Neither faction remained on the battlefield long after the Burning Legion was defeated. There was a short celebration amongst the soldiers and a small ceremony to commemorate the union between the Alliance and Horde on this day. As Oliktalv was away and Salin being tended to by the healers for his injuries, Belara had to represent the Horde. She did not bother to listen to the human's speech. He was just trying to raise morale even though it was raised enough from this battle. Afterwards, she shook hands with the man, and they went their separate ways. It was for the best that way as the dark ranger was not sure how long her Forsaken would remain passive and not pick a fight.

Belara made her way back to the base camp the Horde set up. The guards manning their posts saluted her as she walked into camp. She smiled, glad to be back in command. Salin was growing as a leader, but she knew she would be better than him when it came down to leadership. The only reason the Blood Knight was even placed in command was because Oliktalv must of saw past his foolishness and caught a glimpse of honor. Belara had no honor left, but honor does not make for a good leader. When it comes to battle, a leader must be willing to do whatever it takes to secure victory.

With that logic in mind, Belara did not mind working with the Alliance this one time. Before the ceremony, a soldier gave a report on estimated casualties. Luckily for her, less than a quarter of her soldiers were killed or seriously injured. Then, Belara found out that out of the first wave of attackers, over half of the soldiers were deceased or badly wounded, including Salin. Had the Horde attempted this same plan alone, the casualties would of been higher. The Alliance suffered a similar toll from what she heard. In the end, both factions were better off working together.

All of the action was happening at the center of the camp. The injured were gather there, being treated for their wounds. Those with minor cuts and bruises were taken care of easily while those who suffered from more serious injuries such as broken bones were being stabilized to move back to Thrallmar where they can rest as they healed. The fallen soldiers were gathered in one corner where volunteers were covering the corpses with clothes before placing them upon a stretcher. Afterwards, two would grab the ends of it carried the body away. Belara mused to herself, realizing how the horrors of war were seen in the aftermath rather than during the actual war. She walked over to one of the healers, who was stitching up a cut on a blood elf's shoulder.

"Do you know how much longer until everything is done here?" Belara asked.

"Shouldn't take too much longer now," the healer answered, focusing on the stitching. "We just need to finish up with the corpses and get those who cannot walk onto the stretchers."

"Good," Belara said coldly. "I shall leave you be."

With some time to kill, Belara decided that it would be best to check on Salin. The Blood Knight may need some company before they began the journey back to Thrallmar. Yet, finding him would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Most of the injured were blood elves, so it would be easy for him to blend in with the crowd. As Belara looked for her old friend, her focused turned to someone who stood out from the crowd. Dal'bin was sitting down on the ground, no healer tending to him. He was shirtless and most of the cuts he received from fighting the nathrezim were nearly healed. Belara was almost shocked as she knew that the cuts were initially deep and wide. Then, she remembered that trolls did have the ability to regenerate their wounds. She approached the troll, who saw the dark ranger coming. He quickly got up and saluted her, standing at attention.

"Enough of that," Belara told him. "There's no need to be so formal right now. You were nearly killed today."

"Dat was nothin'," Dal'bin claimed as he looked down at the dark ranger. "I almost had da demon dead,"

"When I saw you on the battlefield, you couldn't even stand," Belara pointed out, crossing her arms. "No more lying. That's an order I know you'll follow. Was there any point during the battle where you knew that you were going to lose it?"

"Yeah, mon," Dal'bin answered without hesitation.

"How come you didn't run?" Belara asked. "Even if you were surrounded, I could imagine you being able to slip away. It better not be honor that was holding you back."

"Nah mon," Dal'bin replied. "I didn't have any orders for what ta do after da portals were deactivated."

"Dal'bin, please forgive me if I insult you in anyway, but that's foolish," Belara stated sharply. "At that point, you had the free will to decide what your next step was, but you didn't use that free will. Instead, you let the Burning Legion decide what you would do next. Next time, I may not get lucky and save your life."

"It be my job ta follow orders," Dal'bin said without emotion, keeping eye contact with the dark ranger.

"I do not blame you for following orders, but whenever there is a lack of command, it is up to you to decide what to do," Belara told him.

"Whatever ya say,mon," Dal'bin replied, shrugging. "Do ya need me ta do anythin'?"

"You didn't learn anything at all from that," Belara muttered with a sigh. "Go help take down the camp. By now, there should be some soldiers taking down the tents. Also, take it easy. You're no good to anyone if those wounds of yours become worse."

Dal'bin nodded, and with another salute, he ran off, out of sight. Belara shook her head once the troll was gone. He would make for a perfect soldier with the ability to follow any order without question. That trait was rare as there are some who question the motive behind every order. Yet, it is a bit worrying if the scout is unable to think for himself. Even after he was done fighting, he might continue looking for some sort of order to follow. She could only hope that Dal'bin would realize the error of his ways and start to learn how to be more independent.

With some of the wounded out of the way, Belara was able to spot Salin. He was set upon a stretcher, a fur blanket covering most of his body. His exposed feet poked from one end while his head emerged from the other, eyes closed. Around his lower face were multiple burn marks. A proper priest or shaman could easily heal those away back at Thrallmar, although Belara was not worried about that. The Blood Knight took a punch directly from an infernal. That hit alone broke his weapon and knocked him out of the fight. She could picture the bruises underneath his armor and the broken bones underneath his skin. Silently, she sat next to him, coughing into her arm. One of Salin's eyes slowly opened, followed by the other.

"So, here to criticize me?" Salin asked, turning his head to her. "We're not even back at Thrallmar yet and I'm about to hear ten different reasons on why I'm a failure as a leader."

"Don't blame yourself for that," Belara told him. "Had I been in your position, my soldiers would suffer the same as yours did. Sometimes, sheer numbers can overcome strategy and skill."

"Well, thank you for that," Salin said, closing his eyes. "I guess that means you're here to yell at me for charging that infernal."

"You charged the infernal?" Belara asked, shocked. "I thought it was the other way around."

"It was I who tried to engage in battle with it," Salin answered. "So, does that make me a fool?"

"It does!" Belara told him, her voice rising with anger. "Did you want to kill yourself when you charged it or were you hoping to think of some grand and heroic tale to tell when we leave this place?"

"I survived worst," Salin said, forming a small smile before grimacing. "Gah, it hurts to smile now."

"You're avoiding the question, Salin," Belara said, frowning. "I don't like this new change, and I don't believe for a second that it is natural. Please, can you tell me what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that someone decided to cover my body up with a fur blanket in the middle of the heat," Salin answered as he chuckles. His laugh, however, turns into a series of hacking coughs. "By the Light, it now hurts to laugh too!"

Belara sighed, slowly standing up as Salin continued to rant on about the heat. There were times where she was very cold to him. She did not hate him, but rather the situation they were both in. Unlike her, the Blood Knight had survived the invasion of Quel'thalas, and this was how he was choosing to live his life. She knew that this act Salin was putting on was not his true self. Perhaps it was because he coped with the destruction of his home differently. When she broke free from the Lich King's control like the rest of the Forsaken, she accepted what had happened and moved on. Perhaps her old friend was still holding onto some old memory that he refused to let go of.

Two Forsaken soldiers came to the two, and grabbed the ends of the stretcher Salin was on. They lifted him up in the air and carried him away. Belara only stared as her old friend was taken away, shaking her head. She wanted to find out what was wrong, but knew that he would only tell when he was ready. For now, all she could do was look out after the Blood Knight. Despite their differences, Belara did consider Salin to be one of her closest friends. He would reveal everything soon. Maybe it will be a few years or perhaps to someone else, but the Blood Knight will have to tell his secret soon.

For now though, Belara needed to forget about personal matters for the time. Around her, more tents were being taken down as the wounded were almost ready to make the journey back to Thrallmar. She would meet up with Oliktalv there, and moving on, they would begin to work on fighting new battles on this world. Thinking about it, the only good that came of Salin's injury was that the orc commander would be left with no choice but to trust Belara now. The dark ranger would be certain to prove her worth and to show that she is a capable leader. She supposed the best way to start was with the march back. She walked away from the center of the camp. There would be change in the coming battles, and Belara would be ready for them.

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry for the short chapter this time around. I've been exhausted for the last few days, but I knew that I would have to finish writing this chapter. I'm thinking it may be a bit rushed, but it is time to move the direction of the story towards Kargath and the Fel Horde. However, I shall not be able to update the story on Tuesday due to personal reasons. I shall get back to writing starting Thursday and everything should be back on schedule. That is until I go on vacation in a few weeks, but we'll cover that when we get there.

As always, keep on reading. Until next time.