Chapter 4: Final Preparations

From what I had seen through the portal, the situation had not fared much better in Orgrimmar.

The Alliance and I took turns stepping into the portal and finally being exposed to the full scene of Orgrimmar's corrupted and dilapidated state. The formerly stalwart buildings and compounds that litters the canyons had since been withered and distorted, the wood and stone having bent and shifted at unnatural angles by the curse of the void. Even the very sands of the desert had become discoloured from their usual golden-orange hue; naught was spared from the life-draining power that had swept the planet.

I had glanced behind where we had exited the portal and saw the remains of the entrance gate, collapsed into a mound of debris and entirely impassable from either direction. I considered it safe to assume that whomever was inside Orgrimmar at the time of the global disaster would remain trapped inside, though their condition since then would be determined only by possibly encountering them.

Strange is that unlike Stormwind's over-abundance or invincible dark creatures and ravaged corpses, Orgrimmar seemed completely deserted. It was as if nobody had roamed this ground in hundreds of years. I began to wonder if there was perhaps a reason for their absence here, or perhaps we would now find Stormwind vacant since we had left.

"Well…" Tyrande spoke up as we wandered the empty landscape, "It seems we must venture inwards through the Drag if we have a chance to find them". Mekkatorque spoke up and admitted "I've not seen this Horde capital in the years I've served the Alliance. What regions lie here?" Malfurion held his chin with his hand and hung his head in thought, "Well, there are the Valleys of Honour and Wisdom, but also the Cleft of Shadow within the heart of the capital".

I took my chance to step in and offer my thoughts, "I suspect that if there's anywhere that we will find the Horde leaders, it will be the Cleft of Shadows". All the leader offered their attention to me as I explained "It is a region previously inhabited by warlocks and necromancers of the Horde, but it was also a well-fortified enclosure with only two entrances. Both easily barricaded".

After a brief discussion amongst the leaders, we finally agreed to my plan and began to venture through the Drag. Much like before, it was eerily vacant and quiet, mothing but the slight whisper of the haunting winds and the faint aroma of decay in the air to welcome us. The air chilled me to the bone and my colleague seemed to grow restless and anxious as we neared the entrance to the Cleft of Shadow, only to find the entrance completely open.

"This can't be good" Genn muttered as we gazed into the foreboding darkness of the cave's yawning entrance, "Perhaps they are hold up somewhere else". "Perhaps so" I nodded in understand, "But even then, we must check to make sure". I stood at the front of our group and carefully journeyed into the Cleft, the darkness swallowing us as we neared the main hovel that the horde had resided to practise their dark sorcery.

As we neared the looming light of the central chamber, we happened upon the very sight he had hoped to see.

Orcs.

Trolls.

Tauren.

Blood Elves.

Goblins.

And of course the Forsaken.

Likely having resided within the Cleft of Shadow at the time of this apocalypse, a small collection of refugees resided within the cavern. We stepped towards the corner of the caverns entrance in hid within the shadows, remaining cautious and taking our time to watch them. We could not be sure of what the Horde have endured and what state they are in at this time, physically or otherwise.

As we watched, we could here faint traces of a conversation and a familiar light blooming light in a small corner of the chamber.

"…if this corruption spread beyond our land, it might have affected the Alliance lands as well…"

"Be that as it may, but we must find out why this is happening. They might have a solution".

That voice.

Despite what I might've felt at the start of this ordeal, I found the voice of the Former Warchief and his loyal ally to be a welcoming sound.

If they had intended to leave for Stormwind, apparently by portal according to the glimmering light circling nearby them, it was perhaps best to meet them before they wasted their trip.

I stepped forward from the wall and quickly approached the lower levels from where they resided, steadily descending the pathway down. I could hear the cautious shuffle of footsteps following me, my allies not seeming to be as enthusiastic about this meeting as I had become. We rounded the nearby tent and followed through to the clearing of the chamber, finally finding the consultants we had been watching.

As I had suspected, two Horde Leaders stood before a spiralling portal. From what I could now see from a much clearer view, they had in fact intended to head for Stormwind in spite of the corruption visible through the portal's opening.

"Thrall!" I called.

The two Horde leader paused and fell silent, turning to face my direction and I neared them. The other Alliance leaders followed my lead as the other Horde citizens watched us, silent and inscrutable. But unlike the ominous blank stares we had been welcomed with by the other Horde, Thrall's face was filled with pure relief. He exhaled and furrowed his brow in curiosity, him stepping towards me as I finally stopped before him and his consultant Eitrigg.

"Anduin. We had just prepared to leave for Stormwind" he explained, "You arrival could not have been more timely". I began to raise my hand and was about to salute before I quickly stopped myself, greeting "Likewise. We have much to discuss".

But as I was about to continue, I paused and looked about at the Horde Spectators, and I felt it nessicary to ask "Where are the other Horde Leaders?"

Thrall and Eitrigg looked at eachother before glancing to a nearby tent, Thrall pointing and stating "Lor'themar and Baine are in that tent, but they have many great wounds". Eitrigg added "They shall heal in time, but they will need to rest for now". I glanced at the tent for a time before I replied "I understand. Unfortunate, I must admit. They would want to hear what I have to say".

The other Horde citizens abandoned their activities and encircled us, listening in as I began "Firstly, I assume that there are Necromancers amongst us?" I looked around and caught a glimpse at several hooded undead standing at attention, all saluting in response. One stepped forward and I immediately recognised him, Faranell bowing respectfully as he greeted "I and the Apothecary Society are at your service".

"Very good" I answered him, "We will have a great use of the Forsaken's knowledge of dark magic for what we have planned". Just as I was preparing to elaborate for the evidently intrigued Horde, a thought came to mind and I felt the need to ask "Out of curiosity, where is Nathanos?"

At the very utterance of the name, Saurfang grunted with disrespect and answered "We had him locked away for his support to the Banshee Wench. We had been discussing his fate when this all happened". Thrall hung his head and sighed "Undoubtedly, he is either still imprisoned in the Valley of Honour or he is amongst the dead consumed by this dark corruption". Eitrigg stepped forward and added "Not to mention Sylvanas's Val'kyr have gone missing since her death, and we haven't yet learned of where they'd gone or what happened to them".

My blood warmed as I pinched my nose in irritation, but I forced myself to calm as I got back to the original conversation. "Everyone come together and listen closely. There's a lot to explain and we cannot be sure how much time we have" I proceeded, "It has a lot to do with you former Warchief and the Old Gods". Wary glances were traded but their attention remained undivided from my words, pushing me to continue.

Several minutes passed as I offered my explanation to the Horde and it was offered with little complication. The Horde were much more compliant that I had expected, but the occasional question or sceptical remark was exchanged. I explained the death of Sylvanas, my defection from the Alliance, the meeting with Alleria and the Old Gods, and my conclusion as to Sylvanas' actions. I could sense the unease in not only the Horde but the other Alliance leaders as well, as my words possibly made more sense they anyone would want them to.

"How can you be sure that Sylvanas can be revived, and that she will help us if we do revive her?" Thrall questioned, with Farnell adding "And how can you be sure that her spirit will not be corrupted by the Old Gods when we reach it". "Honestly, and this may sound ludicrous when I say it…" I prepared my answer, "But every question you may ask about this plan will likely be met with the same and only answer I have. 'It's our best option'".

Thrall exhaled and closed his eyes in deep thought, only to open them again at the sound of rustling from the nearby tent. He glanced at the open flap of the tent and saw the welcoming sight of Baine stepping through, holding his stomach and arm close together as Lor'themar followed after him. "Baine. It's good to see you have recovered" I greeted, Baine staring at me for a moment before offering a respectful nod.

"We had overheard what you had said and what you have planned" Lor'themar explained. Baine stood as upright as he could as Lor'themar added "Whatever our own opinions on the matter, if you plan to leave soon then I and Baine had done what we can to join you whenever you have prepared for departure". Besides my concern for the wellbeing of the two leaders and the other Horde citizens, I held reluctance for so many citizens to join us in our venture.

But these things would have to be solved later.

"There is one more thing I need to mention" I declared, "If he is still alive, bringing Nathanos with us may greatly aid our odds". Thrall paused in contemplation, likely coming up with every reason to decline. "I suppose he was close to Sylvanas, and he may convince her to help" I was surprised to hear him reply, "We must hurry though. He may be in danger". I nodded in agreement and hastily waved our gathered observers together, leading them as we made our way up the slope and out the entrance into the Drag.

But as we had the entrance to the valley of honour in our sights as we left the Cleft of Shadow, we were halted by an unexpected sight.

The once empty and ominously quiet streets had suddenly become abundant by vague humanoid shapes, shifting and morphing as they traversed the sands with evident aimlessness. "The hell? Void terrors?" Thrall questioned as he tightly gripped his hammer with moth hands, but I held my hand in his direction to stall him. "Wait" I whispered as my brow furrowed, my eyes trying desperately to make sense of the anomalous forms that roamed the landscape.

As they neared us, it all suddenly became clear.

Much to my pained heart.

Shambling helplessly were hundreds of souls, all of those who had been slain and consumed by the Void and their dark powers.

I felt sick to my stomach.

But whatever I had felt for their sorrow, it was clearly unequal to the sheer horror of my orcish colleagues.

"No…"

Thrall stumbled to a nearby ghost and reached out to them, and I couldn't help but feel an instinct to pull him away from the earie entities and what danger they may pose. But before I could reach him, Thrall proved my effort unnecessary as his hand passed straight through the ghost's body. The spirits paid us no heed, just as that shadow fiends had hours before whilst they fed on the spirits. Thrall stepped back and held his hand to his chest, fighting back what was either a bloodcurdling roar or a stream of tears in his eyes.

From my left, Faranell approached me and tapped my shoulder to get my attention. "With the right spell, we can communicate with these spirits". I turned toward thrall who returned my glance, before breathing deeply and calming himself. "We have no time" I was pained to say, "We must get to Nathanos before anything else happens". The rest of the leaders all nodded to eachother and we continued our lengthy journey to the Valley of Honor.

It must be admitted, the presence of these benign corporeal beings had not made the journey any less atmospheric, but we ignored them as we neared the Ring of Valor. "What the arena?" I questioned as we approached the entrance. "We have cells to contain animals for battles. They used to be for containing prisoners of war, back when the Horde watched prisoners fight for entertainment". As interesting as it was, I was alienated by Thrall's sudden enthusiasm to reflect on such a grim history.

We ventured into the bowels of the arena and passed by various empty cells, Nathanos likely the only person to actively be locked in here as a genuine prisoner.

I glanced to my left as we neared the final cell in the chamber, and we all stopped outside the cell door to stare at its occupant.

There he was.

Garbed in a black shroud, his head hanging forward in exhaustion.

His arms and legs chained tight against the walls, forcing him to sit on his knees with his hands outstretched to either side.

"Nathanos" I called as Thrall pulled the cell for open, the only response from him being a slight tilt of his head and a black stare. "…" he wordlessly lecture our very presence, "Is this some kind of insidious joke?" We remained silent as his growled under his breath, sneering "It makes sense that you all would wish to be here to see it". He fully raised his head to curse our souls with a mere flicker of his searing glare, "Very well. I'm prepared to face your punishment for my loyalties".

"Calm down, Nathanos. We're here to release you" I explained as swiftly and punctually as possible, "We need your help".

With a slight raise of an eyebrow, his eyes followed me as I approached his chain cuff. "You? Needing my help?" He hung his head and snickered audibly, "The world must be coming to an end!" We all paused and traded silent glances with eachother and I had to fight the urge to visibly cringe, "It's ironic you should say that".

I and the other Horde leaders set to work breaking his chains and unlocking his shackles. Now free from his bindings, Nathanos stood and gripped his wrist where the cuff had once been, huffing to himself as he met my gaze. "'Ironic'…" he contemplated for a second, "You can't be serious that the world has come to an end!" He shrugged and shook his head, visibly perplexed as he added "And you need my help to save it?!"

"There is far too much to explain" I stated flatly, "But suffice it to say that it has much to do with your Queen Sylvanas".

I was astonished by what I saw as I said this. Just the mere mention of her name, and I felt like I was talking to a completely different person. That was truly the most life I had ever seen in the Forsaken ranger's eyes.

"We will explain everything in time" Thrall spoke up as we looked out from the cell into the chamber, "But we must leave for the Undercity as soon as possible". "The Undercity?" Nathanos questioned to himself as we all awaited Jaina to summon her portal. I took it upon myself address Nathanos personally and explain "Sylvanas might be what saves us all. Do with that what you will". He placed his hand against his chest as he hung his head and huffed longingly, "To see my Warchief one last time would be all the world to me".

Finally, after a moment, a Light flashed from Jaina's hands and a portal opened before us, the dark and murky lands of Tirisfal glades and the ruins of Lordaeran lying in view from the other side. "Once we enter, we have to navigate to the Royal Chamber" I instructed, "With any luck, her spirit will already be there waiting for us". With a nod from my colleagues, I took the first step through the portal.

"Please, light be praised, may she help us".


Yeah. A bit of a filler chapter, since I just needed the Horde and Alliance together for the next chapter. I might add stuff to this chapter later but for now I prefer it's shortness so it can get to the points quicker.

Next chapter is where things will get interesting again.