Good News And Bad News

"So why are we meeting the General?" Athrodar asked the Prince, following him one step behind the moment they left his Sunfury home.

"Because I am getting you your rank back in the Farstriders." Kael'thas told him, glancing over his shoulder and towards Athrodar. "You're a member of the Convocation. Every single member has a title or an active role outside of the Convocation, except for you. Now, seeing as I'm not the King yet, I don't exactly have this power, but we are meeting with the General today so we can reinstate you as a Lieutenant, or even a Captain, when I do come into power."

"And if she refuses?" Athrodar asked him, knowing Sylvanas might just hold that sort of a grudge over the fact he left the Farstriders and deny him the rank.

"Then I'll make up some sort of rank for you... Or I'll place you as a teacher in the Farstrider Academy. Despite being the Ranger-General, she doesn't have control over the academy. That actually falls to us, the Convocation." Kael'thas looked over to Athrodar and grinned at him. "I hope you're ready to teach those young elves, because that might be where you end up."

"Molding the minds of our young recruits." Athrodar said, chuckling lightly. "Those poor bastards."

Kael'thas laughed with him, standing outside the General's Office. "Let's hope we can convince her to give you a rank in the Farstriders, even if it's just cosmetic to keep up appearances. Don't want you to make a rebellious group of rangers that will ignore every command given to them."

"Good point." Athrodar agreed, knocking on the General's door and folding his arms as he waited for her to answer the door.

Kael'thas looked over to the door when Sylvanas opened it, smiling at the General who looked stunned to see both the Prince and Athrodar standing there. "Morning, General."

"M-morning, Prince Kael'thas." Sylvanas stuttered, still trying to process if this was real or not. "What... What can I do for you?"

"We are here on a professional house call... As such." Kael'thas said, looking over to Athrodar and placing a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him. "Something that can help our newest Convocation member in the long run."

"O-okay." Sylvanas stuttered once more, shaking her head to try and clear it and stepping out the way. "Sorry, come in. Can't leave you two standing out in the hallway the entire time."

"Thank you." Kael'thas bowed his head to the General out of respect, making his way towards the closest chair along with Athrodar, being joined by Sylvanas shortly after who began to smile brightly at her son the moment he made his way towards her. "I was wondering where he was." The Prince said, watching Sylvanas pick up her son and sit him on her lap.

"If I had known you were coming, I would have left him with Viraleth for the day." Sylvanas said, looking over to Athrodar who was smiling at his son who in return was giggling and smiling back at him. "He asks about you a lot." She said, kissing the top of Talanas' head.

"Come here." Athrodar opened his arms out to his son, having him walk over to him and picking up his son, cuddling him whilst Kael'thas and Sylvanas began to discuss the reason for the two of them being there. "Oh I have missed you, little one." Athrodar told him, smiling as his son held onto his arm tightly.

Sylvanas smiled brightly at her son hugging his father's arm, glancing over to Kael'thas who smiled at the sight. "So why are you here?" She asked, having the Prince look back over to her.

"I am here to ask you to reinstate Athrodar as a Lieutenant Ranger, or even a Ranger-Captain if you feel it would be appropriate." Kael'thas held up his hand when he saw Sylvanas was about to speak, stopping her from doing so. "I know he quit the Farstriders, but Convocation members need a profession outside of being a member and seeing as he has been a ranger his entire life, I was hoping you could look passed the rules this once and have him become a Lieutenant again."

Sylvanas frowned and tapped her fingers on the arms of her chair, thinking about the request. "He did quit the Farstriders." She said, looking over to Athrodar who was distracting himself from the conversation. "And the rules do say that if you quit, you can't rejoin at the rank you left at. You'll have to go through the Academy again and start from recruit once you pass." She looked back to the Prince who smiled at her. "But you knew that, didn't you? That's why you're asking me to look passed the rules."

"Exactly." Kael'thas said, looking back over to Athrodar and smiling when he saw how happy he looked with his son. "But if you can't do that, we both will take a position as a teacher in the Farstrider Academy. He just needs a title or at the very least a profession outside of the Convocation that people can talk to him about."

Sylvanas sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "I can't just ignore the rules for him. Doing so will call into question so many things that it's just not worth the aggro." She looked over to Athrodar who looked over to her shortly after, the pair of them smiling at each other. "But I can make him a teacher in the Farstrider Academy. It's had many ex rangers in the past who couldn't quite leave this life behind when they retired, so they helped the new academy recruits through their training. If you think you can do that, then I will be more than happy to make you a teacher there."

Athrodar nodded his head slowly, knowing that this was the most likely option in terms of a profession outside of the Convocation. "I always knew this would be the outcome when I spoke to the Prince. I can do it, if you're offering me the position."

"I am." Sylvanas told him softly, reaching over to stroke her son's hair but keeping her eyes focused on Athrodar the entire time. "Although I will have to check in on you often for the first month of the Academy, make sure you're doing okay and not corrupting the minds of our new recruits."

"Brilliant." Kael'thas said, standing up and watching Athrodar do the same shortly after. "We will get out of your hair, General. Thank you for this and for not making it difficult on either of us." He placed a hand on Athrodar's back. "Let's get going."

"Actually, can I talk to you for a minute?" Sylvanas asked, looking at Athrodar who smiled at her. "Alone, preferably?" She hinted, glancing over to Kael'thas who smiled and bowed his head at her. "Thank you. I'll be five minutes."

Once alone with the General, Athrodar looked over to his son who was playing with a stuffed lynx toy and smiling to himself. "So what are we talking about?" He asked, looking over to Sylvanas who placed a hand on his back.

"Just a small addition to our deal." Sylvanas told him, looking down at his hand and brushing her fingers across his. "Think of it as an incentive."

"Oh?" Athrodar looked down at their hands and taking hold of her hand when she stroked her little finger across his hand again. "What's the incentive?"

Sylvanas smiled and squeezed his hand a little tighter. "If you do a good job over five years, I can give you your Lieutenant rank back." She saw him look up at her and placing her other hand on his cheek. "What do you say?"

Athrodar leaned his head against her hand and closed his eyes. "I say that I have missed you."

Sylvanas' heart began to swell at his words, never realising until this moment how much she had needed to hear him say that. "I have missed you too." She said, leaning forward and pressing her forehead against his. "I don't like that Magistrix of yours." She told him, getting a chuckle from Athrodar in return.

"She doesn't like you much either." Athrodar told her, opening his eyes and looking into hers when she opened her eyes too. "I have convinced her to leave you alone... I hope."

Sylvanas let go of his hand and placed her other hand on his cheek, moving her head back a little to look at him completely. "I should have told you when I knew." She told him for the thousandth time. "I would have my family."

Athrodar leaned forward and kissed her lightly, feeling the General wrap her arms around his neck and deepen the kiss. Just as they began to remove their clothes, Athrodar pulled back and looked away. "I... I can't." He told her, feeling Sylvanas' hands drop from his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

Sylvanas looked down at the floor and felt awkward standing directly in front of him. "It's my fault." She told him, hugging herself. "I just want you back, but you're with that Magistrix now and my jealousy took over."

"No, don't do that to yourself." Athrodar told her, placing a hand on her cheek. "I started it and I should have known better." He brushed a thumb across her bottom lip. "I've done nothing but torture you since my return here... I'm sorry." He looked over to his son. "I'll keep the visits to just my son in the future. You don't deserve this, even if you didn't tell me about my father's death, you still don't deserve this kind of torture."

Just as he was about to leave, Sylvanas took hold of his hand and kept in place. "Wait." She said, spinning him around so he was facing her. "This is the one type of torture that I do want." She told him quietly, smirking at his raised eyebrow. "Even if it's only once every few weeks, I don't want to lose you or this." She said, placing a hand over his lips. "Knowing I get to steal a kiss here or there, it keeps me happy until our next meeting." She looked down at his hand and took hold of it. "I know, I'm not sounding like the Ranger-General of old, but I have softened up to you and only you. So if you tell anyone of this conversation, besides maybe the Prince and my closest friends, nobody will ever believe you."

Athrodar smiled and pressed his head against hers once more. "Fine. This conversation is staying safe with me."

"Good." Sylvanas told him, chuckling lightly and placing a hand on the back of his head to keep him close. "I love you." She admitted, not expecting him to say it back but wanting him to know her feelings had remained the same.

"I should really get going." Athrodar told her, receiving a kiss from Sylvanas again and kissing her back. "I'll be by next week to look after Talanas."

"I'll look forward to your visit." She told him, closing the door behind Athrodar once he left and placing a hand over her heart. "One small corruption at a time." She told herself with a mischievous smile. "It might take a few years, but I'll have you back. After all, I always get what I want."

"I bet you've never been to this part of the city either." Lana'thel teased, grinning at Athrodar when he rolled his eyes. "I come here for lunch almost every day. I was hoping to make it our thing now."

"It's nice." Athrodar admitted, looking around the place and nodding slowly. "Looks familiar but I don't believe I've been here."

"I should hope not, I own half of it. I think I would have known if a Sunblade was here." Lana'thel told him, chuckling at his raised eyebrow. "What? I invested my earnings into places like this so when I am no longer a Magistrix, I have something to fall back on."

"You surprise me every day." Athrodar said, raising his glass of wine when she did. "I'm hoping I can surprise you later."

"Oh?" Lana'thel sat forward and grinned at him. "What do you have in mind?" She asked seductively.

"You know exactly what I have in mind." Athrodar whispered to her, catching a glimpse of Dael'Thaelas in the background and dropping the smile from his face when he locked eyes with his great grandfather. "Oh come on..."

Lana'thel looked over her shoulder and saw Dael'Thaelas coming their way, letting out a long sigh and closing her eyes. "Great..."

"Good, you're both here." Dael'Thaelas said when he stood beside their table, pulling a nearby chair from an empty table and sitting down on it between the two of them. "This should make things easier for me. I need you both to stop this crusade you have against me, it's not going to do you any good in the near future if you're going against everything I and several other Convocation members have planned." He looked over to Lana'thel and offered her his hand. "This is the first time we've formally met."

"I've met you before the Convocation meeting. Can't forget about the Sunblade family or their members." She said, looking over to Athrodar. "Besides this one and his late father, from what I've heard at least, you are a very loud family." She smiled at the youngest Sunblade sitting opposite her. "Present company excluded, as I was saying."

Dael'Thaelas looked Lana'thel up and down and then looked over to Athrodar who was refusing to look at him, amusing Lord Sunblade with his defiance. "Whatever happens in the next few meetings will decide what I do with you." His gaze turned to Lana'thel. "Both of you."

"Whatever." Lana'thel muttered, folding her arms and looking away from him. "Can't even have a nice meal with the man I love without being interrupted by the head of his family."

"Love?" Dael'Thaelas asked, raising an eyebrow and looking over to Athrodar. "Moved on from the General already I see?"

"It's been two years." Athrodar told him, looking over to Lord Sunblade. "I move on pretty quickly from the woman who refused to tell me my father was dead. So yes, I suppose it would be 'already'." His attention returned to Lana'thel who was hating this conversation as much as he was. "But I love her too. She was the first person for a long time that accepted me for me." He looked over to Lord Sunblade. "Someone who didn't try to change me to fit his or her view on how a Sunblade should act."

"I see the lone wolf is finally growing fangs." Dael'Thaelas mused, smirking at his great grandson.

Athrodar looked over to Lana'thel who was rubbing her temple to relieve the stress that was growing. "Look, as you can see, we were eating lunch before you came over. So if you would please just leave us be, we can discuss this at the next family get together. Reminisce about old times, catch up with what's going on in each other's lives."

Dael'Thaelas watched the less than amused looks on both Athrodar's and Lana'thel's faces, slowly grinning to himself. "Very well." He said, standing up and looking back and forth between the two of them. "Pleasure to meet you, Magistrix." His gaze turned to Athrodar. "Son." He said with a wide grin before taking several steps away from them. "Before I forget. Your grandmother is looking for you. She doesn't seem best pleased with being kicked off the Convocation just so you can sit in her place." He took a couple more steps away and began to laugh lightly. "Also, she has some good news she wants to share." He looked back over to Athrodar and smirked at him once more. "Though you might not find it to be too good once you hear it."

Lana'thel watched Dael'Thaelas walk away from them, sighing and standing up shortly after so she could sit beside Athrodar. "Hey." She whispered, placing a hand over the top of his. "You okay?"

Athrodar took hold of her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing the back of it. "No, but this is normally what happens when Dael'Thaelas visits."

"I suppose I don't need any more reasons to piss him off during the Convocation meetings than that conversation." Lana'thel told him, moving an arm around Athrodar and hugging him against her. "I am going to do everything in my power to make his life a misery in the next several decades. With Kael'thas in charge, we will be untouchable as his closest friends and members of the Convocation. Lord Sunblade won't do anything to us. Nothing outside of loud barking."

Athrodar smiled and felt comforted by her hug. "This is why I love you. You're evil and will do anything to annoy my family as long as it makes me happy." He leaned back a little to look at her and kissed the Magistrix lightly when she looked back at him. "I'm sorry our lunch was ruined by him."

"It's fine." Lana'thel told him with a smile. "How about we go meet your grandmother and see what news she has. Perhaps the bad news will allow us the opportunity to annoy her even more than we have already."

"And this is why I love you." Athrodar told her, kissing the Magistrix again and hearing her chuckle. "Let's go annoy my grandmother."

"After you." Lana'thel said, standing up and taking hold of Athrodar's hand shortly after.

"What was the update from our Lordaeron scouts?" Kael'thas asked, looking over to Sylvanas and Halduron who were reporting in to the Prince. "Where are the undead now?"

"That's the thing." Halduron said, looking over to the General. "They are gathering near our borders."

"And not just a few hundred." Sylvanas added. "A few hundred wouldn't be a problem, we can handle that many with a group of mages and rangers. Maybe even those paladins we have been training."

"How many are gathering?" Kael'thas asked them, pacing back and forth in front of his father's throne.

"Four, maybe five thousand at least." Halduron told him, making the Prince stop and look over at them. "And that's not all."

"What else is there?" Kael'thas asked them, watching Sylvanas shift uncomfortably in front of him. "What?" He asked again, growing concerned at their silence.

"There's a fortress..." Sylvanas said, looking over to Halduron who nodded his head slowly. "A floating fortress. At least that's what our scouts have said. And their leader has been spotted also."

"Arthas?" Kael'thas asked, watching both Sylvanas and Halduron shake their heads.

"Not exactly." Halduron told him. "This one is more... Dead."

"More dead?" Kael'thas asked, watching them both nod now. "Do we have a name for this new leader?" He asked.

"Lady Deathwhisper." Sylvanas told him, looking over to the set of twin doors that opened up behind her and watching what looked to be an elven woman, with tears in her eyes, running towards the three of them and eventually collapsing down in the middle of the room. "What happened?" The General asked, immediately thinking there was some sort of attack.

"My Lord..." The woman said, crying and shaking her head. "The King is... He is dead."

Both Halduron and Sylvanas looked over to Kael'thas who looked too stunned to say or do anything. "Thank you." Sylvanas said quietly, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Leave us." She whispered to her.

When Kael'thas felt the eyes of Halduron and Sylvanas on him, he began to look at them slowly and nodded his head at the same time. "I suppose we all saw this coming... I just didn't think it would actually happen."

"What do you need from us?" Halduron asked the Prince, watching him try to figure out what to do next.

"Inform the Convocation." He told the two of them, making his way towards the twin doors. "I need to see my father, tell them what we know and to wait for me in the throne room." He said, leaving the throne room shortly after.

Traveling through Sunfury Spire, Kael'thas made his way to his father's room and entered it slowly, looking over to his father who looked to be sleeping in his bed, in the same position he saw him in the morning. "When did he..?"

"Five minutes ago." Vandellor told him, sitting on a chair at the foot of the bed, looking at his King's body. "It was painless, peaceful." He smiled a little. "He told me about the time you were young, way before the orcs invaded this world. You were about knee high and your mother was playing with you, trying to catch you as you ran around the throne room." Vandellor smiled a little wider. "He said it was the happiest day of his life, watching his son and his wife play, laugh and be a normal family." Vandellor's smile vanished from his face as he looked down and thought about that story. "He said he missed those days. The days when war wasn't always over the horizon, where he could st on his throne and smile as his son and his wife were always smiling and laughing." He looked over to the Prince who was holding onto his father's hand. "His last memory of you was a happy one. He wants you to lead from your heart first and head second. He doesn't want you to grow cold like he and the older members of the Convocation have over the last couple decades."

"That's why I made it so Lana'thel and Athrodar are a part of the Convocation. Fresh, young eyes and ears in the council will hopefully push us in the right direction." Kael'thas looked down at his father and sighed, closing his eyes and squeezing his hand. "Speaking of which. Can you tell them come here the moment you see them, please?"

Vandellor frowned at his Prince. "Are you sure?" He asked him, watching Kael'thas nod his head slowly. "Very well. I'll make my way to the throne room."

Sitting in silence beside his father for ten minutes, Kael'thas allowed his mind to take him to all the good memories of his father. Most of them involved his mother too, but there were times when he was alone with Anasterian, learning spells from him and how to fight that just made the Prince smile when his mind took him to those memories. When he was eventually interrupted, he looked over his shoulder and smiled at Lana'thel, Athrodar and Vandellor who returned with them. "Thank you for coming."

Lana'thel made her way to the Prince and hugged him tightly when he stood up. "I'm sorry about your father." She whispered to him, kissing him on the cheek. "We're here if you need anything." She told him.

"I know." Kael'thas said with a smile, hugging her back and looking over to Athrodar and Vandellor. "I needed you both here because I am going to become the King in the next few days and I would like you three, along with the couple other Convocation members I trust, to be ready for whatever vultures appear from the darkness after the news of my father's death spreads around the city." He looked around at three of them. "It will be nothing at first, but with all the mourning that will happen, somebody will try to capitalise on the situation and grab more power from under me."

"And I think we all know who that will be." Athrodar muttered. "I don't know if we will be able to stop him if he has already started though."

"He hasn't." Vandellor said, looking over to Athrodar. "He will wait until after the funeral, which is when we need to be ready for him to make his move."

"We'll be ready." Lana'thel said, looking back to Kael'thas. "For now, we need to make sure you're okay and to plan this funeral." She looked over to Anasterian who looked to be sleeping peacefully. "The entire city will want to be there."

"They will be there." Kael'thas told her, looking back down to his father. "Vandellor, can you take care of him?"

"I will, my Prince." Vandellor said, bowing his head to Kael'thas. "He'll be safe with me."

"Thank you, Vandellor." Kael'thas said, looking back to Athrodar and Lana'thel. "Let's go meet the rest of the Convocation. They'll want to know what happens next." He smiled at the pair of them and gestured towards the door. "I'm fine, stop looking at me like you're expecting me to break down."

Athrodar smiled back at the Prince and opened the door. "Let's go talk to the rest of the Convocation then."