Round five, let's do this! This is a sequel to the previous four stories in the Lion of the Alliance saga, if you're new to the series I suggest starting at the beginning.
Rated M for violence, adult themes and situations. Spoilers for the Blackrock Foundry and Hellfire Citadel raids, as well as the legendary ring questline.
As always, thank you to everyone who has followed this series so far, I continue to be humbled by the response this story has received. I hope you will continue to enjoy my work – and please let me know if you do!
Lion's Triumph
Auriana
The bright golden light of dawn illuminated the familiar buildings of Lunarfall Garrison as Command Auriana Fenwild prepared to teleport to northern Gorgrond. It had been six long weeks since she had escaped the forbidding Blackrock Foundry, and she had decidedly mixed feelings about returning. On one hand, she never wanted to step foot in the Foundry again, while on the other she wanted nothing more than to remove Blackhand's head from his shoulders.
Ever since her return to Lunarfall a few short weeks ago, Auriana had pursued the orc warlord with a determination bordering on obsession. She had meticulously planned her assault, even going so far as to enlist the help of Azeroth's Horde to take the Foundry down. She had not had direct contact with the Horde, of course, but had instead used the Archmage Khadgar as an intermediary to slowly build an alliance. It had been slow going, given the years of suspicion and bloodshed between the Alliance and the Horde, but Auriana had finally been able to convince the Horde Commander to participate in a joint assault on Blackhand's fortress.
The attack had been scheduled for this morning, and Auriana was the last of the Alliance soldiers to depart Lunarfall for Gorgrond. Several of her troops, including Lieutenant Thorn, had tried to convince her to stay away from the fighting, but Auriana refused to listen. Admittedly, they were right to be concerned for her safety, given the physical and psychological trauma she had suffered. Auriana had been pushing herself hard, and strictly speaking, she probably wasn't fit enough to be leading the assault on the Foundry. She was still undergoing daily healing, and was somewhat sleep-deprived, having been tormented by horrific nightmares every evening. Her healers had repeatedly encouraged her to slow down, but Auriana refused to rest until Blackhand was dead. She had been working so hard since her return to Lunarfall that she hadn't even returned to Stormwind to visit Varian Wrynn, and she missed her kingly lover fiercely.
Just one more day, she told herself as she opened a portal to Gorgrond. I'll have Blackhand's head by sunset, and then I can go home to Varian... and maybe the dreams will stop…
Her magic split a bright hole in the air, and through it she could see the distinct red rock and luscious green jungle of Gorgrond. For a second, however, Auriana froze, quite literally unable to move her feet as she was gripped by sudden fear. Furious at herself for her weakness, she bit her lip hard and drew blood, before forcing herself to focus and take a shaky step forwards.
Her bodyguard Delvar Ironfist approached her almost as soon as she rematerialised, accompanied by a graceful draenei paladin. After Lieutenant Gale's unfortunate demise at the hands of the Blackrock orcs, Auriana had needed to find someone else to oversee operations in Gorgrond. Ever conscious of the fact that there was still a traitor at large in Lunarfall, she had finally decided on Lieutenant Hafela. The draenei woman was a strictly by the book soldier, in stark contrast to her predecessor, but she had an excellent service record, and more importantly, she had not been part of any of the missions that had been betrayed from within. Although Auriana knew this didn't rule her out as the traitor, it made it significantly less likely that she was involved, and therefore she considered the draenei paladin an acceptable risk.
"Ma'am," Hafela said warmly, offering Auriana a crisp salute. "Our troops are marshalling for the assault, as ordered, and it appears that the Horde have taken to the field about two miles to the north."
"Good," said Auriana, relieved that the Horde had actually appeared as planned. "How many have they bought?"
"I would estimate around two and a half thousand," Hafela answered crisply.
"Very good," Auriana mused. "Combined with our forces, that should be more than enough to take the Foundry."
She looked out proudly over her troops, her courage strengthened by the magnificent might of the Alliance. Their armour gleamed in the early morning sun, and Auriana silently promised herself that the Foundry would fall.
"Keep our troops back here, out of the range of those siege engines, but have them ready to move out on my command," Auriana ordered, turning her face towards the north. "In the meantime, I'm going to head over to the Horde encampment to coordinate our joint assault."
Ironfist and Hafela both frowned in perfect unison, clearly unimpressed by her plan.
"Ma'am, you can't," Hafela protested. "I know we've arranged a truce for this assault, but… they're the Horde..."
"If we want trust, we must show trust," Auriana said firmly. "I'm going."
"Not alone," Ironfist growled, unhooking his axe from his belt.
"Delvar, I'll be fine," she assured him, with more confidence than she actually felt. "The Horde aren't going to kill an Alliance commander out of hand when we're supposed to be in alliance."
"Commander, with respect, last time I let ye out o' my sight, ye ended up Blackhand's prisoner," Ironfist said firmly. "I know I can't stop ye, but I will not let ye go alone."
Ironfist's undead eyes glittered with resolve, and something else that Auriana realised was shame. The dwarf death knight took his duty very seriously, and she only just realised that he considered her kidnapping his personal failure.
"Very well," she conceded, more to spare his feelings than anything else, "But let me do the talking. This alliance is tenuous as it is, and I'll not have it threatened by a belligerent dwarf."
Ironfist growled at her phrasing but didn't argue, coming to stand at her right hand side. Auriana gathered her power, her arms flaring with their now familiar white glow, and teleported herself and Ironfist to the outskirts of the Horde camp. The two orc bruisers guarding the southern end of the camp instantly drew arms, watching her with great concern as she slowly approached. Auriana didn't flinch, but she couldn't ignore the way her heart suddenly fluttered in her chest.
"I'm here to see your Commander," she called loudly; in clear, if accented, orcish.
Auriana wasn't an expert in the guttural language by any means, but over the years she had learned to make herself understood, and she hoped that her use of orcish would demonstrate her willingness to work with the Horde. The two orc guards exchanged a look as she spoke, evidently surprised to be addressed in their native tongue.
"You've got no business here, human," the taller of the two orcs said ominously, switching the conversation back to Common. "Leave quietly, and we'll do you no harm."
"I'm not leaving until I've spoken to the Commander of Frostwall," Auriana said, her voice calm but firm. "I'm here as an ally of the Horde. I mean you no harm"
Despite her assurances, both orcs stepped forwards with weapons raised, and Ironfist growled angrily at her side. Auriana shook her head warningly, though she refused to yield ground to the much larger orcs. If this combined assault was to work, she could not afford to anger the Horde, but nor could she cower before them. That was easier said than done, however, Auriana suddenly found it hard to remember that these orcs were not the same orcs who had imprisoned and tortured her. She fought to resist the urge to summon her magic, and she began to wonder if she'd made a very serious mistake...
"Stand down!" came a sudden, booming voice, and Auriana sighed in relief as she saw her Horde counterpart striding forwards. "She's a friendly."
Somewhat surprisingly, the Commander of Frostwall smiled broadly as he approached, waving off his the two orc enforcers. Despite having met the troll twice now, Auriana had never really had the chance to study him up close. He was undeniably impressive in his heavy plate armour, with his lean muscle, curved tusks and impossibly long legs. He had two wicked looked blades strapped to his back, and he looked more than ready for a fight.
Against the Iron Horde, I hope… Auriana thought nervously, forcing herself to remain calm.
"Thank you, Commander," she said, trying not to let her gaze flick sideways to the crush of orcs, trolls, tauren, undead, goblins, blood elves and Horde pandaren that watched her passage with curious and watchful eyes.
"Little lion," the troll Commander said, nodding. "Welcome to da Horde."
He held out a hand and gestured down the makeshift path towards his command tent, indicating that she should follow.
"That's not… that's not my name..." Auriana growled under her breath, as she began to walk in the direction the troll had indicated.
"I know," the troll said lightly, grinning toothily down at her as he loped at her side.
His legs were so long that he could take one step to every two of hers, and she had to hurry to keep up. Auriana always felt very small amongst the soldiers of the Alliance, but here amongst the combined bulk of trolls and orcs and tauren, she felt even tinier. Nevertheless, she stood as tall and proud as she was able, trying to project an aura of unshaken authority as she followed the troll Commander through the Horde throng.
The command tent was small and rustic, with a large map table at the centre. Several Horde officers lined the makeshift room, deep in conversation, though each and every one of them stopped what they were doing and looked up at Auriana as she entered, their expressions ranging from mild curiously to open hostility. In particular, Auriana's attention was drawn to a slender troll shaman who moved protectively to the Horde Commander's side, her face set with clear displeasure.
"Dis be my second, Te'jaia," the big troll explained, giving the shaman a respectful nod.
Te'jaia was tall, even for a troll, with pale blue skin and an untamed white mohawk, and she watched Auriana with cool eyes. Evidently, the troll shaman was more suspicious of the Alliance than was her commander, and Auriana knew with certainty if she made one wrong move, she'd likely end up burned by fire or pulverised by an avalanche. Not for the first time, Auriana wished she'd paid more attention when others had tried to teach her diplomacy, though it was rather late to be thinking of such things now.
"Te'jaia, dis be Commander Auriana Fenwild," the troll Commander added, grinning slyly and looking very pleased with himself.
Her name sounded oddly lilting in the distinctive troll accent, and Auriana had to work hard to conceal her amusement at the triumph in the Commander's eyes as he revealed that he did, in fact, know who she was.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Te'jaia," she said smoothly, biting back an unexpected grin. "This is my bodyguard, Delvar Ironfist. Delvar, this is Commander Zala'din, of the Darkspear Tribe."
A brief flicker of surprise passed across Zala'din's face at her trick with his own name, and he barked out a harsh laugh. He looked thoroughly delighted by her reply, and Auriana couldn't help but relax slightly.
Troll humour, she thought. I'll never understand…
"Now that we all know each other..." she said drily. "I bought you this…"
She retrieved a map scroll from a pouch on her back and unfurled it on the table.
"This is the culmination of months of intelligence work - a map of the inside of Blackrock Foundry," she explained. "You can see we're missing some information, but there is enough here to go on."
"Ya give dis to us freely?" Te'jaia asked disbelievingly. "Dis be valuable intelligence. Are we suppose ta believe that ya just be givin' it away?"
"We're allies in this, are we not?" Auriana said sharply, shooting Zala'din a sideways glance.
The room felt suddenly charged with nervous energy, and she felt, rather than heard, Ironfist move his hand to his axe. She pressed down on his foot with her heel, subtly reminding him that this was neither the time nor place for short tempers. Zala'din stilled his own officer with a firm shake of his head, and ran his long fingers over the painstakingly drawn map.
"Dis be far beyond what da Horde have been able ta gather," Zala'din said, clearly impressed.
"Well, we were able to obtain some inside information," Auriana admitted.
Zala'din looked up at her thoughtfully, his golden eyes suddenly sharp.
"Blackhand kidnapped ya," he said carefully. "And tortured ya for information…"
"Yes. He did," Auriana said shortly, only mildly surprised at the fact that the other Commander knew of her ordeal. "Which, I suppose, was rather fortuitous, given what we're about to do. During my escape, we were able to gather substantial intelligence about the layout of the Foundry, which I intend to put to good use."
"Dere were rumours… dat Varian Wrynn himself came ta rescue you," Zala'din said slowly, looking down at her inquisitively.
He was not the only one whose interest had been piqued. The entire command tent had gone silent as Zala'din spoke, and even Ironfist stopped glaring at the Horde in order to turn his gaze on Auriana. No one at Lunarfall was aware of the truth of what had happened in the Foundry, though of course there were rumours aplenty. The fact that the whispers of her rescue had reached the Horde was concerning, and Auriana knew she had to act to protect her secret.
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," she scoffed, rolling her eyes in what she hoped was a convincing imitation of disdain. "You need to get better intelligence."
"Perhaps," Zala'din said lightly, though his face was unreadable. "Speakin' of Varian Wrynn… how'd ya get da King to agree to dis plan? He not be known for his… ah… faith... in da Horde."
Auriana regarded Zala'din seriously, her hands folded across her chest.
"Have care, Commander, that's my King you are speaking of," Auriana said slowly, wary of any slight against Varian's name. "His Majesty wants Blackhand dead, and he was simply able to see the value in a combined assault. He's no fool, Zala'din, whatever else the Horde may think of him."
Zala'din nodded, his expression thoughtful.
"We just wondered, given da message he sent to da Warchief," he said, exchanging a quick glance with Te'jaia.
"Oh, Light," Auriana muttered. "He promised he'd be polite."
"He was," Zala'din said, shrugging. "In places. He was mostly just insistent dat we keep ya alive. Why is dat?"
"Because I win wars for him, Commander," Auriana said simply, "And I can't do that if I'm dead."
She rapped her knuckles sharply on the map table, drawing Zala'din's attention back downwards.
"Now," she said firmly, "Would you like to keep gossiping about Varian Wrynn, or shall we take the Foundry?"
"As ya wish, Commander," Zala'din said, grinning once again. "What's da plan?"
Auriana smoothed out the map, pointing at various locations as she spoke.
"We have two possible entries to the Foundry," she explained. "Here, through the main gate into the Slagworks, and here, through the Dread Grotto. I propose a two pronged attack, with the Horde and Alliance each taking a separate entrance."
"Da Alliance have fielded da greater force today," Te'jaia said, her eyes narrowing. "Ya should be da ones to take da main gate."
"I agree," Auriana said, to Te'jaia's evident surprise. "Once inside, we can then rendezvous on the upper levels and take the fight to Blackhand directly. We'll have his head by the end of the day."
"Da Horde will do their part," Zala'din said proudly, thumping a hand on his chestplate.
"I am confident you will," Auriana said, and was surprised to find that she meant it.
Whatever else the Horde were, they were an undeniably powerful fighting force, and she was glad to have them on her side for a change.
"Ya haven't mentioned how ya intend ta get past the siege engines on da outer towers," Te'jaia said, stabbing a finger at several points on the map. "Da Alliance is gonna be crushed from above… and a course, we wouldn't want dat…"
Auriana didn't miss the slight hostility in the troll woman's tone, though she continued to speak as if she were oblivious.
"My casters can provide us with some cover while we advance," she said calmly, "Though I agree it places us at considerable risk. I had intended to have my gryphon riders bomb the gun emplacements while we break open the main gate."
"I will send ya a wing of wind riders ta assist," Zala'din offered. "Our path down ta da Dread Grotto be far safer, and we won't have much need of air support on dat side of da Foundry."
"Thank you," Auriana said sincerely. "Your aid is much appreciated."
"Da Horde will fight with honour," Zala'din said fiercely. "I promise ya dat, little lion."
Auriana was impressed by his vigour, but she ground her teeth at the troll's continued use of his particular nickname for her. She wondered where on earth he'd got the idea to call her that, but she didn't want to risk their burgeoning alliance by asking him to stop.
"I look forward to taking the Foundry together," she said instead, even managing to smile. "I will return to my troops now, and will marshal them for the assault. We should be ready to commence the attack within the hour."
"I will look for ya signal," Zala'din said, his eyes narrowing with savage glee, "And den we'll teach Blackhand a lesson he never gonna forget…"