Captured

"Are we waiting here for Athrodar?" Thalina asked, watching Sylvanas pace back and forth. "If so, I can set up camp for the night and hopefully Athrodar arrives before the morning."

"Yes, make the camp." Sylvanas rubbed her temples to keep herself calm. She didn't know what brought on this sudden surge of stress, but she knew that the second Athrodar arrived, she would be happy and calm again. "If I snap at you, it's not your fault." She told Thalina, still pacing back and forth. "This past decade I have had my family around me constantly. I'm not complaining, I love them to bits, but now they aren't here and Athrodar was the one constant that kept me calm. Now that he's not here, I am having a hard time adjusting to his lack of presence. So again, if I snap at you, it's not your fault, I am trying my hardest to not freak out."

"And here I thought Luna told you to watch out for me." Thalina muttered, smiling a little when she saw Sylvanas stop pacing and look over to her. "Yes, I heard that. And I'm fine with her telling you that, I know I am slipping too. For her entire life, I have kept Tanadia with me. So to know she is out there in the wilds, probably surrounded by demons is eating me up inside." Her smile brightened a little when Sylvanas smiled at her. "We are just two mothers who want their family back, so why don't we keep an eye out for each other and make sure the we both don't burn the entire forest down."

Sylvanas let out a small laugh and nodded her head. "Deal."

As Thalina was getting their small camp ready, just two sleeping bags and some sort of makeshift tent that was not even close to what they were used to, Sylvanas kept an eye out for anyone coming from the south, spinning her ring around on her finger as she watched on, hoping her husband would appear from the darkness sooner rather than later. "Come on, baby... Where are you?" She whispered to herself, knowing he was a seasoned enough ranger to be out on his own in the dark in unknown territory and experienced enough to survive out there, but hating it all the same as he wasn't in touching distance.

"I hate that you've done this to me." She also whispered, looking down at the ring on her finger. "Before you were in my life, I was fine with rangers being out on their own." She looked back into the darkness to the south and sighed. "Now we have a life together, I am so much weaker than I was. You won't admit that I am, but I know I am..."

"Or you're stronger than you were." Thalina told her, placing down a couple of wards to keep insects away as well as any predator brave enough to try and attack them whilst they slept. "You have a family to fight for and you will clearly do anything to make sure they're safe." The Magister shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know about you, but having something to fight for tends to make people strong."

"But my enemies can use my family to get to me." Sylvanas told her.

Which made Thalina snort with laughter. "What enemies? You're no longer in a leading role, you and Athrodar are back in Windrunner Village with your children, no longer creating chaos in the world." The Magister grinned at Sylvanas who began to look away from her, knowing she was right. "Plus you're both strong rangers, nobody will do anything to harm your family, outside of the Legion I suppose... And maybe the Scourge."

Sylvanas continued to look away from the Magister, letting out a groan when she knew she was right. "Fine... I suppose what you're saying is true. I am out here looking for my daughter."

"And we will find her alive and well. She will be with her sister, waiting for us to bring them back." Thalina looked down at the sleeping bags she had placed on the floor. "Now come on, the wards should keep away any unwelcomed visitors. Get some sleep and tomorrow we will head north and close the distance between us and our daughters."

Sylvanas smiled at the Magister. "Sounds like a plan, Thal. Hopefully Athrodar gets to us soon, the more of us looking for our daughters, the better."

Athrodar had reached the forests of Val'sharah in the early hours of the morning, opting not to sleep the moment he left Dalaran to make up the ground between himself and the rest of his group. He wished Lord Ravenholdt the best of luck on his quest to assassinate the Burning Legion members, telling him to look out for Elaria and informing him that she hasn't been the same since she saw her sister's body and that she may become reckless if left to her own devices.

"I'll keep an eye on her." He said to Athrodar, shaking his hand in the process. "I hope you find your daughter, I really do. Both of them."

"I will, soon enough I hope but I know I will." Athrodar bowed his head to the human, giving him one last smile before leaving Dalaran and returning to the Broken Isles below.

"I'm closing in on them." He told himself, crossing the lake between Val'sharah and Aszuna. "If Sylvanas had her way, they are waiting in one spot until I got to them." He then began to laugh lightly, imagining her sitting on the forest floor as Luna and Thal walked away from her, imagining them groaning and turning back when Sylvanas remained sat on the floor. "I'll be there soon, my love..." He whispered to himself, rubbing his thumb across the ring on his finger. "Very soon."

He walked for close to twenty minutes before noticing a small camp in the middle of the road just up ahead, smiling to himself when he saw two slepping bags, a small campfire that had been burnt out and the faint smell of magic that was fading as the minutes passed. "There they are..." He muttered to himself, hearing a snap of a twig to his left and pulling out his bow, nocking an arrow in place and scanning the tree line. "Come out!" He commanded, pulling the bowstring back and waiting for an enemy to come out of the trees.

When a second twig snapped, it was behind him this time, spinning to face it and being attacked from behind where the first twig snap was and letting loose his arrow, missing his target as he was tackled to the floor, waking up Sylvanas and Thalina in the meantime when he yelled the second he was tackled. "Wake up!" He yelled, reaching for the dagger in his boot and sinking it deep into the demon's neck on top of him. "Sylvanas!"

That was what stirred her out of her sleep, hearing Athrodar's voice call for her in the distance and looking over to where she heard it, seeing a group of demons pour out of the trees and attack Athrodar in the distance. "Thal! Wake up!" She yelled, reaching for her swords and making her way towards the demons.

Thalina too shot up into action and engulfed her hands in fire, throwing a ball of fire at one of the demons and setting fire to another. "Athrodar, we're coming!" She yelled, watching Sylvanas cut through three demons with ease and being blocked off by five more who continued to pour out of the trees.

"They just keep coming..." Sylvanas muttered to herself, looking back at Thalina who tried to blast a hole into their ranks but ultimately failing as they continued to bulk up their ranks. "Where did they all come from!?" She yelled, cutting down two more and watching as they overwhelmed Athrodar.

"Shit..." He muttered, being backed into a corner and noticing they weren't trying to kill him. In fact, they were trying to capture him and that confused him more than them all appearing out of thin air. He cut off the arm of one demon trying to grab him, sticking his sword into a second before being hit around the back of the head by a third that managed to get around him, having his world go black as he collapsed to the floor before being picked up by a forth demon with a fel cage on its back.

"No!" Sylvanas screamed, dodging a swinging axe and cutting down two more demons, watching the demon carrying Athrodar create a portal and go through it, closing it shortly after and feeling her heart shatter as her husband had come and gone within an instant of him arriving. "No!" She screamed again, watching as several demons at once were set on fire by Thalina who let out a sudden burst of anger at seeing Athrodar be taken away from them. "Thal, wait." She said, holding her hand out to the Magister seconds before she was about to kill whatever demons remained.

"Why!?" Thalina asked, her voice loud and aggressive. "Why shouldn't I burn every last one of them for taking your husband!?"

"Because I am going to interrogate this one." Sylvanas told her, pointing her sword at the throat of a demon who got injured and couldn't escape with the rest of them. "And it won't be pleasant, for the demon at least."

"Dad?"

Athrodar slowly opened his eyes, not seeing much but green and black.

"Dad?" The voice said again softly, Athrodar feeling a pair of hands on his arm and looking over to the owner of them.

"Tana..?" He whispered, blinking hard to get his vision under control and sitting up, only to hiss and hold the back of his head at the sharp, aching pain he felt there. "Where are we?"

"Northern Val'sharah." The priestess told him, smiling at her father despite the circumstances they found themselves in. "I've missed you." She whispered, hugging Athrodar tightly after throwing herself at him. "I began to give up hope that you were coming."

"Of course we were coming. Your mother and I, along with Sylvanas, Elaria and Luna were all coming to find all three of you, both our daughters and Snow." Athrodar smiled at her, but saw sadness in his daughter's eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked shortly after he picked up on it.

"Snow is dead, Papa... Victoria had to kill him when he attacked us." Tanadia closed her eyes and shook her head. "The darkness of the forest consumed him and blinded him. He couldn't tell friend from foe and just attacked."

Athrodar hugged his daughter and tried to keep her calm, deciding to change subject in the meantime. "Why did they capture us? What are we doing here?"

"Labour, papa. They are using us to create portals to summon more demons." Tanadia looked at the many faces around them, ranging from Tauren to Gnome, Orc to human. All of them captured and enslaved by the demons. "They are sacrificing the weak as well to power the portals."

"Then let's make sure we don't appear weak." Athrodar told his daughter, holding her close as he looked around the room of a building he had just noticed they were in. "How many of us are there?"

"About twenty per building." Tanadia told him, staying in her father's arms just to be close to him, hoping it would provid the feeling of home and security she now missed and needed. "How are we going to get out of this?"

Athrodar sighed and lowered his head a little. "I don't know, hun. They have taken our weapons and I can only presume silenced any casters amongst us." He kissed the top of her head and held her tightly against him. "We will come up with something, I am sure of it. It will just take time."

"Well, despite the circumstances, I am happy you're here papa." Tanadia closed her eyes as she leaned on him. "I didn't want to die alone in a place like this."

"You won't die here." Athrodar whispered to her, noticing the majority of the slaves were sleeping and figuring this was their rest period. "Sleep, I'll watch over you."

Tanadia kept her eyes closed and smiled, snuggling up to Athrodar who held his daughter in his arm. "We'll get through this, papa." She whispered, yawning shortly after. "Then we can go home."

Athrodar smiled at the innocence of his daughter, despite seeing death all around her, she was still a child. "Yes, then we can go home."

Thalina flinched when she heard the screams of pain coming from the demon they had captured, knowing Sylvanas was going to torture them but still finding it hard to listen to the sounds of it. "Where did they take them?" Sylvanas asked for the millionth time, sticking the tip of her sword into a fresh wound on the demon and making them scream out in pain. "Tell me!"

They had captured an Eredar, much to the surprise of them both as they had heard of the Draenei who joined Sargarus and commanded the Burning Legion, but also a prime opportunity for the former Banshee Queen to get vital information out of them.

"I'm... argh... Not telling... you anything!" The Eredar spat at Sylvanas, laughing and then screaming out in pain as she pushed her finger in a different wound, moving it around and forcing them to pass out from the pain.

"Thal, wake him up again." Sylvanas said, pulling her finger out the wound and cleaning it off, waiting for the Magister to force the eredar to wake up for the third time.

"We should just kill him. He isn't going to give us any information so we're just wasting time." Thalina looked up at Sylvanas who continued to glare at the passed out Eredar. "We should kill him and head north to our daughters. Then we will come up with a plan to rescue Athrodar with their help. If we are to storm whatever Legion camp they have him in, we need the numbers."

"Fine." Sylvanas agreed, pointing her sword at the throat of the Eredar. "Wake him up and I will try once more to reason with him. If he says nothing, I will kill him."

Thalina began to conjure a spell in her hands, looking at the purple glow as it began to seep into the Eredar's skin and stir him from his slumber. "I advice you talk now, or she will kill you." Thalina told him, looking over to Sylvanas and stepping back as she stepped forward.

"Where are they taking him?" Sylvanas asked, this time laying her sword across his throat and glaring at the Eredar. "You have five seconds to tell me, or I will make them your last five seconds. Five..."

The Eredar laughed at her threat. "Do it. My masters will consume this world like they have consumed countless others before it."

"Four... Three... Two..."

The Eredar looked into Sylvanas' eyes with smugness, not believing she would kill him just because of the information he was holding from her. "This is an idle threat." He chuckled, rolling his eyes his eyes when Sylvanas smirked at him the moment she said one.

"Last chance." She told him, placing her sword across his throat.

"You're bluffing."

"If you say so." Sylvanas said, slicing her sword across his throat and watching his eyes widen when he realised what she had done. "I gave you ample time."

Thalina watched the Eredar struggle for breath, flinching at the amount of blood pouring from his neck and walking away from the scene unfolding in front of her, leaving Sylvanas alone with him. "I'll pack up the camp and get ready to leave."

Sylvanas loved the scene before her. She had missed it greatly, the smell of blood from a fresh kill, watching as they helplessly tried clawing for breath. This was what she enjoyed, killing her enemies on the battlefield. This was her home. "I have missed this..." She muttered, wiping clean her sword and stepping over the Eredar.

Thalina had packed up the camp the moment Sylvanas walked back to her, looking behind the taller elf and towards where they had kept the Eredar prisoner for the past hour. "Ready?" She asked, fixing the strap of her backpack by pulling on it to tighten it.

"Let's head north." Sylvanas told her, walking passed the Magister and heading down the path that was leading them to their daughters.

They continued to travel north for several hours in silence, Thalina not having a topic in mind and Sylvanas too busy trying to get to her daughter as quickly as possible, occasionally running ahead of the Magister by several hundred feet just to scout what was further down the road, having Thalina catch up to her when she used her magic to blink towards her. "We're close. The forests aren't as corrupted here." Sylvanas told her, noticing several specks of green compared to the black and red that dominated their vision only a few minutes earlier.

"Then let's get going." Thalina told her, both of them running down the path but remaining cautious as they both had a feeling they were being watched by the same demons that took Athrodar only a few hours before.

They ran for another ten minutes before coming across something that had stunned both women, stopping them in their tracks. "No..." Sylvanas breathed, falling to her knees and placing a hand on the fallen nightsaber in front of her. "Snow... Oh you poor thing." She whispered, pressing her head to his belly and clutching onto his fur tightly. She looked down the road behind the nightsaber, noticing splotches of blood leading down the path and following it until she came across a body.

Thalina gasped and placed her hands over her mouth just as Sylvanas flipped the body of Victoria over so she was on her back.

"No!" Sylvanas screamed when she saw her daughter in a pool of blood, placing her hands on her face and letting out a long sigh of relief when she still felt some warmth, but the cold was taking over. "Victoria, baby. Wake up." She whispered, placing a hand over her arm which looked to have tooth marks. "Thal... Dalaran portal, now!"

Thalina knew it was risky to have someone so injured travel through a portal, but she had no other choice if she was to save the Queen of Stormwind. "Where's my daughter?" She asked Sylvanas who shook her head. "I'm not leaving without her!" She yelled when Sylvanas picked up her daughter.

"We may not have a choice, Thal." Sylvanas told her, holding Victoria in her arms as she carried her to the portal that materialised in front of her. "Get Snow too, she will want to bury him back in Stormwind."

Thalina was torn on what to do. She wanted to get back to Dalaran to make sure Victoria was okay, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave without her daughter who might have been nearby. "Tanadia!?" She yelled just as Sylvanas went through the portal, yelling her daughter's name again and getting no response. "I'm coming back for you!" She yelled, hoping if she was nearby, that she would hear her.

Sylvanas handed her daughter over to one of the Kirin Tor guardians just as Thalina returned with Snow's body, looking back at her with sadness in her eyes. "We will go back for her, Thal. I just need to make sure my daughter is okay."

The Magister collapsed to her knees and began to cry into her hands. Deep down she knew they wouldn't find her in that forest, that she may have faced the same fate as Athrodar or even worse, Sera. "We will come back for you..." She muttered, continuing to cry into her hands as a couple of Kirin Tor guardians took Snow's body after Sylvanas told them what to do with him.

Victoria slowly opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling of the room she was in and not making out any details of the room whatsoever when she began to look around, only knowing that she wasn't alone in the bed and wishing that everything that had just happened was a dream. "Hello?" She whispered, looking at the guest in her bed and becoming both overwhelmingly happy and sad at the same time when she saw her mother sleeping beside her. "Mama..." She muttered just as her voice broke with emotion, shuffling closer to her and resting her head on her shoulder. "You came."

Sylvanas woke up when she felt movement beside her, looking at Victoria for several seconds until she realised she was awake and smiled brightly at her. "My baby! How are you feeling? How's you're arm? What happened to Snow and Tanadia?"

Victoria rubbed her eyes to wake herself up, smiling at her mother who hugged her before she could even fathom where she was. "That's a lot of questions, mom. At least give me some time to wake up."

Sylvanas continued to hold her daughter, never wanting to let go of her again as she pulled her head to her chest and began to stroke her hair. "I'm sorry. I have just been so worried that began to think I would never see you again."

Victoria smiled and melted into the hug, closing her eyes and letting herself be taken away from the troubles of the world as she was safe again in her mother's arms. Only, there was one thing playing on her mind now that she began to think about it. "Where's dad?" She asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"He was taken from me." Sylvanas told her in a hushed tone. "Demons ambushed him whilst we were searching for you. Thalina and I couldn't get to him in time before they stepped through a portal and disappeared." She held onto her daughter tightly for comfort, fighting the sting of her emotions that began to surface.

"Just like Tanadia..." Victoria muttered. "She was taken from me only metres away by demons who poured out of the trees. I tried to fight them off, but this demon with some sort of cage on its back took her and disappeared into the forests, ordering a handful of demons to kill me but I got the better of them." She looked at her arm that was wrapped up in bandages. "Well, almost all of them. A felhound caught me by surprise and bit down on my arm."

"Well, you're safe now. I have spoken to my sister and she has agreed to help us find those demons that took your sister and father." Sylvanas kissed her daughter's cheek, holding her close once more. "Viraleth has agreed to help too. She went looking for you but was called back by Halduron after they had some of their rangers get captured by demons too."

"So it's happening to everyone." Victoria said, looking up at her mother who nodded her head. "We have to save them all. Who knows what they're doing to them."

"We will, honey." Sylvanas told her, stroking her hair. "We will."