"Faith."

"General, come on, wake up."

"Come on, child, you can do it. Open your eyes."

It was terribly difficult. She felt heavy. Spent.

Her eyes opened a crack, and she cried out as a spike of pain drilled through her temple.

"It's all right, Faith. You're okay."

A cool cloth was passed over her forehead, the smell of a potion hitting her.

"That was quite some spell you cast," came Odin's voice. "Your magic's been there all along, but you were not able to access it because of a magical block that had been cast upon you."

Faith nodded slowly, "Yes… we knew that. But we've been having a difficult time getting rid of it because we don't know exactly what kind of magic has been used."

"You will not have to worry about it anymore. The block is gone."

Faith's eyes snapped open, "Gone?"

"Yes. You were willing to die to protect me and the Aegis. Ready to die for your home. The Aegis recognized your bravery and protected you, and in so doing, it removed whatever was blocking your magic."

"How?" she asked, completely flabbergasted. "I've never heard of anything capable of doing anything like that."

"The Titans would be the only ones capable of answering that question," he said. "But I think we can safely say that it was a combination of magic and the Light."

"Magic and the Light," she repeated quietly. "If that's the case, then I haven't given nearly enough respect to either over the years, and I'm deeply sorry for it."

"You do not have to be," said Odyn. "Just keep using your magic the way you have, to do good for Azeroth and battle against evil. I think that will be enough."

"Then let us hope that the lines between good and evil don't stay as blurred as they have been as of late, otherwise, we'll all have problems."

"That is for you to judge," said Eyir to her. "Although you may want to have a word with your wife about that, as her actions as of late have been less than good."

Faith cleared her throat, "Yeah, I'm gonna get right on that," she said.

"She doesn't listen to you?" asked Benok.

"Let's just say that she takes my warnings into consideration most of the time." She looked at Eyir, "I will talk to her."

Odyn nodded, "Thank you, Faith. I know that your time in Stormheim was less than easy, considering everything that you went through, but you kept going and didn't let it bring you down. That is the true mark of a hero."

"I'm no hero, Odyn," she said. "And I wouldn't have gotten this far if I'd been on my own. Horde, Alliance… everyone's had a part to play, and it's not over yet."

"It isn't," he agreed. "But for now, the Aegis is yours. Please take good care of it. Use it to drive the Burning Legion back into the abyss from whence it came."

"Can we get back to Dalaran?" asked Geldin. "Now that you have your magic again, Faith, could you make us a portal?"

Faith laughed softly, "I may have my magic back, my friend, but I feel like I've just fought through the entirety of the Northrend campaign. You're going to have to give me a while before I'm fully back to normal."

"We can help you with a portal," said Eyir. "It may burn a little, though."

Faith bowed to her, "Thank you for all your help. We leave in peace."

They landed in Dalaran several minutes later, Faith nearly crashing to the ground as soon as she stepped through the Light-infused vortex.

"Oh! By the gods, look! They got the Aegis of Aggramar!" cried one of the guards.

Soon, several people were running towards them, and Faith saw Khadgar among them, making his way to her.

"Oh, Faith… you went to get it!"

"Sylvanas is going to kill me. She'd warned me to stay in Undercity."

"And with good reason."

Faith jumped in surprise, not having expected to hear Sylvanas' voice in the slightest. "Warchief," she whispered. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same question," said Sylvanas, reaching her and putting an arm around her to support her. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that Odyn summoned me to the Halls of Valor and that we had to get the Aegis. Oh, you guys have got to send more people over there. The Burning Legion got inside."

"Inside?" asked Khadgar blankly. "How?"

"Don't ask me, I have no idea. All I know is that they need help."

"What's on your wrist?" he wondered, taking her hand and turning it over. Right there on the inside of her wrist was a faint vrykul rune that glowed faintly with golden Light. "Is that Odyn's mark?" he asked, shocked.

"I… I don't know. He said that the Aegis protected me." She turned to Sylvanas, "By the way, the block is gone."

Sylvanas gave a nod, "I know. I felt you very clearly earlier, that's why I knew to come here. How do you feel?"

"Like I could sleep for a week, I'm exhausted. It's weird… I haven't felt this way since before I died." She looked at Sylvanas closely, frowning. "Are you all right, Sylvanas? You look –."

"What?"

"Different."

"How do you mean?"

Faith shook her head slowly, biting her lip, "I can't put my finger on it. I don't know. But there seems to be something different about you."

"I'm still the same old me. I promise."

A chuckle, "I don't know about that, love. You haven't kissed me yet."

"You haven't kissed me either."

"We're in public."

Sylvanas' laughter was soft, "Since when has that ever stopped you?"

"Good point. Get over here."

Still chuckling, Sylvanas leaned over and pressed her lips to Faith's in a soft kiss. "If you want more than that you'll have to wait until we get home."

"Let's hurry this up, then," she whispered as they all went to the artifact room.

"What happened in the Halls of Valor?" asked Khadgar.

All of them gave an account of the battle against the Burning Legion within Odyn's home.

"He just gave you the Aegis? Just like that?" asked Sylvanas.

"He said that the Aegis had protected the general, and that it only did that for a true wielder, although I don't really know what that means."

Sylvanas glanced at Geldin, "One would assume that whatever Faith did activated the power of the Aegis, thus keeping all of you from certain death."

"Whatever the case," said Khadgar, "you all did a great job at procuring it. It means that we now have three out of the five Pillars of Creation." He took a deep breath, "See what you can do when you cooperate?"

Faith was beginning to lean more and more against Sylvanas, unwilling to admit just how badly her leg was hurting, "Hey, I'd love to keep cooperating with the Alliance to get rid of our common enemies. What the fel do you think I've been trying to do these past few years, Khadgar?"

"Oh, I know, Faith, I know. But tensions have been running so high lately."

"Don't blame me for that, I'm not the one trying to kill leaders of the opposite faction."

"And what about King Varian?"

Faith and Sylvanas stopped walking, "Pardon?" asked Sylvanas in a deadly voice.

"What about King Varian? You just left him to die on that island."

Sylvanas made to turn around and give the woman who had spoken a piece of her mind, but Faith tightened her grip on her, "Okay, okay, look. We're not about to get into a pissing contest over this, and frankly, Sylvanas, you're the only one who's keeping me on my feet, so if you let me go, I'll fall."

Looking briefly at Faith, Sylvanas scooped her up into her arms, "Better?"

"Being in your arms is always better," Faith told her. "You know that."

"Fiend," said Sylvanas pointedly.

They reached the artifact room, where Khadgar placed the Aegis. "Good job, all of you. Faith, I hope you'll forgive me for mentioning it, but Rhonin and Krasus would be very proud of you for everything you've accomplished."

Speechless, Faith looked at him.

"The fact that you went through all of that despite the crippling pain you experienced every time you used your magic… the fact that you managed to find other ways to utilize that magic… all of that is worthy of the title of Archmage. I know it's only a title, but I consider you as such, and I know that Krasus and Rhonin would completely agree with me."

Archmage.

Faith didn't know what to say. The mention of Krasus and Rhonin was making her eyes fill with dusty tears, and she had to keep her eyes closed for a minute to keep them from falling as she tried to regain control of herself.

"Thank you," she said at last, her voice shaking with emotion.

Khadgar nodded, "I'll have to check with the rest of the Council, but I think that they will agree with my suggestion to have you officially join the Kirin Tor as an archmage."

An official archmage of the Kirin Tor? She would have gasped if she could have done. The honor Khadgar was offering her was immense.

But she couldn't…

"Put me down, Sylvanas," said Faith to her in Thalassian. Leaning against her wife, she looked at Khadgar directly, "While I am sincerely honored by your offer, Khadgar, I'm not sure that accepting it would be wise at this point. Things are too unstable."

"That's precisely why I want to give you the position."

She inclined her head and gestured towards one of the rooms to the side. Both Khadgar and Sylvanas followed her there, and she put a silencing spell on the door frame to keep anybody from overhearing them.

Sylvanas couldn't help but smile when she saw her performing the spell completely unconsciously.

"You really want to turn this down?" wondered Khadgar.

"You know I've always been loyal to the Kirin Tor," replied Faith quietly. "But things are different now. I'm a leader of the Horde."

"So was Jaina, and she was a member of the Council of Six."

"Jaina wasn't married to the High King of the Alliance. I'm co-Warchief of the Horde, Khadgar. When the war explodes against the Alliance—and it will explode—I'm going to have to stand with my people, and I will not be able to do that if I officially join the Kirin Tor."

"He knows that," said Sylvanas gently. "He's hoping that having you as a member of the Dalaran archmages will postpone the war indefinitely."

"I don't think much can be done about that, although I will write to Anduin and thank him for the Alliance's cooperation in getting the Aegis."

Khadgar looked at her, "I understand your position, and I'm sorry that you feel as though you won't be able to officially join us."

"You can always call me if you need assistance with anything," she told him. "That won't change."

"I appreciate that greatly, Faith, especially since we're most likely going to be needing your help very soon."

"All you have to do is ask."

"Thank you, we'll remember that."


There was a high-pitched squeak as Faith and Sylvanas walked into the Undercity throne room. A flying mass of blue collided with Faith, sniffling excitedly at her neck and making tiny happy sounds.

"Emmigosa, my darling!" exclaimed Faith, hugging her. "Where have you been? I feel like I haven't seen you for ages!"

Sylvanas smiled, running a finger down Emmigosa's scaly back, "She's been exploring Tirisfal. She missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart. Look at you, you've grown! What have you been feeding her, Sylvanas?"

"She likes stags, so I have hunters in Silverpine for her. She loves murlocs too."

"Murlocs? We definitely don't have a shortage of those anywhere. Just make sure they're alive and not undead."

"Oh, Emmi doesn't eat undead anything, or even anything that's been touched by the Blight. I killed a deer for her one day and I hadn't paid attention to the fact that it was blighted. I only noticed when she showed me that its leg had started to rot."

"Clever girl," said Faith, rubbing Emmigosa's snout. "Is she getting plenty of fresh air?"

Sylvanas gave a nod, "She hangs out in the ruins, but Carrick's taken her to Silverpine a couple of times. She also came to Orgrimmar with me."

"That's good. She shouldn't be in the cold too long."

"You could take her to Silvermoon. I think she'll love it there, being magic and all."

"I could take her there, yes. And you could come with us."

A soft smile, "I have to get back to Orgrimmar."

"In that case, we'll come with you, unless you plan on sending me back to the front."

"That's the last thing I want, but I may have to depending on how the situation develops. I will, however, wait until your magic is back to normal, if you don't mind."

Faith conjured some violet flames in the palm of her hand, "I think I'm okay. No pain at all. I'm still feeling a little tired, but I think that'll go away in a bit." She and Sylvanas walked to their office, Emmigosa nestled in Faith's arms. "You know, it's funny. I never realized just how much I relied on magic until I could no longer use it."

"I'm not sure I find it funny," said Sylvanas. "Because we all realized how much we've all been relying on your magic. Greymane dealt us a hell of a blow when he disabled you that way. It's lucky you were able to use Felo'melorn to perform some magic or I'm not sure how you would have managed in Stormheim." She closed and locked the door to the office and Emmigosa flew out of Faith's arms to land in an alcove next to one of the bookshelves.

Faith watched Sylvanas carefully. Now that they were behind closed doors, she expected one of two things to happen: either Sylvanas was going to shriek at her for going off to Stormheim, or she was going to pounce on her.

Sylvanas turned her gaze on her, causing her to step back, alarmed by the black rage on her face.

"I consider myself a reasonable woman when it comes to you. I've given you a fair amount of freedom because we were together, and I increased those when we were married." She spoke very calmly, but her entire body was shaking.

Knowing better than to say anything, Faith only nodded.

"I don't want you to have to remember what it was like for you when I died the first time, Faith, but it seems like I have to. I died for you. I died to keep you safe, and I would do it again, no matter what torment awaits me in the afterlife. Think about what it felt like for you to lose me, then imagine what I would feel like if I were to lose you for good."

Faith opened her mouth to speak, but Sylvanas held up a hand.

"You went there to get the Aegis, I know. It was for the good of Azeroth, okay, I understand that. But would it be too much to ask for you to keep yourself safe for my sake? Would it be too much for you to take my feelings into consideration?"

She waited a few seconds until she was sure that Sylvanas had finished speaking, "You think that I didn't take you into account when I went to the Halls of Valor? Not a day goes by when I don't think about what Arthas did to you. Not a day. But this entire thing started with the Burning Legion, or are you forgetting how the Lich King was created, Sylvanas? I am not about to stand by and watch those demons destroy my home again. I won't, and you cannot ask me to. Need I die for Azeroth, I will do so, because if Azeroth falls, you fall, and I can't let that happen."

Sylvanas shook her head, "Still. Going there when you were so weak –."

"The choice was not mine to make, Sylvanas."

"I don't want you dead, all right?"

Faith smiled a little and walked to her wife, putting her arms around her neck, "Hate to break it to you, love, but we're already dead."

Sylvanas placed her hands on Faith's slender hips, "You know what I mean. I want you with me for all eternity."

"That's a very long time," whispered Faith, leaning in.

Sylvanas accepted her kiss, sliding her tongue inside her mouth, "Are you saying you don't want the same thing?"

"Oh, I do…" She pressed herself against Sylvanas, hungry for her, the urge for her suddenly overpowering everything else.

They made love right there against the door, Sylvanas biting down on her hand to muffle her cries, and Faith, overwhelmed, couldn't even find her voice to scream when Sylvanas entered her. All she could do was feel.

"By the Light, I really needed that," whispered Faith once they'd both collapsed on the floor, their arms still around each other.

"It's been quite a while since we made love," agreed Sylvanas, brushing a kiss against Faith's forehead. "It was good."

Faith chuckled, "I'm glad you feel that way. We need to do that more often."

Licking her lips, Sylvanas got to her feet, locating one of her boots, which Faith had hastily tossed aside in her passion, "I barely have time to kiss you when I see you these days. Making love on a regular basis would require a definite reshuffling of both our schedules."

"Since when has that ever stopped us?" Faith got to her knees, kissing Sylvanas' exposed thigh, right on her tattoo, "I mean," another kiss, "you know that you wouldn't," a third kiss, "mind it."

Sylvanas put a gentle hand on Faith's face, "You're going to get me started again."

"Am I?" asked Faith innocently.

"Don't try that, it never worked, not even when you were alive."

"Hey, I was the picture of innocence when we were alive!"

"The picture of innocence, right. I know what you thought about while you waited for me to come to you."

Faith pouted, "Not all the time. Sometimes I just thought about snuggling with you on a cold winter's day under a blanket while we drank hot chocolate."

The image Faith painted was so sweet that Sylvanas smiled, "I'll admit, I had similar thoughts running through my mind." She helped Faith to her feet, "Do you remember when we rode from Everstone Village to Tranquillien for one of the carnivals? We were in that open carriage your family had, the polished brown one with the silver swirls?"

Faith smiled back, "Yeah, I remember."

"I'd just begun to notice you that way, and I wanted to touch you so badly it was almost painful. But you were seated opposite me next to Ravenna and Santoran, and there was nothing we could do about it. Gods, I wanted you."

"You didn't look like you were in need," Faith told her, closing her eyes and letting the memory wash over her. "You were dressed in purple that day, and you had on a white cape. I thought I was going to lose it when I saw you wearing that."

"That's right, you've always preferred me in capes, although I can't figure out why."

"Capes define your back more than hooded cloaks do."

Sylvanas nodded, accepting it, "Okay."

"Anyway, you looked like you didn't have a care in the world. I don't know how you did it if you say that you needed me that badly."

"Practice. And you didn't do so badly yourself that day, if I recall correctly."

"Are you kidding? As soon as I was alone in my room at the inn, I took care of business and was done in less than five minutes."

"Impressive." Sylvanas got dressed again before kissing Faith gently, "Let's try not to let our need get quite that bad from now on, all right?"

"Well," whispered Faith. "We can try…"