On To Dalaran

Melonara slowly woke up from her nap against the tree, looking over to Athrodar who was sitting next to her, smiling when she saw he was sleeping but quickly widening her eyes when she saw he was sleeping on her. "Ah!" She screamed, pushing Athrodar off her and waking him in the process. "You were sleeping on me!"

"I was not." Athrodar told her, rubbing his eyes and looking up at the glaring elf above him. "What?"

"You. Were. Sleeping. On. Me!" She told him, glaring at him some more. "We had one rule we both agreed on when we took a nap, never to sleep on each other again. Do you remember why we made that rule?"

"Because you're soft and you don't like being called a pillow elf." Athrodar told her, sitting up and looking around the nearby surroundings and noticing Arthas and his army were still in and around Capital City. "Was that it?"

"N-no!" Melonara told him, kicking his leg. "You know why and I know you know why!"

Athrodar sighed and stretched. "We don't sleep on each other anymore because you're weak and caved in one night and slept with me, you also don't like to talk about it because it sparked something inside you that you don't want to let loose."

Melonara's glare intensified as she curled her hand into a tight fist. "The second half of that is not true and you know it."

"No, it's not. But I love seeing you look so angry that you forget I have beaten you in every fight we've had." He stood up and stretched fully, moving to the left and then right when Melonara tried to hit him, taking hold of her wrist on her third punch and tripping her up, forcing her onto her back. "See?"

Melonara began to smirk when she realised he had made a mistake. "I think you've lost this one." She told him.

"From this angle, I beg to differ." Athrodar told her, watching her continue to smirk. "What?"

"Just this." She said, kneeing him between the legs and making him collapse onto the floor beside her, laughing to herself the entire time. "I told you, never to sleep on me or mention that night again. That's for doing both and then getting cocky about being a better fighter."

"Okay..." Athrodar strained, holding onto his groin and tender parts. "You win. I won't tease you again."

"Lieutenant, they're moving out." One of the rangers said, looking down at Athrodar and over to Melonara. "Bad time?"

Melonara began to chuckle. "No, it's a great time." She told them, crouching down beside Athrodar and nudging him a little. "Come on, they're moving out." She looked back up to the ranger. "What way are they going?"

"West." They told her, bowing to both Melonara and Athrodar before regrouping with the rest of their unit.

"I'll go keep an eye on them." Melonara said, patting Athrodar on the arm. "Join us when you don't feel like throwing up."

"I will." Athrodar said, groaning and trying to not throw up and focusing on fighting through the pain. "Send a messenger back to Silvermoon." He said, looking up at his second. "Inform them that the undead army are marching west towards Dalaran and Gilneas."

Dael'Thaelas arrived in Tranquillien with his company shortly after they heard about Zul'Aman and the troll's sudden disappearance. "I leave you two to watch our ancient enemies on your own for a week and they're suddenly disappeared." He looked over to his son then grandson, shaking his head at them slowly in disappointment. "I thought I had taught you both better. Did you even check for their magic?"

Both Tahnir and Aerinan looked at each other and not at Lord Sunblade as they had both now realised they had made a mistake. "N-no." Tahnir said, looking down at the floor. "We didn't have any mages."

Dael'Thaelas sighed. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." He said, looking over to his second and nodding at them. "Let's go." He looked back to Aerinan and Tahnir, though mainly get his attention on his son. "Your wife has asked for you." He looked over to Tahnir and began to grin. "Both of you."

"No doubt it's to yell and scream at us for losing the Amani." Tahnir said, looking over to his father. "Perhaps with you there, she will be calmer."

"I hope so." Aerinan told him, signalling for his company to move out to Silvermoon, having Tahnir do the same.

Dael'Thaelas in the meantime was making his way towards Zul'Aman, riding to the front of his company and slowing down beside his second. "Send word to Grand Magister Belo'vir and ask for a handful of mages. I am almost certain they have used magic to cloak themselves and we will need the mages to counter their spells."

Once a small group of rangers left to find Belo'vir, Dael'Thaelas' company set up camp outside of Zul'Aman whilst he began to make his way towards the entrance of the Amani Capital. "It's definitely magic." He said to himself, taking in a deep breath and smelling the magic in the air. "Voodoo magic too." He told himself, reaching for a small pouch on his hip and opening it, taking out a pinch of the dust inside and blowing it in the direction of Zul'Aman, smirking to himself when he saw the dust react with the air, making the dust glow and knowing he was correct on the magic call. "Set up a perimeter!" He ordered, returning to the rest of the camp. "They're hiding inside."

"I thought I raised you better than this, Tahnir." Larysa said, shaking her head at her son and turning her back to him. "You knew that if the Ranger-General and your son married, there would be nothing that could stand in our way if ever we wanted something."

"That's why I got in the way." Tahnir told her. "He shouldn't be with her because it best suits whatever you and Lord Sunblade have planned. He should want to be with her because he loves her, not because it boosts the family name." He looked over to his father who had always remained silent in these talks. "And as usual, you're too scared to say anything, father."

"Not everything works out that way, Tahnir." Larysa told him. "It's not all a fantasy world where the guy gets the girl and they live happily ever after. This is the real world, a world where power is key when everything else turns against you." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing this was the same argument she had with her son for decades now. "Having a Sunblade married to the Windrunner bloodline and then eventually producing offspring means we will forever be the most powerful family in Silvermoon bar the King and his family."

"And you don't see the problem with that? It's not all black and white out there, mother. Sometimes you need the people to love you instead of fear you." He heard her begin to laugh and narrowed his eyes at her. "You don't believe that, do you? You only believe that power is key and you have to show that power otherwise people won't respect you." He saw her look over to the royal chambers and sighed to him. "You've spent too long with grandfather. You're cold, calculating and devoid of love now." He looked over to his father and closed his eyes when he remained silent. "Whatever. I'm done with this family and its politics. Sylvanas told him everything and by the looks of it, he wants to pursue her. So well done, you've all won."

Aerinan watched his son leave and began to curse himself for not even speaking up, let alone backing his son up. "Father said you wanted to see me too." He said when he was alone with Larysa.

"Yes, I do." Larysa said, walking over to her husband and placing a hand on his face. "How do you feel about having another child some day?"

Aerinan raised an eyebrow at his wife. "Really, why?"

Larysa shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I have just wanted another one for a while now and Tahnir has been disappointing me a lot lately that I figured we could try again for a daughter who would see the world how we see it."

Aerinan knew he should say something to defend his son, opening his mouth to speak but then closing it and smiling at his wife when he saw she was waiting for his answer. "I have always wanted a daughter." He told her, getting a smile and a kiss from her in response.

"Good, so have I." She told him, stroking her fingers through his hair and pulling his hood down at the same time. "A little girl to teach about the world properly, instead of handing her over to your father so she can become a ranger too."

"Then that's what we'll do." Aerinan said, watching his wife begin to walk away again. "Was there anything else?" He asked when she went to the council table to read through the handful of reports there.

"No, that will be all." She told him, ignoring her husband now as she went about her daily duties. "Interesting..." She muttered to herself, recognising her grandson's unit when she picked up a report and quickly reading through it, folding it up and pocketing it before making her way over to the royal chambers, knocking twice on the door and waiting for a response. "My King, this is urgent."

Kael'thas opened the door to the royal chambers and looked at the Sunblade politician standing there. "Yes?"

"Is the King here? I have an urgent message for him." Larysa said, trying to look past the Prince and failing when he moved to block her.

"The Prince is here, what is it?" He asked, taking a folded up parchment from Larysa when she handed it over to him. "When did this come in?" He asked once he read to the bottom of it.

"About an hour ago I think." Larysa told him, watching the Prince burn the parchment the second she told him, covering her eyes when the flame burnt brightly. "What is it? It's just a couple of human cities who have done nothing but argue for years."

"Gilneas, yes. But not Dalaran." Kael'thas told her, pushing his way past the Sunblade politician. "Excuse me."

"Where are you going?" She asked, looking into the royal chambers just as the door was about to close and not spotting the King. "Prince Kael'thas?"

Sylvanas read through several reports she got from all over Quel'Thalas, most of them mundane, easily resolved local guard problems that she put to the side, though there was the occasional threat that presented itself which would require her to resolve. Though they were few and far in between the boring stuff. "Five days since he left and you can't stop thinking about him." She told herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're better than this, Sylvanas. Snap out of it, you went almost three decades without even telling him. You can go a week without him now."

Just as she was about to go back to reading the reports, there was a knock on her office door which forced out a sigh of relief from the General. "Come in." She told them, grateful for the distraction and widening her eyes when she watched Kael'thas walk in. "What happened?" She asked, knowing straight away something was wrong as no royal had ever come to her office personally.

"Where's Vereesa?" He asked, not spotting her immediately.

"She went back to Dalaran this morning, why?"

"Damn it..." Kael'thas sighed and looked at the Ranger-General who was growing more and more concerned with every passing second. "Arthas and his army are marching west towards Gilneas and Dalaran. We got a report in about an hour ago, they might already be at the city, but I want to go back and try to save as many as possible. Now that I know your sister is there too, what do you say to joining me?"

"There's no need to ask. I'm already coming." Sylvanas told him, picking up her bow and quiver followed by her swords. "I'll get my company ready within the hour, you'll need the backup."

Kael'thas nodded in agreement. "Meet me outside Sunfury and in the Court of the Sun. I'll portal us to Dalaran."

An hour has passed since Kael'thas knocked on Sylvanas' door and he looked around the Court of the Sun just to find the Ranger-General now and her company, smiling to himself when he saw them make their way over to him in the distance. "Good, you're here." He said, conjuring a portal to Dalaran. "We don't have much time."

Stepping through the portal first, Sylvanas could hear the screams of the civilians in the distance and the taste of magic and death in the air. "We're already too late." She said, looking over to the Violet Citadel in the distance and knowing that's where her sister, brother in law and many high ranking mages of Dalaran were. "We need to get up there." She said once Kael'thas walked through the portal, pointing towards the Violet Citadel in the distance with her sword. "It's where they will hold off the undead the longest and it's our best shot as saving as many people as we can."

"Go." Kael'thas told her, keeping the portal open for the rest of her company. "I'll be right behind you."

Sylvanas nodded once to her Prince and began to make her way towards the Violet Citadel, letting loose the occasional arrow into any undead that managed to get close to her, running up the many steps leading to the citadel and pushing open the twin doors in her way. "Vereesa!" She yelled, hearing catapults in the distance as well as more screaming. "Vereesa!" She yelled again, looking up the many flights of stairs in the Citadel.

She ordered her rangers to spread out once they made their way towards her, placing many at the doors and telling the rest to search room by room and evacuating anyone still inside the building. "Any luck?" Kael'thas asked when he entered the Violet Citadel, watching Sylvanas shake her head. "We'll find them." He then told her, casting a spell in his hands. "I'll check the great library with a couple of your rangers."

"Anya, Clea, go with the Prince and check the library." She told them, getting a nod from the pair of them and watching all three of them teleport over to the Great Library inside Dalaran. "Vereesa!" She yelled again, hoping her sister could hear her and starting her climb up the many stairs when she got no response.

She had been searching the Violet Citadel for almost twenty minutes before coming across her sister and brother-in-law, running to Vereesa and hugging her tightly. "L-Lady Moon? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Getting you both out of here." Sylvanas told her sister, looking over to Rhonin who nodded his head to her. "We have gathered several people who were still in here, the city is surrounded and in a few minutes it might be lost. We have to leave now, Prince Kael'thas and I will explain it to the council later."

"Let's get going then." Rhonin said, following his wife and sister-in-law out of their room and down the many stairs of the Violet Citadel, noticing a good one hundred or more mages and students in the main hall of the building. "Thank you for coming to get us."

"I'm not going to sit by and let my family get mauled to death by the undead outside." Sylvanas told them, meeting up with everyone at the ground floor and pushing her way to the front of her rangers. "Has the Prince returned?" She asked, getting several no's in response. "Something's not right..." She muttered, watching several buildings begin to burn in the distance. "Why were you all still here?" She asked, turning back around to face Vereesa and Rhonin."

"We were planning to evacuate." Rhonin told her. "But the undead attacked us quicker than we thought they would, so most of our mages went to defend the city." He heard several catapults in the distance as well as crumbling stone. "They can't hold them back for much longer by the sounds of it, so we have to leave now."

Sylvanas gripped onto her bow tightly and grit her teeth in frustration. "Portal us back to Silvermoon." She told them.

"What about the Prince?" Velonara asked, Sylvanas' second whilst Viraleth was away.

"He knows to portal back to Silvermoon if we're not there." The General told her. "But we have civilians here and there is nowhere else to go." She looked back to Rhonin who was waiting for a decision to be made. "Rhonin! Portal us back to Silvermoon now!" She commanded, watching him begin to cast the spell. "The Prince will meet us back at the city." She told herself more than telling someone, just to reassure herself this was the right decision.

"They're laying siege to the city." Melonara said, watching Dalaran be hit by several volleys from the undead catapults. "What's the plan?" She asked, looking over to her Lieutenant who looked in deep thought. "Athrodar?"

"Give me a minute." He said, tapping his finger on the pummel of his sword. "Can you see any nearby houses or anything that could hold a family in it?"

Melonara began to scan the area near Dalaran, spotting a tiny, ten house village on the outskirts of the city. "Yes I can. There's about ten houses."

"Let's go then." Athrodar said, signalling for his unit to follow. "We'll get them out of there and to the safety of Silvermoon."

"All the way back to Silvermoon?" Melonara asked, watching Athrodar nod. "A-are you sure? Can you even get permission for such a thing? I mean... I know you're a Sunblade, but you're only a Lieutenant and this could be a very serious thing... You know, politically."

"I'll think of something when we return. Whatever happens, I'll take full blame so don't worry." Athrodar began to make his way towards the small village, slowing down his pace when he got close just to not draw attention from the undead nearby.

"I'm not comfortable with you taking all the heat from this if it backfires." Melonara told him when she caught up to the Lieutenant. "At least let me take some of the blame for pressuring you into doing this."

Athrodar shook his head. "If you take even a small piece of the blame, your career is done. Like you said, I'm a Sunblade, I'll just get a demotion at most and suspension for a few months to a year and I can live with that. I can't live with knowing you can no longer be a ranger because of this."

"Fine..." Melonara muttered. "But I want it on record that I'm not happy about this." She told him, getting a smile in return.

"Noted." He said, making his way towards the first house whilst the rest of his unit split up and went to the other nine. "Hello?" He called out, knocking on the door lightly. "I'm friendly, we just need to talk."

"Wh-who are you?" A voice called out back to him, making the Lieutenant smile a little.

"I'm Lieutenant Athrodar Sunblade of the Farstriders of Silvermoon. My unit and I have come to help everyone in this small village get out of here before the undead on your doorstep turn their attention to these houses and kill you all."

"How do I know you're not lying? How do I know you're not one of them?" The voice now asked, sounding louder and confirming for Athrodar that it belonged to a man.

"What do you want me to do to prove I'm not one of them?" He asked, looking over to the undead in the distance and praying that they wouldn't turn their attention to this village. "I'd make it quick, I don't know how long the undead will ignore this place the longer they stay there."

"Sh-show me your eyes. Look into the window to the right of the door." The voice told him, making Athrodar smile a little wider as he felt progress in these strange negotiations.

"See? I'm not one of them." He said, looking through the window and trying to spot the man he was talking to, only seeing the outline of him as he had blown out all the candles and tried to fool the undead into thinking nobody was home.

The man saw Athrodar's blue eyes and the golden blond hair under his hood and slowly made his way towards the door. "O-okay, I believe you." He said, opening the door after a short while and looking over to the undead in the distance. "Where are we going?" He asked, stepping outside and keeping the door open for the rest of his family Athrodar had only just noticed when they walked out with their father.

He looked down at the son and daughter, roughly the same age in his eyes and probably twins now that he thought about it. "We're taking you all back to Silvermoon with us until we can find a place for you to go that will be safe with other humans." Athrodar told him, looking over to Melonara and the rest of his unit who were gathering everyone in the middle of the village. "Is anyone here a mage?" He asked the man.

"We have a couple." He said, pointing to them.

"Melonara, give them the co-ordinates for Silvermoon." Athrodar's attention remained on the dad and his two kids, noticing one family member was missing and figuring his wife must have died, dropping the question stirring in his mind when he came to that conclusion. "You're going to love the city." He said, looking at the two children. "It's a big, beautiful place with magic everywhere. Everyone is friendly too and will help you if you need it." He smiled when he saw them begin to hide behind their father, looking at the man now. "Once we arrive, ignore everyone staring at you and go to any inn. Tell them you know Lieutenant Sunblade and they will give you a room."

"Why are you doing this?" The man asked Athrodar when he looked over to his second in command. "Why are you all so far from your forests and this far west?"

"We were only recently attacked by that army, but held them off." Athrodar told him honestly, looking back to the man. "We were tasked to track them down and see where they were going next and to report back when we knew. I didn't like that they were coming west towards Dalaran and Gilneas, so I ignored the order to come back when we knew and followed them here."

"I suppose I owe you my life then." The man said, watching Athrodar smile a little.

"No, you don't. I was always going to come here whether or not I was told to come back." He looked over to Melonara who was waiting for the portal to be conjured. "My second in command, the woman over there." He said pointing to her. "She convinced me to come here more than I convinced myself. If there's anyone you should thank when we arrive in Silvermoon, it's her."

Once the portal was up, Melonara and Athrodar made sure everyone went through it first before they went through, arriving outside Sunfury Spire with the group of humans and their unit. "I give it five minutes." Melonara said, glancing over to Athrodar. "Five minutes until we are set upon by every spellbreaker, ranger and politician in the city for bringing this many humans back with us."

"Again, I'll take all the heat." Athrodar told her, glancing over to the man with his two children. "For now, I need you to find them all some place to stay. Take them to the nearby inn and I'll pay for all their rooms, okay?"

"My, we are generous today, aren't we?" Melonara teased, grinning at Athrodar who sighed. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they're all safe." She looked over to Sunfury Spire when she saw several guards as well as a couple of mages make their way towards them. "You've got the full blame, remember. Your words, not mine."

Athrodar looked over to Sunfury and closed his eyes. "Fuck..." He muttered to himself, making his way over to the guards and mages. "I'll explain everything soon." He told them, having several spears and blades pointed his way as well as spells when they were conjured, holding his hands up in surrender to them all. "Take me to Larysa Sunblade, I will explain everything to her."

"Search the library." Kael'thas said, making his way over to where he knew one mage would be more than anyone else and splitting up from Anya and Clea who were searching the massive library on their own. "Jaina?" He called out, rounding a corner and bumping into both her and her teacher Antonidas. "You're both here, good. We need to leave."

"Yes she does." Antonidas said, placing a hand on Jaina's shoulder. "You need to leave and take our people to Kalimdor like that prophet told you."

"I.. I won't leave you!" Jaina cried, looking her teacher and great friend in the eyes as he just smiled warmly at her. "Please... Don't make me leave you here."

"Prince Kael'thas will take care of you all now." Antonidas said, looking over to Kael'thas who nodded at him. "Just don't forget your task, Jaina."

Although hating that she was leaving him here to fight the undead on his own, Jaina nodded her head slowly at her teacher. "I'll take them to Kalimdor."

"Come on." Kael'thas said, slowly pulling her away from the great mage. "Anya, Clea, let's go!" He called out, having both rangers as well as a handful of mages converge on them. "Stay close." He said to them all, teleporting them all to Silvermoon shortly after and watching as Sylvanas and her company, as well as Vereesa, Rhonin and everyone who was evacuated from the Violet Citadel, appeared in front of them seconds after they arrived.

"Oh good, you're here." Sylvanas said when she saw the Prince.

"We're here too!" Anya yelled, making her way over to the General and hugging her tightly against her will. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"You were gone for ten minutes." Sylvanas told her, pulling Anya off her person but then being hugged by Clea shortly after. "Gods... What am I going to do with the two of you?"

"Never leave us again?" Clea suggested, moving an arm around Anya who smiled brightly at the General. "And promise to always keep us in your group if ever you were splitting us up."

"Fine..." Sylvanas said, reluctantly agreeing to their request. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to the King and the council."

"I'll join you." Kael'thas said, looking back to Jaina who was being hugged by Vereesa the moment she began to cry to herself.

"Thanks." Sylvanas told the Prince. "For telling me about Dalaran and for now helping me with this."

"Anything to stick it to my father and the Convocation as well as their anti-human approach they've had to things recently." Kael'thas saw Sylvanas smile, knowing she was going to enjoy this talk.