be angry." Gylledra growled at her. "You were beaten and raped. Your father was murdered. These are not things you should push down while you try to forget and focus on other things. These things happened to you, Vorna, and they were horrible." She was fighting the feelings, Gylledra could see it in her eyes, she didn't want to grieve and she didn't want to face what was done to her. Facing such atrocities was painful and meant being vulnerable. Vorna's face screwed up, turning red as tears filled her eyes.
"Get off of me!" She shrieked and Gylledra did at once. She stared up in surprise, as though expecting to be held down longer but instead found a hand extended to her, which she took and was pulled to her feet.
"It is dangerous to set those terrible things aside. You had the strength to look into the eyes of the one who did those things and that was one of the last things they saw, someone they sought to ruin who is anything but ruined."
"What am I supposed to do then? I am left with nothing but my anger and the memories." Vorna wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve. "These feelings…"
"Feel them, but do not become them." Gylledra's voice was more gentle again. "Now, let me show you the proper way to hold a staff…"
"I want to hold a sword." Vorna grumbled, still reeling from what had just happened.
"Yes, well…you have to learn to duck before you can stab."
Vorna learned quickly and seemed eager to please. Gylledra didn't intend to train her from start to finish, but she would at least take the girl to see some of the world she was promising to die for. They spent only a few days in Darnassus and Malfurion had come to Rut'theran Village to see them off.
"Where does this next leg of your tour take you, Gylledra?" He asked, smiling.
"Though I'm sure you don't want to hear it, I think next we will make our way to Thunder Bluff. Cairne and Baine have always been very open-minded." She told him, but his brow drew into a frown.
"You don't know…" He started.
"Don't know what?" She stared at him, a sense of dread suddenly coming over her.
"Cairne Bloodhoof challenged Garrosh Hellscream to mak'gora and was killed." There was no joy on Malfurion's face at delivering this news. A Horde leader was dead, but Cairne was good, he cared about peace and diplomacy and doing what was right. Gylledra stared at him for a long moment, her mouth open as she was both in shock and bewildered that somehow this news had not reached her.
"When?" She asked a little hoarsely.
"Shortly after the shattering, right after Thrall departed for Nagrand." Malfurion explained. She gaped in further shock.
"That was weeks ago…more than two months even…" She spluttered.
"You keep such a close eye on Horde affairs?" The towering night elf arched a brow at her.
"I keep a close eye on all affairs if it means saving lives." She snapped.
"His son, Baine, has taken his place as High Chieftain of the tauren."
"I know Baine well." She sighed. "Were it not for them I would have died eight years ago."
"I'm sorry for the loss of your friend."
"Cairne's death is a loss to all of Azeroth…and that damn orc is going to destroy the Horde if he is not stopped." Gylledra felt the anger bubbling up as it seemed to do more easily these days.
"I'm not exactly in a position to be terribly upset by the Horde's destruction." Malfurion replied and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Perhaps not, Malfurion, but you know as well as I do that a loose cannon like Garrosh Hellscream will not stop at ruining his own Horde, he will do whatever he can to obliterate the Alliance too." The tone of her voice was serious, and he knew she was right. "Now, I must pay respects to my fallen friend and see the grief on the face of his son."
