The unforeseen
by Anne Shard (alias Odeena Skywalker)
Chapter sixteen: One last favor
Several days passed without any notable event. Illidan's warriors easily repelled any demon attacks on the base, while the Night Elven forces recovered their strength. Following their master's directions, the Naga and Blood Elves made several incursions into the surrounding teritory, and soon the area around the base had been cleansed of any demonic presence. During this time, Maiev and Illidan spent most of their time together, analyzing the situation and devising battle strategies. The warden could not help being impressed by Illidan's skills, both in planning and in leadership. In turn, Illidan had to admit that, despite her obvious lack of tactical knowledge, Maiev was a terrific fighter and a great party leader.
Eventually, the allied forces of the Naga, Blood Elves and Night Elves made their first major strike upon their now common enemy. Maiev and Illidan lead the assault. Wave after wave, the demons came; and yet, just as fast, they fell to their blades, until, eventually, there was none left to stand. But this victory was a grim one; Furion Stormrage, who had lead the Night Elves for so long, was gravely wounded. Barely alive, he was taken to the Night Elven camp, where the Blood Elven priests did their best to heal him. However, his condition improved little, and rumors spread amongst the Sentinels that their beloved leader was dying.
On the same evening, Illidan was summoned by the arch-druid. At the entrance of the small hut of his brother, he took a moment to compose himself. The several druids in the room bowed their heads as he entered, and then left wordlessly. Illidan and Malfurion found themselves alone.
For several moments, neither of them said anything. Finally, Illidan broke the silence. "I should not have left this to happen to you, brother", he said, his voice bitter. "Forgive me."
"Your kind help has yet to be repaid, brother", the druid replied quietly. It could be told easily that the spark of his life was fading away. "If I am to be honest with you, I never expected that you would return from Outland at all", he continued, and a small smile played across his features for a moment.
"And yet I returned too late", the demon replied grimly.
"It may have been too late... for some of us..." Furion's voice shook a little, and a tear fell from his eye despite himself. "But there is hope for my people still", he said, making a visible effort to contain his grief. "Brother... I have summoned you here to thank you. Despite all that has gone down between us... you helped us still."
"You have offered me freedom", Illidan answered. "How could I have refused it?"
"And yet, you could have walked away and abandoned us to our inevitable destiny. There was nothing we could have done about it."
Illidan gave a short and bitter laugh. "You have yet to know me, brother", he then said. "Unlike others, I have my honor."
"This I have come to know... As I have come to believe that you will not abandon now, regardless of... of anything that may happen", Furion finished quietly.
Illidan 'looked' at him questioningly. "Why should you speak so, brother? "
The druid heaved a great sigh. "I will be straight to you, Illidan. I am... dying. There is no point in hiding it." For several moments, there was silence; then, Furion went on. "My time in this world is all but spent. Death does not scare me as it used to; if anything, I will welcome it as a long-awaited respite. And yet..." He sighed again. "I... want to ask you one last favor, brother."
Illidan laid his hand upon his brother's gently. "Ask", he said, "and if it is in my power, I will grant it to you."
"Lead my people to victory." Illidan started slightly, but kept his composure. "Do this for me, and my soul will rest in peace."
The demon remained silent for a long, long time. "Very well", he said at last. "If this will give you peace, brother, then rest assured. It will be done."
Furion smiled and grasped his brother's hand weakly. "Thank you, brother", he whispered, and as he did so, more tears slid down his face.
It may have been for the first time in Illidan's entire life that he regretted not being able to cry. As it was, he took his brother's hand to his forehead, and then he kissed it gently. "Rest assured, brother. Your people... our people... will win. That, I swear to you. Our race will live on. And I..." His voice broke, and for several seconds his shoulder shook with an almost uncontrollable emotion. "I... will always remember you, brother. You are, and have always been, the greatest of us all. And if I have ever done you wrong... forgive me."
"Your past deeds... have long since been redeemed. Fear not, my brother. Know that, as of now... you are... forgiven."
And with these last words, Malfurion Stormrage, took his eternal leave from the realm of the living. In life, he had been loved and respected by his fellow Night Elves. In death, he would forever be remembered, and hailed, as the greatest leader that the Night Elves had ever known.
Author's Note: Whew... believe it or not, this chapter took me bloody ages to write. Why? Because I wanted it to be all that it could be, and because I had tons of other stuff to attend in the meantime... gosh, sometimes real life can be so annoying! Anyway, what do you think? Please review! And thanks to those who did so already go as follows:
HuntressWarden: Thanks! ...Umm, actually, the second druid was a Druid of the Talon (remember the 'strange, whispering voice' bit? ) I'm glad that you're not complaining about short chapters and all... it's good to know there's at least one such reader out there! wink
darth: Eh... I actually don't know what to say. You could try to sign up as a ff.net author, then you wouldn't have any more problems like this one. Or, you could write your e-mail when you review. Or something... shrug
Crimson Paladin: Well, I have the exact same problem... as I was saying in one of my previous review responses, I can't pull myself together enough to write longer chapters! I guess it's some sort of a syndrom... Thanks for reviewing!
Destro 1990: Thank you! You really mean it that I brightened your months? Wow! That's one of the nicest things a person has ever said to me! ...okay, okay, back to serious stuff... it's been fun talking to you, too! Speaking of which, I was thinking of starting a parody after this very fanfic! (I'm much better at writing parodies than serious stuff, as you probably noticed...) What's your opinion on it? ...And one more thing... Seventeen chapters? Believe me, I'm astounded, too!