Varian

We took up our all too familiar positions that evening with new found excitement. I loved that Vala could still have optimism, even after so many years of solitude and recent failures.

"Okay, Varian, I need you to focus on your son, just like you did with the mage. With any luck, this won't be too hard. Your connection with your son should be very strong and easy to follow."

I nodded, but inside I was nervous. Yes, my connection with Anduin should be strong, but I wasn't entirely sure of the accuracy of the idea. A father's connection to his own children should be one of the strongest bonds. Unfortunately, Anduin and I had been butting heads for years, creating a divide between us. We were still family, closing the divide when it was required for the sake of Stormwind, but I wasn't the easiest person to be close to. Over the weeks since my death, I'd come to regret many things in regards to my son. I could only hope I'd find a way back home, so I could make things up to Anduin.

"Varian, focus!" Vala chided me.

I closed my eyes and thought of Anduin. I started with how he looked so much like his mother, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. Though my eyes were also blue, his were lighter, more like Tiffin's. I remembered my son as a boy, physically weaker than I had been at his age. A point I had made to him many times. A point I now regretted, since he'd not only grown into a strong young man, but his strength wasn't only physical, but mental, moral and spiritual.

Anduin was kind hearted, but could steal and hold a room better than any warrior. And he was powerful with both words and actions. I thought of his connection to the Light and how he'd wielded it many times to awesome effect. One time even saving my own life.

My heart broke as I thought about my son. He had no doubt taken up his place as king upon my death, but I knew he probably didn't like it very much. Anduin was a man of peace and now he was thrust into being the spearhead of an ongoing war with the Legion and continued hostilities with the Horde. It was possible there wouldn't be much of the Alliance left to return to, even if this worked.

I shook the thought aside. No, there would be an Alliance. Anduin would find a way to defeat the Legion. He'd be able to find a way to make peace with the Horde. He would succeed where I failed.

I opened my eyes at Vala's sigh of relief. My own reflection in the mirror had been replaced with a view of what looked like a ceiling. It was definitely different from previous attempts.

"I think we have a connection." Vala said.

"I know we do." I replied. "This looks like a ceiling in the mirror." I turned the mirror slightly, looking at it from a different angle. "The ceiling to my chambers in Stormwind keep, to be exact."

The light in the room was fairly dim, so it had to be either early morning or late in the evening, but regardless of light levels, the familiarity of the view filled me with excitement. It appeared that Anduin had moved into the royal chambers and had valued his mirror enough to place it, face up, on the desk in the office connected to the actual bed chamber.

"Just keep your eyes on the mirror. I'll hold the connection as long as I can. All we can do now is just wait for someone to notice the mirror and see you." Vala said.

I looked away just long enough to watch her get as comfortable as she could where she sat. I knew the young woman enough to know she'd hold the magic to the point of collapse if I let her. This new found success would make her stubborn.

Over the hours, as I watched the view in the mirror go from dimly lit to full light, then back to dimly lit from what were obviously candles, then to dark, I looked up at Vala, watching for fatigue. I planned to stop her before she passed out. Even if we didn't get anywhere today, it was good to have finally made some progress. We finally had a connection, we just needed someone to see it.

I longed to see my son, praying to the Light that he'd notice the reflection in the mirror, though my rational mind told me praying wouldn't really help the situation much. I doubted my prayers could travel the distances between us and be picked up by Anduin's connection to the Light, but I wasn't willing to not try. At this point, I'd take any advantage available to me, even if it was a longshot.

After many hours, I noticed Vala's relaxed posture became strained as she fought to continue. With a smile, I gently placed the mirror to the side and rested my hand on her knee.

"Vala, break the connection. You need to stop for today."

She opened her eyes and looked over to me. Her eyes still held determination, but they also looked exhausted.

"I can hold it a little longer."

"No, you can't. We made progress today. There is a real possibility we'll be able to contact someone. I watched what was probably close to a full day in the mirror, when it was only a few hours for us."

"Which makes our odds better, since all we need is someone to look at the mirror once during the timeframe of one day." She remained silent for a moment, eyes closed, but she did break the connection. "And since the mirror is face up, someone is bound to sit at the desk and look into the mirror eventually."

"Exactly. Today was a win, Vala. We're not out of this hell yet, but we're closer."

Vala tried to stand, but nearly fell in the attempt. I stood, helping her to her feet.

"It's amazing how only a few hours of magical focus can make me this weak." She laughed. "I've never used this much magic at one time in my life, even when fighting demons."

"I'll do my best to stop you, before you get to the point where you fall on your ass. You just need to listen to me."

Vala managed to bow deeply without my support. "As you command, My King."

I laughed so hard, I almost cried.


To Be Continued...