The Tough Decision

"We need to get inside the city." Tahnir muttered, looking over to his group. "You four, with me. The rest stay here and watch out backs. Call if we're about to be surrounded."

"Are you sure about this, Captain? We don't know this city well enough to get you out should they surround you." One of the rangers asked.

"It's fine. We do this for a living, remember?" He began to laugh lightly. "I think I've been inside Zul'Aman more than I have Silvermoon, we know what to do should we get surrounded."

The ranger nodded their head. "We climb down and try to get you all out." They said, watching Tahnir nod.

"Exactly. It's routine at this point, just in a different city." He looked around to find something to climb down onto. "When we get in the city, we'll move several things up against this wall and use them to climb out, got it? So we can make a quick getaway."

"Understood, Captain. Good luck."

"Thank you." Tahnir said, ordering the four rangers he pointed out to climb down into the city and joining them shortly after.

Taking his reduced group into the city, Tahnir made sure they all remained hidden and silent whilst they eavesdropped on the goings on in Jintha'Alor. "We need to get to the top level." He whispered. "Their leaders have to be there."

Tahnir began to move towards the upper levels, sneaking by several trolls and stopping by a giant tent, eavesdropping into the conversation that was happening inside. "We need ta attack de elves!" One of them yelled. "De General and Prince have left dere lands and traveled west, leaving da lands unprotected!"

"We be staying here." Another one said, sounding a lot like Zul'jin to the Captain. "It be too early to return. Besides, I have heard da orcs be in da west too. Dey be leaving dese lands to get away from da humans. When dey be setting up a new home, we offer dem an alliance." Zul'jin looked around at the other trolls in there with him. "We help dem and den dey be helpin' us wid our pointy eared problem."

"That's not good." Tahnir muttered to himself, listening in on their conversation some more.

"Da Horde?" A different voice asked. "You be wantin' to help da Horde?"

"Dey be da only ones strong enough to help us." Zul'jin told them. "We be foolish not to ask dem for help. Dey have already found allies on Kalimdor. Giant bull-like creatures who be stronger than ten elves, wid dem on our side, Silvermoon will fall."

Tahnir began to to back up, not believing what he was hearing. "No... If that alliance was to happen..." He began to leave, not noticing he was surrounded by several trolls who were on patrol at the top level and almost running into them.

"Da elves, dey be here!" One of the troll yelled, raising the alarm shortly after Tahnir was found.

"Oh no." Tahnir muttered, having his four rangers come to his side and face the trolls that found them and now the trolls in the tent when they overheard everything. "Get ready for a fight." He told them, taking out both his swords and waiting for the first troll to attack him.

"Capture dem!" Zul'jin commanded the trolls who were surrounding Tahnir and the elves with him. "I want to personally ask dem questions."

"You'll have to kill us first." Tahnir told them, spinning one of the blades in his hand.

"Dat can be arranged." Zul'jin told the Captain. "Ya be surrounded by da most powerful trolls in da Amani." He then said, signalling for the two trolls beside him to engage in the combat. "Dey be hexxers too."

"No..." Tahnir said, looking over to his rangers who were collapsing down onto their knees and holding their heads. "Damn it!" He spat, attacking the two trolls in front of him and being slashed on the back by the third and then forth.

"Captain!" A voice yelled, making Tahnir look over to the owner of it and spotting the ten rangers he told to stay back, run towards him and let loose several arrows into the trolls surrounding him.

"Fall back!" He told them, taking a step towards the ten of the and feeling a spear pierce him. "Gah!" He cried, dropping down onto one knee. "Get them and go!" He told them when they saw him drop down.

"Not without you, Captain." The Ranger said, picking Tahnir up and carrying him away from the fighting the rest of his group were engaged in.

"Listen to me!" He yelled, feeling weak all of a sudden. "Get everyone else out of here, damn it..." He began to feel his body go numb, knowing he had been poisoned by the spear. "You need to report back to Silvermoon... Inform Lord Sunblade and the King..."

The Ranger carrying Tahnir watched foam begin to form in his mouth, coming to the conclusion that he had been poisoned too and shaking their head in disbelief. "No... Captain!" They yelled, hearing laughing coming from Zul'jin on the level above them.

"Ya elves be no match on ya own for da Amani." He told the Ranger carrying Tahnir. "Tell ya what. Ya can leave with his body and tell ya King about what happened here, but we be keepin' da rest of ya pointy eared bruddahs and sistahs. Ya know, for sport!"

"Go.." Tahnir told the Ranger carrying him, falling limp shortly after.

Knowing they had no other choice, the Ranger ran with Tahnir in their arms, climbing out the way they all came in and blowing on the war horn they left on the hill should anything happen. The other groups began to do the same, signalling for a retreat back to Silvermoon.

"Lord Sunblade will make them pay for this, Captain." The ranger said, looking into Tahnir's lifeless eyes as they looked up at the sky above them. "You may not have always seen eye to eye with him, but he knows that losing another family member to the Amani means nothing but war."

Sylvanas paced back and forth in her tent, holding onto the folded up parchment in one hand whilst her other held onto the necklace she was wearing. "The Amani escaped..." She muttered to herself, holding onto the necklace a little tighter. "Tahnir is dead..." She then muttered, holding onto the parchment a little tighter. "What do I tell him? How do I tell Athrodar his father is dead?"

"General?" Clea called, hearing Sylvanas talking to herself for the past ten or so minutes but not really knowing what she was talking about, only hearing mutterings that she couldn't understand. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, Clea." Sylvanas said, pocketing the parchment just in case Clea walked in. "Just trying to clear my head."

"Anything I can do to help?" Clea asked.

Sylvanas sighed and pulled the parchment out of her pocket. "Actually yes, I need you for something." She told her, offering the parchment over to her when she was near enough. "It's bad and I have an idea on what I'm going to do, but I need a second opinion."

Clea read through the report, widening her eyes and then frowning, reading through it a second time just to make sure she read it correctly. "When did you get this?" She asked her, glancing up at the General.

"A few hours ago, just before we made camp." Sylvanas told her. "I was going to hold off from telling anyone. At least until the Burning Legion threat has been dealt with, so we aren't distracted by the goings on back home. This here is more important than the Amani threat, right?"

"I..." Clea folded up the parchment and handed it back to the General. "I honestly can't say, General." She told her, knowing it wasn't the answer she was looking for and getting confirmation in that when she heard Sylvanas sigh. "His father died, the Amani are regrouping in Jintha'Alor... Yet, the Burning Legion threat seems like a real one and they could wipe all of us out if we don't stop them."

"So you agree I should hold of from telling anyone else about this until the Burning Legion are dealt with?" Sylvanas asked her.

"I.. Didn't say that." Clea told her. "I don't really know if I could give you a defining answer, but I will try." She tapped her finger on the hilt of one of her knives, slowly pacing back and forth in front of the General. "I suppose if you look at it this way, telling everyone that the Amani are gathering forces in the Hinterlands to attack our home would make every ranger here want to leave and return home to defend it."

"Which would weaken the forces here." Sylvanas said, watching Clea nod.

"Exactly. But keeping it a secret from them, especially Athrodar, may backfire in the future. I'm sure most, if not everyone will understand why you didn't tell them about the Amani, but Athrodar? You're keeping the death of his father from him for who knows how long." Clea sighed and continued to tap on her knives. "But... He isn't stupid either. If you word it correctly when you eventually tell him, I'm sure he will understand, though it is a very huge risk. He might not take it well at all if all he can think of is how you've kept Tahnir's death from him."

Sylvanas rubbed her thumb across the sapphire in her necklace, slowly nodding her head to everything Clea had just told her. "Okay..." She muttered, looking over to the ranger. "I think it's best if this stays between us. Athrodar will understand, like you said he's not stupid, he will see that I done this so we can win the bigger way that is about to happen over the one that will happen back home which we will surely win without our help." She saw Clea smile a little and knew she wasn't fully convinced. "Lord Sunblade, Aerinan Sunblade, Halduron Brightwing and the many mages and priests we still have at home, as well as the Gatekeeper will see to the win against the Amani."

"It's not that." Clea told her, smiling a little more at the General. "I just want to make sure that you understand how Athrodar might react to this. You could lose everything."

"Yet I need him fully focused on this war with the Burning Legion. He's the best scout we have with us and I trust nobody else. If Viraleth was here, I would tell him the moment he returns, but we need our scouts fully focused on the mission ahead and keeping this from him is the price to pay." She looked over to Clea and saw the same smile on her face she had for most of this conversation. "It's all I can do to make sure we succeed here, Clea... I.. I don't want to keep this from him, but I have no other choice."

"Then do what you think is right." Clea told her. "I will support what you choose no matter what, General."

"General?" A different voice called out from outside the tent.

"Anya?" Clea asked, opening the tent and looking at her as she stood there. "You're meant to be sleeping."

"I was, but I woke up to drink from my water pouch and heard that Athrodar and Melonara have returned with an escort of Kaldorei." She smiled when she saw Clea frown and looked over to Sylvanas who had the same expression as Clea, confusion. "They're asking for you and the Prince, General." She told her, moving to stand beside Clea and resting her head on her shoulder.

"I suppose I'll get going then." Sylvanas said, walk passed Anya and Clea.

"Tired?" Clea asked when she was left alone with Anya, feeling her nod her head.

"Want to have a sleepover?" Anya asked, hearing Clea laugh. "Come on, you know it will be fun."

"Is this just an excuse to hold onto me whilst you sleep?" Clea asked, watching Anya look up at her innocently. "Fine... But no groping."

"I would never!" Anya gasped.

Sylvanas entered the big tent Kael'thas was inside, spotting Melonara and Athrodar standing on one side surrounded by Night Elf Sentinels on either side of them. "Well this is interesting." She said, looking over to Kael'thas and another Night Elf who was in the middle of a conversation with the Prince. "To what do we owe the pleasure of entertaining our Kaldorei cousins?"

"I am here on behalf of our General." Elaria told her, looking over to Kael'thas and handing him the folded up parchment General Feathermoon handed her. "Your Lieutenant has informed us of your mission here to help the humans. He also informed us that you believe the Burning Legion are back."

"It seems that our Lieutenant is very talkative." Kael'thas said, glancing over to Athrodar who looked guilty. "And he is partially right, we don't believe the Burning Legion are back, we know they are."

"Is that right?" Elaria asked, looking over to Sylvanas who had her focus on Athrodar. "This may change a few things."

"How so?" Sylvanas asked, looking over to the Sentinel Captain.

"I was told that if you confirm that the Burning Legion are back, I will have to send a runner back to my people and inform them of this danger." Elaria looked over to her Sentinels and nodded once to one of them, getting a salute back. "Although it's not up to me to decide, we Kaldorei will most likely be joining you on this mission to defeat the Burning Legion."

"Who would be the one to decide, your General?" Kael'thas asked.

Elaria shook her head. "No, she will be very important in swaying the decision, but the one who will decide if we do join you would be our High Priestess, Tyrande Whisperwind. She has fought the Burning Legion before, so I don't see it being a problem, but I can't be certain."

"Can I talk to the Lieutenant in private?" Sylvanas asked, mostly to Kael'thas as she looked over to him and awaited his answer.

"Of course." Kael'thas told her. "I don't think he is needed for this part, nor his second."

Melonara bowed to him. "Thank you, my Prince." She said, looking over to Sylvanas and bowing her head a little to her. "General."

Athrodar left the tent with Sylvanas, being dragged away from everyone and into somewhere private. "What did you find?" She asked, placing a hand on his arm and realising it was a little damp, removing her hand from his arm and noticing some blood on her palm. "Are you bleeding?"

"I was." Athrodar told her, looking down at his arm and smiling when he saw Sylvanas inspecting it closely. "We were ambushed by orcs and wolves. We killed two orcs but then I was pounced on by a wolf and without thinking, I tried to stop it from clamping down on my chest with its jaw by placing my arm in the way."

"Remind me to never put you in a life or death situation." Sylvanas muttered, hearing Athrodar chuckle and smiling a little. "So you came across the Kaldorei, huh?"

"Well, more like they found us whilst hunting the orcs." Athrodar told her, closing his eyes when she kissed his arm. "What was that for?" He asked softly.

"I kissed your arm to make it feel better." She told him, smiling up at Athrodar when he smiled down at her. "My mother used to do it to us whenever we'd hurt ourselves. Of course it never healed us, but it did make us feel better."

"I do feel better now." Athrodar told her, leaning down and pressing his head against hers. "Other than getting confirmation on the Burning Legion actually being a threat, has anything happened whilst I was gone?"

Sylvanas smiled at him and placed a hand on his cheek. "No." She told him. "Well, actually... We have made a truce with the orcs and tauren who were here. Turns out they were contacted by the same prophet, so..."

Athrodar sighed and moved his arms around Sylvanas when she hugged him. "Please tell me you weren't okay with this."

Sylvanas shook her head, pressing her ear to his chest when she felt him kiss the top of her head and smiling brightly because she got to be close to him again. "I wasn't on board with working with them, neither was Lor'themar, but we both understand that it will help us achieve victory here so we're sucking it up and dealing with it." She told him, feeling him squeeze her a little tighter and burying her head into his chest. "I have missed being alone with you like this."

"Three days away does feel like an eternity, doesn't it?" Athrodar asked, planting a kiss on the top of her head and lingering there just to take in the scent of apples she always seemed to give off. "How long do we have until I have to go out and scout again?"

"A couple days." Sylvanas told him, not wanting to let go of her Lieutenant. "Plenty of time together."

"Plenty of time indeed." Athrodar agreed, not letting to of his General who kept her arms around him as well. "Stay here and hold onto each other a while longer?"

"Definitely." Sylvanas whispered, almost forgetting about the letter she was handed now that she was back in his arms. "I love you."

Athrodar moved his hands to her face, tilting her head up and kissing her softly. "I love you too." He whispered to her, pressing his head against hers again and closing his eyes just to live in that moment with her a little while longer.

"I'm going to kill every last one of them." Dael'Thaelas said, looking over to his King and then his son as they both stood opposite him. "They killed my family. Nobody kills my family, the Sunblade name is one to be feared by our enemies and those cowardly trolls poisoned him."

Aerinan looked down at his son's ring in his hand, closing his fist around it tightly and trying to hold back his tears of grief. If his father wasn't crying, he was going to try his hardest not to cry too, though it was quickly becoming a losing battle. "What do we do now?" He asked, not looking up at either of the elves with him.

"We sent a messenger to the General informing her of the Amani and what has happened." Anasterian told them. "The funeral is happening in a week's time." He looked over to Aerinan who was quickly breaking down beside him. "Does Larysa know?" He asked, watching Aerinan nod his head.

"She's keeping herself busy." Dael'Thaelas told him. "I told her the moment we found out and haven't seen her since."

"And Illana?" Anasterian asked them, watching none of them speak. "She does know, right?"

"She knows." Aerinan told him. "She doesn't want to see us."

"Why not?" The King now asked them, looking over to Dael'Thaelas who remained uncharacteristically quiet. "What did you do?"

"I sent Tahnir and his company to the Hinterlands to scout." Dael'Thaelas told him. "I didn't think he would get so close, I would have warned him against it. But she blames me and Aerinan for sending him up there and wants nothing to do with us." He looked over to his son who kept his head low, but was clearly crying quietly to himself. "Go find somewhere quiet, Aerinan. I'll make sure you're not interrupted."

Aerinan nodded his head a little. "Thank you, father."

Anasterian watched him walk out the room, glancing back to Dael'Thaelas. "This isn't like your wife." He told him, watching Lord Sunblade look over to him. "He died in enemy territory, I can't sway the people as much as I could when she died in her own home because of the Amani. The Convocation won't get on board with marching onto Jintha'Alor unless they pose a real threat to us."

"Then I'll march on Jintha'Alor." Dael'Thaelas told him. "I own a third of the army and that's more than enough."

"And if I was to stand in the way?" Anasterian asked him. "If you take a third of our army and attack a highly defensible structure, you're going to be wiped out and leave us weaker." He saw Dael'Thaelas begin to grow in anger, placing a hand on his arm to try and calm him down. "You know I know you. When it comes to the Amani, you can't think clearly which is why you talk to me about them." Anasterian smiled a little at him. "I need you to keep level headed until they decide to attack us, then I will let the demon inside you out again."

Dael'Thaelas laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "How do you always make me see clearly whenever I think about the Amani and what they've done?"

"Because you're my best friend and I need you to survive so when I die, you advise my son better than anyone has advised me." Anasterian saw his smile begin to fade, patting him on the back. "Don't be sad. We've had centuries together, brother. A King couldn't ask for a more loyal friend."

"It's not like you've made my life difficult." Dael'Thaelas told him. "I'll hold back from attack them, but Illana may not be all for that. Athrodar too when he returns from Kalimdor, it's going to be hard to keep him from wanting to kill them all, especially after Velara died." Lord Sunblade smiled sadly and looked down at the family ring on his finger. "She loved him so much. Whenever we had a rare moment alone, she would tell me how proud she was of him and badly he wanted to be in her company."

"She was the last person I wanted to die during that war. Her and the Queen." Anasterian told him. "In a way, I think they both knew we had each other if they were to go though."

Dael'Thaelas laughed and nodded his head. "To the public, we were the heads of our family, but behind the curtains we both knew our wives were in charge of everything."

Anasterian laughed and nodded towards the Convocation Hall. "Come on, we've got things to discuss and plans to make. The Convocation will help us with the defenses whether they want to or not. I'm not dead yet and I get the final say."

"I have been told to stay with your people until the messenger returns." Elaria said, standing opposite Sylvanas as the camp was being packed up and getting ready to move out. "Hopefully by then we can establish some sort of working relationship that will smooth things over if and when our High Priestess decides to discuss things further with you all."

Sylvanas nodded her head slowly, looking over to Athrodar who was helping pack things away. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble whilst under your care." She said, glancing over to Elaria who was looking at Athrodar.

"He was quiet. I think he just wanted to return here as he would ask almost hourly when they could leave to return back to his people. It was the other one, Melonara? She wouldn't stop talking or complaining the entire time. Of course, this is all coming from my Sentinels and my sister, I only had them for ten minutes before I left my sister in charge of them."

Sylvanas smirked and looked over to Anya, Clea and Melonara in the distance. "She has recently joined my company and has made friends with the most troublesome pair of rangers I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I think she was just excited to get back to them and wanted it to be as soon as possible."

"I'd say I don't have any of those in my Sentinel company, but the other Captains and the General would argue that's me and my sister." She told Sylvanas, hearing her laugh and laughing herself. "He cares about you, by the way." She said, glancing over to Sylvanas who began to smile. "My sister overheard them talking to each other and she told me he just wanted to return to his General."

Sylvanas smiled a little wider. "I guess the cat's out the bag." She said, looking over to Athrodar again. "He loves me and I love him. There's nothing that says a General can't be with her Lieutenant, but we both agreed to keep it a secret until we were more or less forced to tell everyone." She laughed a little and shook her head. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this, you don't even know us and for all I know, once your messenger returns, we may never see each other again."

Elaria smiled and folded her arms across her chest. "I think you just want to tell as many people as you can that you found someone you can love and know that they love you back."

"I think you're right." Sylvanas said, looking back to Elaria. "I don't suppose you have any idea on where this Burning Legion could be? Just to change the subject to something other than about me."

Elaria shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Before coming here, I thought it was just a failed prediction or someone misread a tome. But to be told it's true and to have this prophet tell not one, but two races at that."

"And not exactly two races who are on friendly terms with each other." Sylvanas added, watching Elaria nod.

"Unless this prophet just wants to see both the humans and orcs go at each other's throats, I have to believe it's real." She said, looking over to the humans in the distance. "If I had to guess, I'd say they're in Azshara. There's not really anything to the south that could be of interest to them, unless they want to fight the Silithid in the deserts at the bottom of Kalimdor."

"Why Azshara?" Sylvanas asked.

"It was an important land during the War of the Ancients, ten thousand years ago. If they were to attack us again, they'd go there because of the leylines and dormant arcane energy in the area. If they're setting up there attack from Azshara, they will use the arcane energy to create portals and bring in more demons." Elaria sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Now that I've said that, I truly believe they are there now."

Sylvanas smiled a little and pat Elaria on the arm. "Chin up, at least we have a good place to start looking."

"Yeah... Fantastic." Elaria muttered, getting a small laugh from Sylvanas shortly before her Sentinels reported in. "Are we ready to leave?"

"Yes, Captain." One of them said, saluting her.

"Good." She replied, looking back over to Sylvanas. "We'll lead from the front, as long as you all follow us, you shouldn't get lost."

Sylvanas nodded her head. "I'll make sure everyone knows to follow you."