Chapter 34 - Destiny awaits

Felrus broke into a run, his broadsword held against his body with both his hands. His brother was following him close behind, although, strangely, he couldn't hear Dalrus' footsteps at all, and whenever he shifted his eyes even a little to the other side, his brother would vanish from his field of view completely. 'How does he do that?'

As they ran, the two approached the area where the main force of the Human Expedition was battling the skeletons.

Things were looking tight. The heavily armored soldiers had formed a wall, standing side by side with their shields next to each other while their companions attacked the approaching skeletons from above and the sides. Arrows were constantly raining over them as the skeletal archers shot bolt after bolt from the back, impeding anyone from advancing too far. "We must do something about those archers in the back, sir!" The captain was speaking with commander Wyrmbane. "We can't advance so long as they keep providing cover fire!"

"I shall advance and draw their focus. Use that opportunity to break through their flank and attack the rear." The paladin had answered, then raised his hand above his head, his fingers curled as if he were squeezing something between them. His body began to emanate a warm golden glow, and a pair of bird wings of pure luminous energy rose from his back. With a mighty warcry, he leapt high in the air and came crashing down in the middle of the skeleton's ranks, where he was immediately surrounded. His body, however, was completely encased in a shining sphere of golden light, making all attacks bounce harmlessly off of him.

"Now! Forward! Crush these hellspawns!" Rallied by the captain's orders, the soldiers advanced through the opposite side where Wyrmbane was single-handedly fending off ten of those undead warriors.

Felrus followed the captain over their right flank, then, side by side with his fellow soldiers, he engaged the skeletons. Those shambling remains were little more than ancient, yellow bones clad in rusty armor that was missing several pieces and sported several dents and cracks. That did not make them less deadly, however. As he had learned during his travels with Prince Arthas, and when he aided with the defense of Gilneas against the scourge, the undead were little more than mindless dolls urged by a single, base instinct; kill all that moves. They had no sense of self preservation, nor did they feel pain. You could cut down a ghoul, and it would still try to bite and claw at your feet with its remaining limbs.

The biggest mistake most people did when fighting the undead, however, was trying to fight them as they would a living creature. Warily, trying to defend their vitals while attempting to injure their foe. Felrus, however, had long since figured out the correct way to fight the undead. Simply, you needed to take the initiative, and make sure all your attacks are killing blows. A mindless undead creature would never attempt to defend itself, it would simply keep going forward until it was no longer able to.

And so, when the first group of skeletal warriors began to approach Felrus' attack group, the warrior was the first to step forward and swing his broadsword in a wide arc before him. The blade crushed the creature's neck bones with a single blow, and its body crumbled to the ground. Not relenting, Dalrus performed another swing, and cut off a second skeleton's entire midsection off its torso before he stepped forward and crushed its skull under his boot.

Lord Wyrmbane was still drawing the archers' attention, but the rest of the melee troops were shifting their attention to the attack group attempting to approach their backline. Not because it was an effective military tactic, but simply, for a mindless undead, their target was whoever was closest. They began to meet more resistance, and before long, the attack group began to scatter amidst the undead ranks.

"Their lines break! Push forward! Give the archers no room for aim!" Wyrmbane shouted from his side. More soldiers started to advance from the edges of their defensive line, their numbers now matching that of their undead foes. Felrus himself focused only on taking down any foe within his reach, his great sword swinging left and right again and again. His reach allowed him to safely bring down most foes, but eventually, one managed to slip through his offensive defense.

He saw the skeleton warrior attack from his side just as he was driving his blade through another one. The monstrosity lifted a wide, curved sword and took a swing at Felrus' exposed side, when suddenly Dalrus' booted foot crashed against the skeleton's ribcage, bringing the creature down. He was there for but a moment before once more vanishing from Felrus' sight. With a ferocious grunt, Felrus slammed his blade against the skeleton's head and ended its unlife.

"There's no end to these buggers!" He heard Dalrus' voice from behind him. Looking over his back, Felrus saw his brother standing back to back with him, his knees bent low with his swords lifted over either side of his body.

"Don't let up, brother! Their numbers are not endless! We must push forward and take out their archers!" Felrus said, using his sword like a bat to slam a skeleton away from him.

Dalrus looked back up at him, then grinned. "OK, Fel. You keep going then. Keep swinging that lump of iron, and I'll make sure nothing else comes close to you. Your shadow will be right behind you, bro!"

Felrus spared a moment to look down at his younger brother's eyes. These were no longer the eyes of that spoiled, arrogant noble boy he had left behind in Gilneas. Felrus recognized those eyes all too well. The eyes of someone who had seen the horrors of war. Who had spilled their blood, and the blood of others. It filled him with sorrow that his little brother was no longer that carefree child he so fondly remembered... But it also filled him with great pride to realize Dalrus had finally become what he had always been destined to be.

Ever since that day when his life had been saved by his brother, Felrus had known. Every time that burn scar on his face throbbed or itched, he was reminded of it. He, Felrus, and his brother, Dalrus, were a team, bound by fate, and their blood. They were the Plague, and the Fang. Together... There was nothing that could stop them. Not even this horde of undead abominations.

These thoughts and feelings rushed into Felrus' mind all at once during a brief instant, and he found himself smiling down at his brother. "I trust you with my life, Dalrus."

There was a brief moment of silent appreciation and understanding between the two brothers, with Dalrus going as far as to stand up straight, turn to face Felrus, squint his eyes and say: "Wait, are those actual fangs in your mouth?"

"Duck!" Felrus shouted, swinging his sword above Dalrus' head. His brother immediately squatted down, and Felrus cleaved yet another skeleton warrior in half. "I'm going, Dal! Ready?"

With a grunt, his brother looked over his back, then back up at Felrus and nodded. "Yeah. Go, Felrus! I'll cover you!" And with one final smile up towards his brother, Dalrus shot him a little wink... And then he disappeared. One second, he was there... The next, he was gone. Completely.

Felrus took in a deep breath, then turned around until he was facing the direction where the skeletal archers were still shooting at Lord Wyrmbane. His divine shield was holding for now, but the light was already less bright, his golden energy bubble growing dimmer by the second. There was no time to waste.

"For Gilneas!" Felrus screamed, slamming his shoulder against the skeleton warrior directly in front of him and beginning to advance through their ranks.

He kept swinging his sword in again and again before him as if he were cleaving through a field of wheat. Enemy after enemy was crushed by the weight of his weapon, carved in half by its edge or pushed aside by the sheer weight of his powerful swings. This reckless advance, however, didn't take long to backfire on him. As he advanced deeper into the enemy lines, the first skeleton approached him from behind.

All he heard was a silent 'whoosh' from his side, and he caught a glimpse of a black blur with the corner of his eye. When he turned around, the skeleton had both its arms cut off. Felrus dispatched it, then turned around once more. This momentary distraction, however, almost proved fatal, as another skeleton warrior had approached from the front, too close for him to effectively use his weapon.

Then, there was that quiet 'whoosh' sound again... And this time, he saw Dalrus materializing from somewhere above the skeleton to bring down both his swords against the creature's back. It's spine was shattered, and the monstrosity crumbled to pieces before Felrus. The instant Dalrus' feet touched the ground, he immediately vanished once more.

'My shadow, huh...' With renewed vigor, Felrus pushed forward. His great sword stabbed, slashed and slammed, and over a dozen enemies fell before him as he steadily advanced. Again and again, whenever a foe slipped past his defenses or approached him from an exposed side... Most of the time, he realized, he didn't even notice Dalrus was intervening. His brother was so fast, so silent and so deadly, he'd jump out of the shadows to strike at Felrus' enemy from their blind spot before disappearing again.

The rogue was simply all over the place. From above, below or the sides, he covered all the cracks in Felrus' defense as the warrior advanced like a juggernaut through the endless files of the undead troops until, at last, he reached the end of the cave where the tunnel leading deeper into the mountain was, and where the skeletal warriors were still drawing their bows and shooting their arrows against the Human Expedition's forces.

"This is it, Dal! Crush them to the last!" Felrus immediately rushed the closest skeletal archer. His sword came up against the creature's torso, hitting it with such force its body practically exploded, broken bone shards flying everywhere. Unrelenting, Felrus continued straight forward to attack the second one, his sword coming down against the creature's skull and smashing it to bits as if he were using a hammer.

By now, however, the rest of the skeletons were all shifting their focus to the rampaging warrior who had managed to carve his way through their forces and had already brought down two of their ranged units. Felrus saw the rest of the archers turn their bows at him and draw their arrows.

'Oh, bugger... I should have picked up another shield.' Felrus thought as he threw himself at the ground and barrel rolled away. With nowhere else to go, he began to run into the tunnel the skeletons had come from while zig-zagging and jumping to the side to avoid the hail of arrows being shot at him. He could hear the other skeleton warriors giving chase, the sounds of their bare bone feet or rotting pieces of crumbling armor echoing loudly around them.

Directly ahead, there was a curve in the tunnel. Felrus made a mad dash straight forward, keeping his head low and covered to protect himself from the arrows. He felt a couple of them hitting his back, but fortunately, his heavy plate armor managed to resist the blows. Felrus threw himself at that curve, then rolled so he'd be able to get right back up, his great sword already in hand.

He didn't spare a single moment to catch his breath; with a borderline feral grunt, he brandished his weapon just as the first skeleton chasing him reached the corner he was hiding on. The skeleton soldier walked right into the blow, and its entire right side was crushed, sending bone splinters everywhere. Immediately after hitting the first skeleton, Felrus lifted his sword with both hands and slashed down against the second one, who was cut almost cleanly in half by the massive weapon. The third one, however, walked over its fallen comrades and tried to stab Felrus while his sword was still down from his second blow.

The warrior twisted himself to the side, letting go of his sword in the process. His hand curled into a fist, and with yet another grunt, he punched the skeleton's face so hard, his gauntlet crushed the creature's jaw, making its head spin over its neck. He then grabbed the skeleton by it's bony arms and pushed it against his fourth and final chaser, who was about to attack him from the side. Both creatures crashed down one over the other on the floor, trying to clamber up and resume their attack on him.

That was all Felrus needed to pick his sword back up, however. Holding it close to the ground, he let out a mighty warcry that echoed in the tunnels surrounding him as he swung his sword with all his strength at the skeletons. He managed to flatten both creatures against the wall besides him at once, their rib cages giving way like dry pieces of wood.

Felrus looked around. Behind him, there was the tunnel leading to the depths of Stonetalon peaks. Ahead, the cave where the undead were still fighting the Human Expedition. The skeleton archers had apparently lost interest in him, because he could neither see nor hear their arrows chasing him. Warily, he advanced once more, eager to join the battle and take his enemies by surprise once he emerged.

However, the young warrior ended up being the surprised one.

As soon as he reached the mouth of the tunnel, he saw nothing but piles of broken bones and shattered bows where the archers once were. Now that they no longer needed to fear the ranged onslaught coming from above, the soldiers of the Human Expedition were advancing, cutting down the undead one after another.

Looking around himself once again, Felrus confirmed all there was surrounding the mouth of the tunnel were the unmoving remains of the archers... And his brother, who was leaning up against the wall next to the tunnel's entrance, a tibia bone being idly tossed up and caught by his left hand over and over. Without even looking at him, Dalrus said. "Yo. What took you so long?"

Felrus blinked a few times to fully register what was going on, then took a third look at the broken bones scattered all over the ground in little piles. "Did... You do all this while I was in there?"

Dalrus simply shrugged, then tossed his bone at a distant skeleton soldier advancing to fight the Expedition's soldiers. "Yeah, you were such a good distraction, I decided to take down the archers. I figured you'd be fine against a few of those walking bone piles. And big shock, I was right!" His brother smirked, then winked at him. "Come on, Fel. All that's left is cleaning up before we can move on. You coming?"

The warrior was speechless. First, those strange abilities that allowed his little brother to seemingly teleport, vanish from sight and attack from nowhere... Then all that skill and cunning that allowed him to not only take out foes far larger than they were, but also decimate the enemy's backline during that brief window of distraction. Felrus shook his head, a wide smile forming on his face, then slapped his brother on the shoulder. "Might as well. Let's take them from behind."

"That's how rogues do it!" His brother happily said, swords already in each hand. "Go on then, after you!"

The rest of the battle was fast and clean. The Plaguefang brothers attacked the remaining skeletons from behind while the rest of the Expedition's forces pushed forward from the front. Caught by both sides, chaos spread among the undead ranks, and they were quickly dispatched. At last, the final pile of bones crumbled and moved no more. The soldiers all cheered victory, and gathered at the mouth of the tunnel for a brief headcount, as well as to tend their wounded before advancing.

Now that they finally had some time for it, Felrus approached his brother, but he was already busy being interrogated by Lady Jaina and Commander Wyrmbane.

"...Must once again thank you, young Lord Plaguefang." The paladin was saying. "Had it not been for your arrival and your ingenious plan, I fear our losses would have been far more severe. And to sneak behind the enemy lines and decimate their archery... Truly, your skills in stealth are commendable."

"Come now, Commander, you're gonna make me blush like this." The rogue readily said, although the proud grin on his face suggested quite otherwise. "But nothing would have worked without everyone's cooperation. I should be thanking Lady Jaina for accepting my plan so fast and making the ice traps when I gave her the signal."

To that, the sorceress smiled and nodded. "I must admit it never occurred to me to use my magic in such a way."

"But the real MVP of the day is..." And then his brother's gaze met his, and Dalrus beckoned him over. "My brother here, of course. You should have seen him, tearing through those bags of bones like a charging bull. I just took advantage of the commotion to take out the archers when they were looking the other way."

"Ah, yes." And then Wyrbane turned around to face Felrus himself. "Indeed, I too took notice of your bravery today, Plaguefang. I believe a formal commendation is in order for your feats in battle."

"My lord..." Felrus was taken by surprise by this, and almost raised his hands apologetically before he managed to stop himself. "That is not necessary. We all did our best and risked our lives for what we believed in. For now, all I want is to reach the end of our journey."

Jaina nodded. "I'm afraid he is correct, Commander. I would also like to hear young Dalrus' tale as to how he found us, and where he's been all this time, but more pressing matters require our immediate action."

Everyone regarded her. Wyrbane spoke: "Is something amiss, my lady?"

The sorceress' face grew a bit more grim. "I suspect we are being followed, commander. The troops we left behind haven't reported back. I believe we should press onward with all due haste. I can feel that our destination does not lie too far ahead now."

"I understand." Wyrmbane said with a nod. "I shall inform our troops that we are to move ahead as soon as possible." And with that, the paladin turned around and moved to the center of the cave where everyone could hear his orders.

Jaina sighed, then gave the two Plaguefangs a nod. "Excuse me." Then she, too, moved away from them, headed towards where the other mages were gathered along with the healers and the injured.

Alone at last, Felrus regarded his younger brother. "It's only going to get harder from here on out, you know."

Dalrus simply shrugged, then looked up at him. "Yeah, well, it wouldn't be fun if it were too easy."

Felrus almost snorted, then shook his head. "Good Light, I missed you, Dal."

The rogue then patted him on his armored shoulder. "Good to see you again too, Fel. And, ah..." For once, Dalrus looked a little nervous, his gaze avoiding Felrus'. "Sorry I worried you so much. I really wish I could have contacted you and everyone else in some way, but..."

"Later." Felrus cut him off, his palm raised to signal his brother to stop. "You'll tell me everything then. For now, we have to..."

His next words were cut off when a high pitched scream came from their side, and suddenly there was a tiny figure pressed against Dalrus' leg. Looking down, Felrus recognized the shape of Sticks Hardbones' head above that tiny gnome body, the little man sobbing uncontrollably while his short stubby arms hugged his brother's leg with all his might. "Oh, praise be! My savior lives! Thank the heavens and the ground and all in between!"

"Woah, hey!" Dalrus gasped, his arms flailing about for balance as he instinctively rose and shook his leg. The gnome, however, had a powerful grip on him, and wasn't loosened so easily. "Easy now, buddy! Who are you, and get off my leg!"

"Oh, forgive me, but I cannot, I am just so happy to know you didn't die because of me!" The gnome cried out, his face buried against Dalrus' knee as he was vehemently shaken up and down. "Do you not remember me, sir? It's me, Sticks Hardbones! You saved my life from that dreadful Hellscream!"

Felrus saw his brother freeze, and the light of recognition filled his face. "Ooooooooh yeah... I remember. You made it out OK, then! Boy, that's a relief." Dalrus laughed, then set his leg down to pat the gnome's huge bald head a couple times. "I thought you got crushed back then! So you were alive too, eh? Now I don't feel so bad for almost killing myself. Because let me tell you, if I had gone through all that just to find out the one I was trying to save had died anyway... That would really spoil my day."

"And it's all thanks to you! Thank you, thank you so much for your bravery!" The gnome sniffed, then looked up at Dalrus with his huge wet eyes. "If there ever is anything I can do to repay you, sir, please don't hesitate to ask! I promise I shall never forget this debt for so long as I live!"

"OK, how about, first of all, you get off my leg?" Dalrus said, launching a desperate look at Felrus who had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"Ah, yes, quite! Forgive me!" With a little clearing of his throat, the gnome let go of Dalrus and stepped back. "Allow me to introduce myself once more! Sticks Hardbones, at your service, sir Plaguefang! I may not be very strong or fast or... Courageous, but! I am a passionate engineer! If you ever need my help with anything mechanical or electrical, I shall do everything in my power to aid my hero!"

"T-thanks, buddy, that's, ah... Real nice of you!" His brother was looking so lost and out of place that moment... And Sticks, with his incredibly innocent display of affection and loyalty for his savior, really made Felrus bite on his own lip to not laugh at the whole awkwardness of the situation. Thankfully for them, it was that moment that Wyrmbane's voice boomed over them: "Our break is over! March forward, warriors! Our destiny is not far now! Form ranks, and move out!"

Visibly relieved, Dalrus immediately moved behind Felrus and said: "Welp, you heard the big man! I still got a few things to discuss with my brother, you know what it's like. See you later, Sticks! Good to see you again!"

Nodding so fast his entire body shook, the gnome replied: "Yes, oh yes indeed! Very good, mister Plaguefang! I eagerly await to see you again!"

"Right, right!" The discomfort in his Dalrus' voice was palpable then. "Take care! Be seeing ya!"

Still nodding and practically trembling with joy, the gnome turned around and moved back to his spot in the ranks, right on top of his mechanized bird thing. Felrus then looked down at his brother, his cheeks burning with the strain of not laughing. "Well, looks like you got a fan!"

"Oh, sod off." Dalrus replied with a rude gesture. "Eyes up front, soldier. We are marching."

And march they did. The group entered the tunnel ahead of them, followed along the curve and went deeper into the mountain. On their way, they came across many perils; jets of fire spewing from holes in the ground, more rivers of fire and ghastly undead creatures guarding the path ahead, not to mention the native living beasts; gigantic spiders, kobolds, necromancers who came from Light knows where, quillboars - the savage pigmen they had encountered in Kalimdor's wastes - and even stray harpies. Each beast fought to the death with unnatural savagery, but there were no more battles on the scale of the one Dalrus had saved them from. Thanks to his rogue skills, he was able to scout ahead unseen and warn them of the dangers awaiting on their path. More often than not, it was the members of the Expedition who ambushed the dark denizens of those caves.

The creatures were not the only danger, however. More than once, they almost fell prey to deadly traps; pitfalls with blood-soaked spikes at the bottom, fake bridges over lakes of fire ready to collapse the moment they came close, and even enormous stalagmites falling from above and nearly crushing or impaling people below.

It was an arduous journey, many were injured, some even died. But still, they kept pressing forward. None of them lost their will to fight this time. They were so close now, even people like Felrus, who had absolutely no understanding over magic, could feel it.

It was almost like a heartbeat, resonating all around him in waves. That... Strange, mystical sensation enveloped his body and urged him to press forward, as if whispering to him: "Keep going... You are almost there..."

At long last, they reached yet another corridor. At the end of this corridor, however, they could see a faint light at its end... One nothing like the dark flames that filled that dreadful place. Everyone immediately knew.

"This is it." It had to be ahead of them. Just a little bit more... The warriors and the mages all marched on at double pace now, with Jaina Proudmoore herself taking point, heading straight to the mouth of the tunnel.

Finally... They emerged.

They came out of the side of a large room. Directly ahead of them was a bridge, leading to their left over the burning lakes of fire below. To their right, the sight was a little better. There were several fountains arranged over a tall stone altar, their pristine water pouring nonstop. It was from those waters that the warm, beautiful light that lured them was emanating. And on top of the altar, before and between the fountains, was a man.

The man wore a long brown robe, his shoulders pads adorned with dark feathers. A hood was covering his head, but from below, they could clearly see his old, wrinkled face, which sported a short grey beard over his chin and jawline. In his right hand, he was holding a wooden staff with the sculpture of a raven at its tip. Felrus, as everyone else from the expedition, stopped when they saw the man. He then felt a slight brush over his shoulder, and looking to his side, he saw Jaina walking past him and advancing towards the man. He regarded the young mage, then nodded towards her.

"Welcome, Jaina Proudmoore. I have been expecting you." His voice somehow carried over the room, strangely, not in a loud, echoing way... But as if he were just a few paces from them, speaking at a polite, low tone.

Jaina stopped, then lifted her head to regard the man. "All this time, it was your power that I felt... You are the one who lured us to this place. Who... No... What are you?"

The old man nodded at her. "All your answers will be answered shortly, young one. As soon as the rest of our guests arrive."

"What?" Everyone looked around, confused. And then, they saw it.

Coming from across the bridge, over the river of fire, were over a dozen armed orcs, led by their Warchief, Thrall, and what had to be the biggest and oldest tauren Felrus had ever seen in his life.

Jaina immediately raised her hands, her eyes emanating a ghostly blue glow as her palms were enveloped in a similar light. "Orcs! I knew that we were being followed. Defend yourselves!" One by one, the soldiers and mages of the Human Expedition drew their weapons and rushed to form a defensive line over their side of the cave.

Suddenly, however, the old man slammed his staff against the ground, drawing everyone's attention towards him. "Stop! There will be no violence in this place."

Everyone froze in place, even Lady Jaina. Slowly, Thrall came forward with the tauren by his side, until they had crossed the bridge completely and stood before the old man and Jaina's forces. "That voice." The orc spoke. "You're no oracle! You're the prophet!"

'What prophet?' Felrus thought, confused. He looked down at his brother to see if he had any idea what was going on, but to his surprise, Dalrus had his jaw hanging open, his eyes fixed upon the old man as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The prophet smirked, then raised his back up straight, his wrinkled face peering down at everyone from his vantage point. "Very perceptive, son of Durotan. I am the prophet. And, now, that I've lured you all here, I will tell you what destiny holds."

Thrall, however, did not seem too patient. He stepped forward, then shouted: "What the hell is going on here?"

The prophet, however, did not look intimidated. He simply waved his gloved hand towards the Human Expedition forces and said: "Thrall, this is Jaina Proudmoore, leader of the survivors of Lordaeron."

"Survivors? " The orc's expression twisted in puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"

Raising his hand somewhat dramatically, the prophet once again spoke out: "The invasion of the Burning Legion has begun! Lordaeron has already fallen, and now the demons come to invade Kalimdor! Only together, united against the shadow, will be able to save this world from the flame."

Felrus felt all air leave his lungs. He looked back and forth between the orc, the tauren, the prophet and his own companions, trying to digest all this information. 'Together? With the horde?' He thought, his thoughts going completely chaotic within his mind. Lady Jaina, however, managed to voice what everyone was thinking:

"Unite with them? Are you mad?" She shook her head. "The horde have been our enemies for years!" More people began to voice their distaste, shouting: "Death to the horde!" "Blast those greenskins!" "My family was killed by orcs!"

Once again, however, the prophet slammed his staff against the ground, bringing everyone silent as if by some kind of spell. "Have you heard nothing that I've said? The Legion comes to undo history and end all life!" He then turned to regard the orc Warchief. "Thrall, your friend Hellscream has already fallen under the demons' influence. Soon he and your whole race will be lost forever!"

All color seemed to vanish from the orc's face. He took a step back, as if trying to distance himself from those news. "No... I'll die before I let that happen!"

"Then you must rescue him immediately!" The prophet went on, his hand reaching out for Thrall as if beckoning the orc over to where the old man stood. "He is the key to the destiny I promise you. However, you will need help."

"Wait!" Jaina spoke out. "This is insane! You can't possibly expect me to-"

"Destiny is at hand, young sorceress." The prophet cut off her words. "The time to choose has come. For the fate of all who live, humanity must join forces with the Horde"

"This is madness..." Jaina whispered, one hand running over her face. "After all that we lost because of the horde, all the blood, do you think we can just ignore their will towards us like that?" She turned to face Thrall. "After all the innocent lives you have taken?"

"On my blood and honor I swear, human." Thrall suddenly spoke as he turned to face Jaina and took a step forward. "Never in my life have I taken the life of an innocent, nor have I ever given the order to do so. Since the day I took this hammer and title of Warchief, I have only done battle for the survival of my people. And this prophet speaks the truth. Right now, the enemy we face is greater than our old hatreds."

Jaina was visibly conflicted. "Then what about all the people killed by your-"

"Laaaaaaady Jaina, if I may interject here!" Every single person in the room turned to face who was talking. Even Felrus himself felt his jaw drop when he realized his little brother was stepping forward to stand before Jaina. "At this point in time, I do believe we should bring cold, hard logic into play, don't you agree?"

"What? Logic? What are you talking about?" Jaina said, visibly confused. Felrus looked up, and for his utter astonishment, he noticed that the prophet was smiling, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world but only he understood it.

Instead of answering right away, Dalrus turned his back on her and waved to the Warchief. "Hey Thrall, long time no see. How's Watu?"

"What...? You... You are that human." As if things weren't mind-boggling enough, now his brother was friends with the Warchief of the horde? Felrus felt so shocked and confused he couldn't even speak, but only listen. "So you did find your way back to them... I was very surprised to learn you managed to slip Watu's grasp."

"Ah, well, everyone makes mistakes." The young rogue arrogantly said as he stuffed his chest out. "And that is the point here, isn't it? To ensure we won't make yet another that we are aaaaaall-" And here he made an exaggerated gesture with his arms towards everyone in the cave. "-going to deeply regret. Now, Lady Jaina." He then turned around to face the mage. "If you'll pardon my impudence, would you be so kind as to remind everyone why we are here, in this foreign land, an entire sea away from the comfort of our warm beds and families?"

"Because the Undead and the Burning Legion destroyed our city." She automatically responded, apparently the woman being so stunned that her mind simply switched to auto pilot.

"Exactly! Now, mister Thrall." The boy then turned once more to regard the orc. "Since we were nice enough to share our reason for leaving our homes and coming to this unpleasant place, would you be willing to reciprocate our good will for the sake of diplomacy?"

Thrall regarded the youth with his deep blue eyes, then straightened his shoulders and crossed his arms. "I had a vision... A vision of chaos and destruction coming to this world. I knew that if my people stayed in the Eastern Kingdoms, it would be our end. The spirits... And that prophet told me our destinies lied here."

Dalrus clapped. "What a coincidence!" Once more he turned to regard the mage. "Lady Jaina, would I be correct to assume that gentleman up there had something to do with your decision to lead us not just into this dark, deadly old mountain, but also to this lovely continent in the first place?"

The woman seemed to finally snap from her stupor. "What? How did you...?" She coughed, then tried to regain her composure. "Yes... Before even the Undead had first emerged... That prophet had been trying to warn my master, and the King of Lordaeron about this tragedy... Even Ar-" She caught herself. "Even... Others."

"Well, then!" Dalrus clapped his hands once again, then slowly walked towards the center of the cave, just below the old prophet on the stone pedestal. "I do believe we can all agree that, up to this point, that gentleman's cryptic words have done nothing but lead us towards a better path than brutal-death-by-demons-and-zombies, don't you think so?" He spread his arms and looked around as if expecting people to agree with him. Everyone simply continued to stare at him in silence. Dalrus cleared his throat, then continued: "And also, I do believe it is worth pointing out that, unlike my fair and wise Warchief friend over here, the demons and the Scourge are not willing to negotiate. Those things do not want land, they do not want gold, they do not want resources. They want to kill each and every single one of us, indiscriminately, for the simple fact that we are neither demons, nor dead already. Does anyone disagree with that?"

Again, no one spoke... Until, suddenly, the prophet said: "Like a wild, raging fire, the Burning Legion will consume all in their path. Even the Undead Scourge is nothing more than a means to an end for them, a tool to be used and discarded once their usefulness is over."

"Exactly, thank you! So, mister Warchief Thrall." Dalrus extended an arm towards the orc. "Would you mind telling us, what do you intend to do if, for the sake of argument, we were to join forces in defeating the Burning Legion? What would your plans be, afterwards? Are you going to simply declare war on us for no good reason through mass genocide of harmless civilians who are just glad the demonic threat is over?"

The orc stomped his foot against the ground, then slammed his fist against his chest. "Never! Only a madman would seek unnecessary war and senseless bloodshed after our true enemy is defeated. All I desire is a place where my people can live peacefully."

Dalrus nodded. "Indeed, you'd have to be a horrible, selfish, insane and unfit leader to rekindle an old war without any provocation or need just after fighting alongside those people to defeat the Burning Legion! And what about you, Lady Jaina? Do you think that, at this point in time, it would be wise to turn down allies who have an enemy in common and start yet another war when we already have our hands full with demons and zombies?"

"I..." Jaina took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, her head lowering in defeat for a brief moment before she lifted her face once more and nodded towards Dalrus, the prophet and, lastly, Thrall himself. "You're right. It would be folly to fight the Horde again right now... And if we could somehow destroy the Legion by working together..." She walked forward, stopping right before Thrall, who uncrossed his arms and regarded her with a neutral expression. "Then I believe it would be best to let our old enmities behind for a moment... And face this threat side by side."

Silence filled the cave. Felrus couldn't even breathe. Everyone waited for the orc's response as his bright blue eyes regarded the young mage.

Then, he spoke:

"My entire life, I have always desired our conflict to end, once and for all. For the sake of our future, Jaina Proudmoore... I, Thrall, son of Durotar and Warchief of the Horde, accept to cease all conflicts between us, and fight side by side to destroy the Burning Legion."