Author's Notes: This will just be a message to explain what would be different in this story compared to the establish Lore (That if Blizzard decide to do it, will probably change at the drop of a hat to fit their new story). The first and main thing that will change is Dar'khan Drathir. In the Lore he was contacted by Arthas and offered limitless power if he betrayed his people and helped him sneak a group of necromancers and undead minions into Quel'Thalas through a hidden path and towards the three mooncrystals around Quel'Thalas that power their main source of defense - The Gatekeeper.
In this AU, he would back his people instead of Arthas because, let's be honest, how do you trust someone who slaughtered his own people? Anyway, with him not betraying his people and actually warning them, the Scourge won't sneak into Quel'Thalas, take the mooncrystals and The Gatekeeper wouldn't be shut down, allowing for an easy ride through the forests of Quel'Thalas all the way to the Sunwell. From there, it's all speculation, theory crafting and "What ifs" on the changes in the Lore if the High Elves were never slaughtered and actually survived the Third War.
Some Concerning News
"What was this meeting for?"
The Convocation of Silvermoon, the ruling Council that reported to King Anasterian and him alone, all turned their attention to Sylvanas Windrunner, Ranger-General of the Farstriders and leader of Silvermoon's forces. "Lordaeron has fallen, as your report has said." One of the Convocation pulled out a letter from their robe, placing it on the table in front of them and watching as the Ranger-General took hold of it. "What it didn't say was Arthas and his horde of rotting corpses were marching north towards our border."
Sylvanas frowned, unfolding the letter and quickly scanning its contents, looking over to the member of the council who placed it on the table. "How do you know this?"
"Dar'khan Drathir." A second member said, having a set of twin doors open up with the elf walking towards them shortly after. "He was the one who brought us the news of Arthas and his undead army marching towards our gates."
"And how did he know?" Sylvanas now asked, looking over to the elf. "If he wants to answer that question?"
"He contacted me." Dar'khan told the Ranger-General. "I was working on a project on the outskirts of Quel'thalas and I was approached by a couple of human mages, they took me to Arthas and offered me a deal. Betray my people and help him take the city and the Sunwell, or refuse and face the same fate as my people."
"I take it you declined?" Sylvanas asked.
"I did. That was when he stuck me with his sword." Dar'khan saw the looks of confusion on all of their faces. "I could sense the magic emanating from him and his mages before they found me, so I made an image of myself and went to the meeting as the image. Once he killed the image, I came back here as fast as possible."
"What did he offer you?" King Anasterian asked, sitting forward on his throne and looking at the elf.
"A lot of power." Dar'khan told the Convocation, King and Ranger-General. "He said I would be one of his most powerful minions if I helped him take the city and the Sunwell."
"You're always one to gain more power." Sylvanas said, watching the elf closely. "Why wouldn't you take his offer? Since when were you so patriotic?"
Dar'khan let out a small laugh. "Like I said, I could sense their magic before they found me. It was dark, evil and left a bad taste in the mouth. I would be a fool to trust the human who slaughtered his own people, offering me more power than I could imagine." He looked over to his King who was watching the exchange of words between both himself and the Ranger-General. "I know I haven't always had a warm heart towards my people, but I would rather see them survive and push back the traitor Prince than have him slaughter everyone and I get nothing in return."
"How long do you need to set up a defense?" One of the Convocation asked, looking towards the Ranger-General.
"A day, maybe two." Sylvanas told them, looking towards her King. "I would like a handful of mages too, just to make sure the gates stay up when he does arrive."
"The Gatekeeper hasn't let us down before." Another member of the Convocation said, though he was a friend to the Ranger-General. His name was Belo'vir and he was a Grand Magister of the city and had a keen mind for warfare, despite his more magical nature. "I would like to join you if you would allow me, Ranger-General. I would like to oversee the defences and take charge of the mages for you."
Sylvanas bowed her head to him. "I would gladly accept your offer, Grand Magister." She said, smiling at him a little before laying her eyes on Anasterian. "Is that all, my King?"
Anasterian looked at his council and saw them all nod, waving away the Ranger-General shortly after. "For now. Go, General. Take all the mages you think are necessary. We are counting on you to hold Arthas and his army back."
Sylvanas bowed her head again to her King. "I will lay my life on the line for you, the city and its people." Standing up straight, she left the meeting room and ran into an elf she didn't want anything to do with at the moment in time.
"Ah, General. I take it the meeting went well?" They asked, looking at their military leader.
"It did, Lord Sunblade." Sylvanas said, almost biting her tongue when she saw his grin. "I'm on my way to the front lines actually." She told him, looking over to Grand Magister Belo'vir who left the meeting room just as she finished speaking, smiling at him. "Whilst the Grand Magister will pick one hundred mages for us."
The Grand Magister bowed his head to both the Ranger-General and Ranger Lord. "I'll pick one hundred of the best."
They both watched the Grand Magister leave with the Ranger Lord falling into step beside Sylvanas once she began moving again. "He's marching north, isn't he?"
"According to the recent reports, yes." Sylvanas stopped walking once she was out of the Court of Sun, looking at the Ranger Lord beside her. "What do you want, Dael'Thaelas?"
"Only what you want, General. A joining of our families, with my great grandson by your side as your husband." He saw her look away, knowing she hadn't stopped thinking about a deal they had made decades ago.
You see, Sylvanas was the eldest surviving Windrunner that they knew of, yet she hadn't settled down like her younger sister was doing and her eldest sister tried to do before her disappearance. She told herself that she would find someone that impressed her and not go all in on the first elf to say something nice about her, which happened on the daily at this point.
It took a while, but Lord Sunblade's great grandson first took her attention and then after a grueling long decade of watching him from afar, she slowly realised that he was all she could think about when her mind wasn't on her work.
Since then, she proposed a deal with the head of the Sunblade family, Lord Dael'Thaelas, that she would marry his youngest member, Athrodar Sunblade if he wanted the pairing to happen. It was on course to happen too, until Athrodar's father, Tahnir Sunblade, caught wind of the arrangement and proposed to tell his son himself. Only, he had also made sure to throw another hat into the ring.
A mage, one that grew up with his son for the past century and who's brother was his best friend, just like their father was his best friend. If Athrodar didn't want to be with the mage, he would then tell his son of the arrangement. Except, he was making sure to never ask his son about his feelings towards the mage, to prolong the arrangement for as long as he could.
"We would already be together if his father, your grandson, would make up his mind." Sylvanas told him, looking back towards the Ranger Lord. "He has been waiting for his son to take an interest in that mage for far too long now. If she wasn't the daughter of his best friend, Athrodar would have been told by now and we would have been married. Or at the very least dating."
Dael'Thaelas couldn't agree more with the General. His grandson had put a stop to his plans the day he was told of them, making sure to take up as much time as possible before telling his son about the arrangement. "He wants his son to marry out of love, not from an arrangement. You may have fallen for him, but as far as he is concerned, you're his Ranger-General."
Sylvanas sighed and went back to walking, having the Ranger Lord follow her closely once again. "I get that, but if he finds out about my intentions, I would think he would want to pursue me. At least until he got to know me, then he could make his decision."
"Confident in your abilities to woo him, I see." The Ranger Lord said, chuckling to himself. "You better be as good as you think you are. I only agreed to this arrangement because you're eager to make it happen and I want to solidify my family name beside one synonymous with Ranger-Generals." He watched Sylvanas continue to walk, picking up the pace to get away from him and grinning to himself. "If you can't win him over, I will gladly find someone else for him."
That made Sylvanas stop, turning to face the Ranger Lord who kept the grin on his face. "You would go back on our deal so easily?"
"Of course not." Dael'Thaelas told her. "The deal was to have you marry him and my part to play in this deal was to tell him of this arrangement. It's up to you to woo him after that. If that's too difficult for you, I will gladly find someone else who can."
Spinning on her heel, Sylvanas began to walk once again but remained silent now. She was trying to convince herself now that she could woo the young Sunblade, but with Dael'Thaelas giving her second thoughts, she did begin to have slight hints of worry creep in. "Where is he now?" She asked, glancing over to the Ranger Lord who continued to accompany her.
"Doing his job." He told her. "Scouting out Zul'Aman as we have had reports of increased activity there."
Sylvanas sighed at the choice of location. "Does he have to lead the Vanguard?"
"You're his Ranger-General, you tell me." Dael'Thaelas said, knowing why she both hated him being there and why she was having a hard time moving him.
"I can't move him because there is nowhere else for him to be without raising suspicions." Sylvanas told him, glancing over to the Ranger Lord and his grin. "Something you already knew. He has been in the same company since his Ranger initiation, worked his way up to Lieutenant and now leads the Scouting Vanguard unit of that company." She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing this topic always frustrated her whenever her mind would turn to it.
His unit was the group that would go into fights before any other. They were a scouting unit first and foremost, trying to find the enemy and what they were doing before they attacked. But majority of the time, they would engage with said enemy if it meant they would slow down their plans whilst the rest of the army, or at the very least the rest of his company, would arrive to help them. It was a risky job, but it was very effective at slowing down and sometimes stopping attacks from happening since the end of the Second War.
"Nothing is stopping you from moving him." Dael'Thaelas told her.
"That's where you're wrong." Sylvanas looked at the head of the Sunblade family. "If I move him, his father will be on my case and ask why since he is the Captain of that company. His son is his second in command and if I move his second in command, he will want to know why." She began to rub her temple, knowing that a family company was always more stressful than a normal company, especially if the second is someone I look to spend my life with... Even if he doesn't know."
"Then you'll have to live with him being with the Scouting Vanguard." Dael'Thaelas told her. "It's where you put your spy, after all. You should know how highly their unit is rated."
Sylvanas closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "She reminds me constantly how good they are at doing their job. Which only leads to me wanting to move him more because he could do better else where."
Dael'Thaelas shrugged his shoulders at her. "Just do it then. My grandson is just another Ranger Captain, after all. At the end of the day, he reports to you, not the other way around."
"I just can't stand the aggro I get from overly attached Captains who want to keep the company they have built, coming after me because I want to shuffle things around." Sylvanas looked towards the entrance of Silvermoon, watching several civilians go about their day as if Arthas and the undead army behind him wasn't marching north. "Once Arthas has been dealt with, I will move Athrodar to a different company. I'll just have to deal with his father another time."
"They're chanting."
Athrodar looked over to his second, Melonara, who had reported back to him. "They're chanting?"
Melonara nodded her head. "Yes, they're chanting. No more than usual as well."
"What did the reports say?" Athrodar asked, looking to his chief scout and third in command, Viraleth.
"Just that Zul'Aman is experiencing increased activity lately. It could be they're closer to the entrance than normal, so they sound louder." Viraleth shrugged her shoulders at her Lieutenant. "They've been quiet for years and nothing has changed for them to suddenly become active."
"Maybe the scouts were wrong?" Melonara suggested, getting a slow nod from Athrodar in return.
"It's possible, but we'll stay here for a while longer until we're called away, or something does happen." Athrodar looked back to the rest of his unit who were all waiting for his orders. "Tell them to relax, but stay alert." He told Melonara, getting a nod from her. "I don't want to be caught off guard, but since nothing is happening right now, they don't have to stay standing for hours on end."
"What are we going to do if Arthas and his army of undead decide to attack us?" Viraleth asked her Lieutenant, watching him look down at the grass below them momentarily. "Athrodar?"
"We'll do what the Ranger-General asks of us." He told his Chief Scout. "We took oaths to protect the city and its people. We will fight him every inch of the way."
Viraleth looked back to their unit. "He wiped out all of Lordaeron. If he can break through our gates -"
"We won't allow that to happen." Athrodar told her, placing a hand on her arm and watching as her attention snapped back to him. "We can hold him back."
"I hope so." Viraleth said, smiling a little at his confidence.
"We'll set up the main defense here." Sylvanas said, walking around the perimeter of Tranquillien and the first town protected by the Gatekeeper, the magical barrier that has kept Quel'thalas safe for centuries. "We'll have a small force go to the first gate in their way. The great elf gate on the edge of our land won't hold them back for long, but it should be enough to slow him down if we aren't ready here."
"I can offer you a handful of mages for the first defense." Belo'vir suggested, standing beside the Ranger-General. "Maybe they can help and find something to stop the traitor Prince and his army of undead."
"That would help a lot, thank you." Sylvanas watched the Grand Magister nod, looking around Tranquillien at the handful of ranger units there, enough for one company, but she still had time. They would show. "Anya." She called, waiting for the Ranger to show up by her side. "Find out where Captain Tahnir Sunblade is and his company. He has the best Scout Vanguard unit in Quel'thalas, we will need them to make sure we know of the enemies movements."
Anya bowed her head but didn't leave, making the Ranger-General raise an eyebrow at her and knowing that she was waiting for her reason for why she hadn't yet left. "Can Clea come with me? The Sunblade family scare me a little and the last time I ran into one of them... Well, I literally ran into them. Lord Sunblade wasn't pleased and I could -"
"Use the adult supervision?" Sylvanas asked, making the Ranger look away from her. "Fine, just focus on the task at hand and don't get distracted."
Anya smiled up at the Ranger-General, making her smile a little in return as it was always difficult to keep a straight face whenever she smiled. "I promise that won't happen... Again."
Sylvanas kept the smile on her face, shaking her head as she watched Anya leave to find Clea, ignoring the elf that made his way towards her again. "Sending after my grandson and his son already?" Dael'Thaelas asked, joining the Ranger-General south towards Tranquillien from Silvermoon. "He will keep his son close by, so you don't have a chance to be alone with him."
"That's not why I'm calling them back and you know it." Sylvanas glanced over to the Ranger Lord. "We need everyone here to defend our lands. I have already sent runners off to find Lord Theron, Captain Brightwing, your son and the rest of the Officers and their companies. I left them until last because they're always this far south, keeping an eye on Zul'Aman."
Dael'Thaelas grinned but bowed his head to the Ranger-General. "A wise move, General. The others will arrive shortly before or after my grandson returns with his company."
"That's the plan." She replied, looking around the town of Tranquillien. "Before they do arrive, we need to set up a defense."
Several hours had past since their arrival outside Zul'Aman and Viraleth's ear began to twitch when she heard several footsteps coming towards them from behind their lines. "Someone's coming." She said, looking over to Athrodar who nodded and made his way towards them.
"My son." Tahnir said when he saw him, hugging his son who returned the hug shortly after. "We have to return to Tranquillien. We have been given news of Arthas and his undead army and have reason to believe he's marching north and towards our borders."
"What about the Amani?" Athrodar asked, looking back to Zul'Aman behind him. "What if they're actually up to something?"
"We have bigger problems at the moment." Tahnir told his son. "The Ranger-General is calling us all back to stage a defense in the town."
"Alright." Athrodar looked over to his second and whistled to them to get their attention. "Melonara, let's wrap it up. We're moving out and returning to Tranquillien."
Viraleth watched as the rest of her company began to move out, looking over to two rangers who stood out amongst the rest of their company. "Anya, Clea?"
Anya looked over to the ranger and smiled brightly at her. "Viraleth!" She cried, running over to the ranger and leaping at her. "It's been so long!" She said, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "I forgot you were put into this company! I would have been quicker about getting here if I remembered where you were placed."
Viraleth pulled the ranger off her and smiled at her. "Glad to see you too, Anya." Her attention turned to Clea who then hugged her shortly after. "And you, Clea."
"I see you're still alive. I'm still not sure why you're in the Vanguard unit and Sylvanas won't tell us why, but it must have been bad since you're in the suicide unit." Clea looked over to Melonara who sighed after overhearing her. "Sorry."
"It's okay." She told her, knowing the names her unit got. "We get a lot of action though, am I right?" She nudged Viraleth with her arm, hoping to get a reaction out of her.
"Haha, yeah..." Viraleth laughed sarcastically, watching Melonara walk away with a laugh and letting out a long sigh in return. "It's not bad here, but damn I hate being the first into every fight."
"Viraleth, let's go." Athrodar called out to her, getting a nod from his Chief Scout in return.
Just as she took a step forward, Anya hugged her arm tightly and began to walk with her. "What are you doing?" Viraleth asked, looking down at the ranger on her arm.
"We've been away for several months. I've not seen you since I ran into you in Silvermoon, so I'm going to cling onto you until we return to the General."
Clea laughed and hugged Viraleth's other arm, hearing her sigh in return. "We haven't changed since you were last with us both. Anything she does, I will do too. We're sisters without being related in any way. You know this."
"Unfortunately, I do. I hoped things were different since all three of us were last together, but that was just blind optimism." Viraleth made up the rear of the company who began to return to Tranquillien. "I'm looking forward to seeing Sylvanas though, been a while since I last spoke to her."
"Maybe she will tell you why you're here and not back with us." Anya said, getting a small smile from Viraleth.
"Yeah, maybe." She agreed. Of course, she knew why she was really here. She was the spy sent by Sylvanas to keep tabs on Athrodar and to report back to the Ranger-General every couple months about what has happened between their last meeting and now, what she thinks of his leadership and just a general conversation about him as a person. It was tedious at times for the ranger, as she mostly repeated what she had said time and time again to Sylvanas, praising Athrodar and constantly singing his praises to the lovestruck elf, but it made her General happy and if she was happy, it then made her happy.
The trip to Tranquillien took almost an hour and when they returned, both Anya and Clea dragged Viraleth to the General whilst Tahnir told his son to rest up for a couple hours then report back when he was awake. "You've been awake and on your feet for a while now." He told his son when he began to argue. "I need you rested, even if it's for a couple hours. You might be called to scout out the enemy and keep track of their whereabouts."
Athrodar saluted his father and Captain, being hugged by him shortly after. "Only because you asked so nicely." He whispered, getting a laugh from his old man in response.
"Go take a nap." Tahnir said, lightly hitting the back of his son's head and hearing him chuckle as he made his way towards the inn. Once he was out of sight, Tahnir looked around the town and saw both a relieved looking Sylvanas but then had his attention taken by both his own father and grandfather. "How long have you been here?"
"A couple hours." Dael'Thaelas told him, looking over to the inn Athrodar had just walked into. "How is he?"
"Tired." Tahnir told him, looking to his father now. "She isn't going to be allowed near him, you know. Especially alone."
Dael'Thaelas spoke before his son could respond, letting out a small laugh. "You seem to forget who leads this family." He told his grandson. "Your father and son both know how things work here, but you always seem to rebel."
"I don't rebel." Tahnir told his grandfather, glancing over to him. "I follow your orders because that was what was drilled into me as I grew up." He turned to face him fully now. "Lord Sunblade is someone you respect and listen to, not someone you want to anger."
Dael'Thaelas grinned at his grandson. "And don't you forget it."
Just as he saw his father and grandfather were about to leave, Tahnir couldn't stop himself from speaking back to him. "Funny thing is, respect is earned." He told his grandfather and the Lord of his house, getting a swift and painful backhand in response.
"You always have to have the final word." Dael'Thaelas spat, glaring at his grandson who placed a hand over his cheek. "You might be a Captain, but I am still your superior as a ranger and as a leader." He stepped forward so he could whisper into his ear privately. "If it weren't for your son, you would have been cut from this family decades ago."
Athrodar, who watched the whole thing from inside the inn, closed his eyes and sighed, walking away from the window he stood beside and laid down in his bed. This wasn't exactly a common occurrence, but it wasn't rare either. His father and great grandfather never got along for long periods of time, something that was frequent as of late and it made his life difficult whenever they were all together.
He grew up with the same thing being drilled into him from an early age, which was to respect and listen to Lord Sunblade, something he did all the time, especially as he was the youngest in their family. But he also respected and loved his father a lot and he hated choosing sides whenever they would argue at family get togethers. So much so that he would usually slip away unnoticed for large periods of time until he came back, knowing they would be too drunk to even notice he was gone.
The one person out of them all that he did feel sorry for was his grandfather Aerinan. He loved and respected his father, the Lord of the Sunblade house, but he also loved his son too. He was taught to be more like Dael'Thaelas and married only because it would give his family more power. But he didn't want that for his son, so he let him marry for love, made sure to keep him away from Dael'Thaelas for long periods of time growing up and most of all, he spent a lot of time with Athrodar whenever Tahnir was busy and he had time off.
Which made things with the Ranger-General difficult because on one hand, he wanted Athrodar to marry out of love and not for political gain and general power, but he loved and respected his father and his wishes and didn't want to disappoint him. Something that made his life hell at times, but he had managed to keep these thoughts to himself, as he had learned to do.
Watching the drama of the Sunblade household unfold before them once again, Ranger Lord Lor'themar Theron chuckled and leaned close to Sylvanas who was too busy watching the inn and the window Athrodar had just watched everything from. "You have to hand it to them. Most powerful house outside of the Royal family, and yet they never cease to entertain me."
"Huh?" Sylvanas asked, looking over to Lor'themar who had somehow found something to snack on, watching him nod over to the Sunblade family in front of them. "Oh." Her attention returned to the inn, noticing Athrodar was no longer by the window and feeling her heart drop a little in sadness. "Yeah..."
"Distracted today?" Lor'themar asked, raising an eyebrow at his General. "You're normally more up beat and throwing some punches of your own whenever you see their family problems spill out into the open."
"I'm trying to concentrate on the defenses." Sylvanas told him, looking over to the Ranger Lord and slowly grinning at him. "Where's your sidekick?"
"Right here." Ranger Captain Halduron Brightwing said, standing on the other side to her. "Look at that, I managed to sneak up on the Ranger-General. You must be really distracted by all this planning."
"Have I ever told you how much I hate it when you two are together around me?" Sylvanas asked them, folding her arms and leaning against the half wall behind her.
"All the time." Halduron replied, sitting on the half wall and dangling his legs over the side. "Why do you think we always come to you first?"
"Besides, I thought you would have gotten used to us by now." Lor'themar said, offering her his bag of Eversong almonds for her to take from. "Especially with the infamous, teasing duo of Anya and Clea."
"Believe it or not, they're more tolerable than you two." Sylvanas told them, taking a handful of almonds. "And I actually like them."
"Ouch. There's the Ranger-General and her claws." Halduron joked, watching her begin to smile. "So come on, what's the plan? How are we stopping the traitor Prince?"
Sylvanas began to smirk, looking over to Halduron and then Lor'themar. "I'm glad you asked."