First Assault

"Second degree burns." Liadrin said, talking to Athrodar quietly whilst Sylvanas slept on her bed. "It could have been worse, given who caused it, but I think a part of her held back." She looked over to the General who was sleeping on her front to keep pressure and contact off her back. "She should recover in a few days with visits from a priest. No doubt she'll push to be healed before they all leave for Stratholme in the next few days, but that's to be expected, seeing as she's the General and all."

"You'll look after her out there, right?" Athrodar asked, standing beside Liadrin who placed a hand on his back. "I need someone to look out for her whilst I am stuck in the city."

Liadrin smiled and pat him on the back lightly. "I'll look after her." She said, glancing over to Talanas who was playing with some of his toys. "You've got that cute little one over there to distract you though, so I am more jealous of you for spending time with him than you are of me for going to Stratholme."

"Well, whilst she recovers, I don't think Sylvanas would mind you spending time here with our son on your downtime between healing sessions." Athrodar told her, hearing a knock on the door to Sylvanas' Sunfury apartment. "Excuse me." He said, making his way towards the door and opening it, laying eyes on the King, Lord Sunblade and Thal'ena. "Well... Not the three elves I thought I would see together, but the three I was expecting to see sometime in the near future."

"How is she?" Kael'thas asked, walking into the apartment with the other two elves he arrived with. "Recovering, I hope?"

"She is recovering, yes." Athrodar cofirmed, looking over to Thal'ena who looked guilty despite not being involved in any way. "You can go check on her if you want, but she is sleeping."

"I can stay for a couple hours." Kael'thas told him, looking over to Dael'Thaelas. "I believe you can too, no?"

Dael'Thaelas bowed his head at the King. "Maybe not two hours, but I can stay for a little while." He said, watching Athrodar make his way over to Thal'ena. "What does this mean for your future with Lana'thel?"

"I am calling everything off." Athrodar told him, placing a hand on Thal'ena's arm. "I will pick up the ring later today from the prison guards, but I am planning to spend the rest of my life with the General and pending any other deaths she hides from me, it will be a permanent partnership that I am looking forward to."

Dael'Thaelas nodded his head slowly. "I think that is a wise choice. Both politically and personally."

Athrodar hugged Thal'ena when he saw her guilt was consuming her more and more, feeling her hug him in return. "It wasn't a political choice, but I think you knew that." He glanced over his shoulder and towards Lord Sunblade. "I am glad you agree with my choice though. Perhaps what you told me was true after all."

Kael'thas, not wanting to get involved in their family affairs, decided to ask a question on his mind. "What do you want me to do with the Magistrix?" He asked Athrodar, though it was also aimed at Thal'ena.

"She attacked the General." Athrodar told him, letting go of Thal'ena when she seemed to have calmed down and not looking so guilty despite it not being her fault. "It's up to you, as the King, to decide her punishment. But I don't want to see her around me or my family."

"Send her to Stormwind or at the very least out of our forests." Thal'ena suggested. "She's a spy after all. The best way she can still serve the Kingdom without being here would be as a spy in a foreign land."

Athrodar looked over to Kael'thas who nodded his head slowly. "I haven't got a problem with that."

"Well, she is and will still be my master of spies, so I would need her to return to the city every now and then, but I don't think it would hurt to have her spend most of her time in foreign lands." Kael'thas watched everyone nod their heads in agreement to his proposition. "Good, glad that's sorted." He looked over to Sylvanas' bedroom and saw Liadrin carry Talanas towards Athrodar. "Now however, it's time to wait for the General to wake up so I can get a first hand account on how she feels."

"We best keep this between us then." Dael'Thaelas suggested. "Can't have the public hearing about an assault on the Ranger-General and then having them get to keep on living with just a slap on the wrist."

Kael'thas nodded his head in agreement. "We'll keep it between us and the General." He told them, looking back to the room Sylvanas was in. "I don't think she will care though, now that she has you back."

Athrodar smiled and held onto his son. "I think she'll be angry at first, but she'll understand."

"Lady Moon!?" A voice yelled, having the owner of it burst through the doors to Sylvanas' apartment with two exhausted rangers behind her. "Where is she?" The voice asked, one belonging to Vereesa who had been told about the attack on Sylvanas by Anya and Clea.

"In her bed." Athrodar told her, kissing his son on the head when he heard him yawn. "It looks bad, but Liadrin tells me she will be fully healed within a couple days with concentrated healing."

"At least that's something." Vereesa said. "Rhonin should be here with..." She looked around for her husband, frowning when he wasn't behind her. "Rhonin!" She yelled, making everyone flinch at the sudden increase in volume.

"I'm coming, dear." Rhonin said, carrying one of his twins and holding the hand of another whilst Vereesa ran ahead. "A little help?" He asked, getting a smile from Athrodar who placed Talanas down.

"Come here." Athrodar said, picking up one of the twins. "It's been a while... Which one is this one?"

"I'm Galadin." The one in Athrodar's arm said.

"That answers that then." Athrodar said, laughing along with Rhonin. "How have you been?" He asked the human who had his other son sleeping on him.

"Better than you've been." Rhonin told him, following Athrodar into the guest room and placing Giramar down in one of the beds. "I would have kept them at home, but Vereesa was adamant that we take our sons with us."

"That's fine." Athrodar said, placing Galadin down in the other bed. "Talanas will be happy as well as Sylvanas." He saw Rhonin smile at him and smiling back in return. "And I am happy I have them both in my life full time now."

"I can see that." The human said, laughing lightly and following Athrodar out of the guest bedroom after kissing his sons goodnight and rejoining the rest of them minus Thal'ena who had told the King she had to leave. "I take it my wife is with her sister, no doubt waking her up from her nap?"

"She is." Kael'thas said, looking over to Lord Sunblade. "You don't have to be here, you know. I know how busy your schedule is this week and I don't want you to feel like you have to be here because we are here. I will tell the General you were concerned and visited."

Dael'Thaelas bowed his head to the King and everyone left in the room. "Thank you, my King." He said, making his way towards the door and stopping to look over to Athrodar. "I would like to speak with you sometime soon, Athrodar. It's nothing serious, but I would prefer it to be in the next few days."

Athrodar bowed his head to Lord Sunblade. "I'll see what I can do." He told him, watching Dael'Thaelas leave the apartment and looking over to Sylvanas' bedroom. "I better check on Sylvanas, make sure her sister isn't badgering her too much."

"I will kill her, Lady Moon." Vereesa said, sitting on the bottom of her sister's bed and and holding onto her hands tightly after waking her up from her nap. "She messed with our family, I will go to that prison they are holding her in and I will jam two knives through her neck."

"Please don't do that." Athrodar said, making both sisters look over to him and getting different reactions from either one. Sylvanas smiled at him whilst Vereesa glared at the youngest Sunblade. "She's being sent back to Stormwind or failing that, a different city to spy for the King... Again."

"So instead of keeping her locked up for centuries for attacking the General, we are moving her to a different city." Vereesa looked over to Sylvanas who was too busy looking at Athrodar. "If I were in charge, I would have lopped off her head."

"That's why you're not in charge, Vereesa." Sylvanas told her, letting go of one of her sister's hands and patting the space on the bed beside her. "Come here." She said to Athrodar, leaning against him when he sat down beside her. "Nobody would be left alive, especially this one, if you were in charge."

"Yeah, well... Shut up." Vereesa said, making Sylvanas chuckle and look over to her sister. "Your nephews are in your guest bedroom."

"And our son?" Sylvanas asked, looking at Athrodar.

"With his uncle." Athrodar told her, moving and arm around the General and pulling her in close so she could cuddle up to him. "The King is here too." He told the General shortly before kissing her on the temple.

"I'll talk to him later." Sylvanas said, closing her eyes as she cuddled a little closer to Athrodar. "Do you think you can leave us for a few minutes, Little Moon?"

"Fine..." Vereesa said, climbing off the bed. "Don't do anything inappropriate, especially since we're just next door."

Athrodar chuckled whilst Sylvanas sighed at her sister. "I will admit, I have missed her."

"Well, get used to this. She will be around a lot now that things have settled down in Dalaran. She will most likely bring her boys too so they can play with Talanas." Sylvanas sat up and kissed Athrodar on the cheek. "You're finally mine again." She whispered to him, kissing him on the cheek again. "All mine and nobody else's."

Athrodar pressed his forehead against Sylvanas', closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh of relief. "It only took me just over two years to realise what I needed was right back where I started. With my General who loved me before I was even aware she was looking at me."

"I'm just happy you're back with me." She told him, pointing towards the small cabinet beside her bed. "Open that."

Doing as he was told, Athrodar opened the top draw of the cabinet and looked inside, smiling to himself when he saw a familiar looking ring. "You've kept it all this time." He said, taking his family ring out of the draw and handing it to the General who quickly put it on her finger.

"Of course I have." She said softly, looking at the ring on her finger now. "It will be my engagement ring for when you get around to proposing to me. For now though, it's just a normal, magically enhanced, life extending ring."

"You were that confident I would be coming back to you, huh?"

Sylvanas grinned and placed a hand in his cheek. "I was. We're meant to be together, Athrodar Sunblade. You're my soul mate, you just didn't know it at the time of giving me this ring." She rest her head under his chin, looking over to Liadrin who smiled and waited at the entrance to her bedroom. "I think it's time for my next healing session."

"You can stay." Liadrin said when she watched Athrodar begin to climb off the bed. "If anything, it's to distract her."

"Alright." Athrodar sat back on the bed, kissing Sylvanas on the temple and watching Liadrin begin to heal her back whilst the General cuddled up to him. "I'm staying here for the night anyway." He said, feeling Sylvanas hold onto him a little tighter. "I plan to stay with you as much as I can before you leave for Stratholme. Make up for lost time."

Liadrin just smiled as she healed the General's back, feeling happy that Athrodar looked to be happy. "I'll come back in the morning once I've finished here. Let your back naturally heal a little over night."

"Thank you, Liadrin." Sylvanas said once the Paladin was finished. "I'll see you in the morning." She told her, practically laying on Athrodar once they were alone, if only for a couple minutes until they were interrupted by Vereesa who brought Talanas with him.

"He wanted to sleep in here." Vereesa told them, smiling when she saw her sister at peace for the first time in a long time. "If that's okay?"

"It's more than okay." Sylvanas said, helping Talanas up onto the bed so he could sleep between his parents. "Thank you, Little Moon. For coming here so quickly."

"You were hurt, it's the least I could do." Vereesa said, leaving the three of them on their own for the rest of the night.

"Don't be a hero, okay?"

Sylvanas smiled and kissed Athrodar lightly. "Don't worry about me. I am surrounded by very capable fighters. You need to work on your relationship with your daughter and maybe introduce her to her brother if the opportunity arises. I'm sure she will be excited to meet him."

"Already planning on it." Athrodar said, pressing his head against the General's whilst her company began to move south and out of Silvermoon city, marching towards Eversong Woods and then Eastern Lordaeron.

Just as they both pulled away, Athrodar was set upon by Anya who squealed and jumped at him, hugging him tightly. "I'm glad you're back on our side!" She said with much excitement, squeezing him a little tighter. "My big brother is back."

Sylvanas sighed when Anya held onto Athrodar tightly, quickly raising her eyebrow when she saw Athrodar hug her back. "That's new." She said, watching Athrodar smile at her reaction.

"What can I say? I'm in a good mood today." Athrodar told her, pulling back from the hug with Anya and watching her contagious smile beam up at him. "I have missed my 'little sister' just a tiny bit too, so there is that."

Sylvanas flinched when she heard Anya squeal again and hug Athrodar tightly once more. "I fear you have forgotten what happened last time you humored her."

"I haven't forgotten." Athrodar said, feeling Anya squeeze him a little tighter and being assaulted by Clea who hugged him from behind. "I did forget about her though." He admitted, making Sylvanas laugh when she saw the Athrodar sandwich between her two rangers. "I'm half expecting Melonara to appear out of nowhere and hug me too. But she should still be in Stormwind."

"Best get used to this then." Sylvanas told him, kissing him on the cheek. "They will be more than enough for you. At least until Melonara visits."

Watching Sylvanas pull both Anya and Clea off him, he was quickly assaulted by the General who hugged him tightly. "One last goodbye before you leave?" He asked quietly, feeling her nod against his chest and wrapping his arms around her in return. "I love you." He whispered in her ear, feeling her hug tighten around him at those three words.

"I love you too." She whispered to him, pulling back for a second before fastening her lips onto his in a deep, passionate kiss. "I am now going to be counting down the days until I return home to you."

"And I'll be waiting patiently for you." He told her, lifting her hands to his lips and kissing them. "Just don't be a hero." He told her again, watching her nod her head and smiling when he saw a lone tear. "Hey, come on... You're the Ranger-General. Badass of Quel'Thalas. Don't start to cry now."

Sylvanas shook her head. "I'm not sad. I'm just happy I have you back." She looked over her shoulder and watched as her company began to slowly disappear into the trees of Eversong Woods. "I need to get going. Promise me you will build your relationship with your daughter."

"I promise." Athrodar told her, watching Sylvanas blow him a kiss before catching up to the rest of her company.

"That's definitely a lot more Paladins than I thought you would bring." Sylvanas said, standing beside Alexandros, Lor'themar and Halduron as they all stood outside Stratholme city gates. "Should make life a lot easier however."

"Is anyone else really excited?" Liadrin asked, pushing her way in between the four of them. "My first proper fight and I get to be beside a legendary paladin." She said, smiling brightly at Alexandros.

"I look forward to fighting beside you, Liadrin." Alexandros said, making the Paladin giddy with excitement.

"It's like she forgets we are here too." Halduron whispered to Lor'themar, getting a nod and a chuckle from him in return.

"She'll soon remember us when she needs helps." Lor'themar told him, looking over to Sylvanas who was looking towards the city in the distance. "Thinking about that Sunblade already?"

Sylvanas smiled a little. "I always am." She told him, glancing over to the Ranger Lord beside her. "But I am actually thinking about what we might face in there. If it's the entire population, we might be in for one hell of a fight."

"As long as get to put them all to rest." Vandellor said, standing behind Liadrin and placing his hands on her shoulders, making the Paladin look up at him. "It's the least we can do for those tortured souls, forever trapped in their own, rotten bodies."

Alexandros looked over to his second and got a nod in return, confirming that the Silver Blade Paladins were ready to start the assault. "We're ready to go." He said, looking over to the elves with him.

"Then so are we." Sylvanas said, looking over to Lord Theron, Halduron, Vandellor and Liadrin, all of them nodding their approval to her. "Halduron, take backup and rear guard. I don't want to be surrounded by the undead unless we're prepared at the back. Theron take first rotation. The moment you see any of us grow tired, you send your company in to replace us." Sylvanas looked over to Vandellor and Liadrin. "You'll be with Alexandros. Follow him, listen to his commands and most of all, keep our injured alive should the need arise."

Vandellor bowed his head to the Ranger-General. "Will do, General." He said, following Alexandros to the front with Liadrin and the Paladins they brought with them.

"Viraleth." Sylvanas now called, having the Chief Scout make her way towards her. "Take a handful of scouts from all our units and head off into the city. Try to stay out of trouble, but I fully understand if you need to engage with the undead. Whatever happens, we'll be right behind you by a couple minutes, got that?"

Viraleth nodded her head in understanding. "I'll get on it, General." She said, going from company to company and asking the second in command of each group for their best scouts.

Making their way into the burning city, all of the rangers pulled up their masks up and over their mouths and noses to try to block out the smoke and smell of burning bodies. "This isn't a natural fire." Sylvanas said, walking passed several buildings still burning as if the culling had happened earlier in the day. "Magic is behind this."

"We best keep an eye out for any magical users then." Lor'themar said, following the Ranger-General closely until they came across the undead. "Shouldn't be too difficult. They're most likely in robes."

"Thank you for your invaluable insight, Theron." Sylvanas told him, hearing him chuckle whilst she rolled her eyes. "Of course they'll most likely be in robes."

"I'm just saying, you might have to look out for some robes undead members. Just in case you had forgotten what magical users looked like." Lor'themar grinned when he heard her sigh again. "Still easy to annoy you."

"Please concentrate." Sylvanas said, scanning the burnt and burning buildings around them, noticing nothing out of the ordinary other than the eternal burning magical flames. "I don't want to be ambushed." Walking further into the city for another few seconds, Sylvanas held up her hand to stop her company and the rest of them when she heard bird calls in the distance. "Mograine, wait." She said, hearing the bird calls again and knowing Viraleth had found the enemy. "Go left, the first group of undead are in that direction."

Several seconds after the bird calls had stopped, the living were set upon by the undead, having a clashing of steel as several skeletal warriors swung their blades at the awaiting Paladins with most of them being incinerated on the first contact with the holy infused weapons. "Cleanse them from this city!" Alexandros commanded, swinging Ashbringer in a wide arc and sending out a wave of light that incinerated a good portion of the undead in front of him and creating a gap for his Silver Blade to run into and split the undead forces in half.

With every swing of a blade, with every shock of a holy spell, the undead fell to the might of the Paladins leading the charge, being backed up by three companies of elves who were killing stragglers and the occasional necromancer who tried to reanimate more undead. Small cuts and wounds were inflicted on the living, but they were quickly being healed by the paladins leading the charge and their close proximity to them. With every undead that was raised by a necromancer, four more were slain from just the paladins alone, their blades infused with the light as well as their spells leaving nothing but ashes in their wake.

"Push through the gates!" Alexandros commanded, leading the charge and cutting down any undead that got close to him, carving through their lines like it was nothing with help from his blade; Ashbringer. "Retake the King's Square!"

"Already in the first district." Lor'themar said, standing beside Halduron who was keeping their rear secure. "This might be easier than I thought."

"It looks like it." Halduron agreed, watching Alexandros swing the Ashbringer at a group of undead and leave nothing but ash where they stood shortly after. "Especially with this Highlord."

Lor'themar nodded his head in agreement. "That blade is something special. I'm glad he's on our side and that we found him before anything bad happened."

"So am I." Halduron admitted.

"Thank you again for helping me out, Thal." Athrodar said, sorting through a few sheets of parchment on his desk.

Thalina smiled and waved away his comment. "It's nothing. My studies have slowed down a bit, Liadrin has gone to fight the undead and my brother is teaching the new Paladin recruits." She kissed the top of Talanas' head whilst he sat on her lap. "I look forward to watching you teach whilst you have your son and your best friend's sister judging you the entire time."

Athrodar smiled and watched Thalina keep his son entertained with some of her magic tricks, hearing the little elf giggle as he tried to catch an arcane butterfly that she had conjured. "You seem to be really good with kids." Athrodar commented, making Thalina smile a little wider.

"What can I say? I've wanted to be a mother for decades." She looked up and over to Athrodar. "I was just too slow in asking the person I wanted to settle down with, if he felt the same way."

Athrodar looked down at the desk in front of him. "Look, Thal..."

"Don't say it, Athrodar." Thalina told him, smiling at the young Sunblade. "I am fine now. I know we were never meant to be together, so I have moved on." She began to smirk at him. "Lana'thel wasn't exactly a good move after the General, but you live and you learn from that one."

Athrodar chuckled lightly and watched Thalina go back to entertaining his son. "I'm glad we're okay."

Thalina smiled brightly at him. "Me too. I don't think I could live with myself if you were no longer in my life."

"It would be weird." Athrodar admitted, looking over to the young elf at his door when they knocked on it. "Hi." He said when he recognised his daughter. "You're about fifteen minutes early."

"I know." Victoria said, looking over to Thalina and Talanas, smiling at the older elf for a few seconds before looking back to Athrodar. "I... I just wanted to say..."

Noticing she was struggling with her words, Athrodar began to smile a little to try to calm her down. "Take your time, we won't be angry or upset about anything you have to say." Athrodar told her, remaining sat down behind his desk and watching the young elf recruit.

"I don't want you to replace my papa." Victoria told him, looking Athrodar in the eyes. "But I do want you to be my dad. You are my dad by blood, but my other dad... My papa. He will always be that for me."

Athrodar smiled and stood up, making his way towards Victoria and crouching down in front of her to level out their heights. "And I wouldn't want to replace the person who raised you as his own. Not unless you want me to."

Victoria smiled at Athrodar seconds before hugging him tightly. "Thank you." She whispered, hugging him tighter when she felt him move his arms around her. "I guess I'm lucky. I get two dads now instead of one."

Athrodar chuckled and nodded his head. "Yes you do." He agreed, looking over to Thalina who looked to be happy this had worked out. "You also have a brother." He told the young recruit. "A younger brother."

Victoria looked over to Thalina and Talanas, keeping her focus on the small elf sitting on the older one's lap. "Can I..?"

"Talk to him?" Athrodar asked, watching Victoria nod her head slowly. "Of course you can. I think if you tell him you are his sister, he might want to play with you. At least until our class starts in around ten minutes." As soon as he had finished speaking, he watched Victoria make her way over to Talanas and sit down beside him and Thalina, smiling to himself when he saw what looked to be instant bonding between his two kids. "Almost three years since you passed, father." He whispered to himself. "And I have two kids, both born before and after you passed, both of them meeting for the first time today and already looking like they will be good friends."

"That's because she's seems like a small gem full of kindness." Thalina said softly, standing beside Athrodar and watching Victoria pick Talanas up and sit him on her lap. "If you're lucky, she will be in your son's life for a long time and will be who he goes to if he has a problem and he can't find either you or his mother."

Athrodar smiled and looked over to Thalina who stood close to him. "I would like that." He said, moving an arm around the mage. "Just like how the four of us are."

Thalina laughed and nodded her head, moving an arm around Athrodar and hugging him. "Yes. Like us four. Except we both go to Liadrin first and my brother is the last person we tell anything to because he can't keep a secret."

"That's because your brother likes to talk and does nothing else but talk." Athrodar said, both of them laughing now and looking over to Victoria and Talanas. "Thank you again for looking after him whilst I'm busy here."

Thalina pat Athrodar on the chest. "Again, it's fine. I love the cute little thing as if he were my own, so this is a breeze for me."

Athrodar continued to smile and watched his two children on the other side of the room. "Well, he needs his favourite aunt Thalina when his parents are busy."

Thalina's smile brightened at that, looking up at Athrodar. "Favourite aunt!?" She asked, getting a laugh and a nod from Athrodar.

"Who else? Vereesa might try to make a case as well as Liadrin, but they aren't mages who can keep him entertained for hours, nor are they as free as you." Athrodar pat the top of Thalina's head. "So yes, of course you're his favourite aunt. You might even be Victoria's if you play your cards right."

Thalina, looking back to the two young elves, had a new found determination on her face. "Challenge accepted." She said, folding her arms and plotting her next twenty moves.