Chapter 43 - Dawn

Dalrus had to journey through the Horde base, which was between the night elf and human bases. There was but a single path leading up to the summit of Mount Hyjal, where the world tree Nordrassil was, and the humans, orcs and elves were hard at work to prepare their defenses as best they could and throw everything they had at Archimonde and their elite forces. As he made his way down, Dalrus could already see the undead and demonic armies moving to the mountain, like a black tide washing through the trees below. He also saw two stags in the meadows.

His mind was heavy, and troubled. He could not believe this was happening. His brother turned into that… Lupine monster, his mind overtaken and turned into a feral beast.

Could he come back? Would they be together again? Could Felrus return to his old self? Dalrus had hope that at least his brother would be able to control his own body once more… But Malfurion didn't really give him much hope. But there was something else… If Felrus turned into a worgen because of the bite on his shoulder, and was reduced to a violent feral beast because of it… Could there be more? What were things like back home?

These thoughts, however, had to be pushed aside. Dalrus sighed, and looked up.

It was night by the time he finished crossing the Horde camp, and was already halfway down the path to the human base. Their battle plan was, basically, to create several lines of defense to try and stall Archimonde until the elf druid could spring whatever trap he was preparing for the great demon lord.

Archimonde… That was a name he had been hearing a lot the past few days. Supposedly, he was the leader of the Burning Legion while the fallen titan, Sargeras, was away. Before disappearing to how knows where, Medivh had explained to them that his body had temporarily housed a portion of Sargeras' soul. The fallen titan was still out there, trying to figure out a way to restore his physical form and bring doom upon their world once more.

And speaking of doom… As Dalrus approached the human expedition base, he saw that the undead not too far away. The acolytes of the Cult of the Damned were summoning their ziggurats and citadels, preparing themselves to mount their attack first thing in the morning.

Dalrus looked up to the skies… To the twin moons above, casting their pale glow upon them. 'This is it. Tomorrow, the endgame starts. Tomorrow, we make our final stand. Live or die. Victory, or death… Like the orcs say.'

"There is no hope for victory. You and your allies shall all perish in despair."

The voice now sounded like someone was talking directly behind his head. If Dalrus closed his eyes he'd actually be able to imagine someone standing next to him.

"You know, the first time you said that to me, I already didn't care for it. The other seventeen times, even less so." Dalrus said with a tired sigh.

"You know nothing. You understand nothing. Death will be a mercy to your brother. And he will not be the only one to receive it. You, your leaders, your friends, your family… The shadow will consume all. This world will fall."

Dalrus' fingers clenched into fists. "I guess we'll see about that, won't we?"

"We have already seen it. A thousand times through a thousand eyes, we have borne witness to the rise and fall of countless worlds. Yours is but another speck of dust about to be swept away. There is no glory, no hope. All there is… Is despair. You cannot run from it."

The young rogue rubbed his eyes, tired. "Fascinating tale, comrade. But it'll have to wait… I got a big day ahead of me tomorrow."

"Who are you talking to?" He unexpectedly heard a voice coming from behind. Surprised, Dalrus turned around to see none other than Captain Lyafra standing there on the side of the road, with those two masked elven ladies, Tysse and Fynna, on either side of her.

"Oh, just… Thinking out loud." He lied, turning around to face her. "What brings you here?"

"We were on our way back to relay some information to our leaders… All recon is to be called off from now on. It's just too dangerous to try and do any scouting with the undead this close." Said the elven captain, squinting her eyes as she approached him. "And it didn't sound like you were talking to yourself, child. It sounded as if someone were speaking to you."

"Well, I guess I'm crazy, then." He said, his annoyance growing. "Not like you care, right? I'm just a useless piece of dead weight who couldn't even save his fellow soldiers. Maybe you'll luck out and I'll bite the dust tomorrow. Good night." And with that, Dalrus turned his back on her and began to walk out.

"Wait." He heard her speak from behind. Dalrus almost ignored her, but ultimately, he sighed, curled his fingers into fists once more, and turned around to look at her again. "What?" He practically snarled at her.

He expected to see nothing but her cold stare, maybe with her arms crossed and a look of disdain in her eyes. But what he saw was nothing like that. The woman almost looked… Apologetic? She didn't say anything as she stared at him for a few seconds, her glowing emerald green eyes peering deeply into Dalrus' own. "It's not your fault." She finally said.

Dalrus blinked a couple times. "Excuse me?"

"It's not your fault." She repeated, simply.

"What's not my bloody fault?" He asked, raising a brow at her.

The woman took a step closer to him. "It's not your fault, Dalrus."

"I don't know what you're bloody talking about!" He said, looking away from her.

He heard her take another step towards him. "It's not your fault. None of it is."

"Shut up! I know it's not my fault! When did I ever do anything wrong!?" He almost screamed at her, turning his back on the woman yet again and closing his eyes.

He heard her walk even closer to him, then he felt a hand upon his shoulder. "It's not your fault, child."

He turned around to face her one more time. His vision was blurry, and tears were forming on the corners of his eyes. "OH, REALLY? SO IF I HADN'T GONE OFF ON MY OWN AND LEFT HIM ALL ALONE, THEN MY BROTHER WOULDN'T HAVE TURNED INTO A BLOODY MAD BEAST? IF I HADN'T ABANDONED HIM, WOULD THANO STILL BE HERE? IF I HADN'T BEEN BLOODY BORN, WOULD MY MOTHER BE AND UNCLE BE HERE INSTEAD OF ME, BEING OF MORE BLOODY USE TO EVERYONE THAN SOME SPOILED GREEN BRAT WHO SPENT HIS WHOLE LIFE BEHIND THOSE DAMNED WALLS? NONE OF THAT IS MY GODSDAMNED FAULT?"

And then, Lyafra took yet another step forward. Her arms wrapped around the boy's shoulders, and he was held against her bosom as he began sobbing uncontrollably. "No, child. Not a single one of those things is your fault. Sometimes in life, you can make all the right calls, get the perfect people for each task, perform everything you're told to do flawlessly… And still you'll have to deal with loss and failure. That's a terrible thing that no child should ever have to deal with, or accept… And yet, here we are. You left your home and your family because you felt the need to do something about all the terrible things happening in our world."

Dalrus said nothing. He didn't know what to say. All he could do was hug the elven woman back, and continue to sob and cry against her, finally feeling all the frustration, all the rage, all the sadness that had been steadily building up inside of him seep out.

Lyafra said nothing else past that. She did not move, and patiently waited for him to finish. It felt like an eternity passed… But eventually, Dalrus let go of the woman and stepped back, wiping the tears off his face. "I… I'm sorry…"

But she was shaking her head. "I tried to push you away, child. Tried to keep you from having to face this terrible reality… But it's too late for all of us now. Tomorrow, we live, or die, together. And now… I'm going to have to ask you to risk your life once more. Can you do it? Can you walk into the battlefield with your head held high, knowing about the pain of this loss? Knowing that all you know and love could die, even if you manage to succeed in your mission?"

Dalrus bit on his lip to try and hold back his sobbing. "I have to… There's nothing left for me now, but this."

"Nonsense." She said. "You still have a home to return to. You still have a land to call your own, a family waiting for you. Me…" Dalrus heard Lyafra's voice falter. And when he looked up, much to his shock, he say that not only her, but Tyssa and Fynne - who had removed their masks - were all crying as they looked at him, their tears glistening beneath the pale moonlight. "We… We witnessed the destruction of our home. Quel'thalas was attacked by the undead… I saw our bravest champions fight and die against the scourge. I saw our ranger general, Sylvanas Windrunner, bravely defend every step along the way to give our people time to prepare or flee… And I also witnessed her death at the gates of our city, only to be risen again as a monstrous abomination, an eternal slave to that monster with the runeblade. I was with our king as he led the final line of defense before our beloved Sunwell… But he, too, fell. And then… I fled for my life. I took my younger brother, and together, we managed to escape the carnage… But our home is no more. The source of our magic, our strength, our sun… Was forever defiled. And now, these aberrations once again try to take everything from us."

Tyssa stepped forward. "We lost everything… Our home, our families, our people, our pride… And our hope. The quel'dorei cannot prosper without a source such as the Sunwell to sustain our people. Without it, we will succumb to the hunger for magic."

Fynne stepped forward as well, standing besides her twin sister. "Our only hope lies with our prince, Kael'thas… He is trying to rally our people together in the ruins of our city, trying to rebuild what once was… But we know that is impossible. The future of the highborne is a dark one… But there is still hope for you. For the humans, the dwarves, the gnomes… And even for the orcs, trolls and tauren. We can still fight for what's left of this world… For the sake of the future."

Dalrus took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. He had stopped crying now. "I… I'm sorry. About… Everything. You're right… I really was just a child. I was arrogant, I tried to do everything on my own, and leave everyone else behind… I thought I was the only one who could do it. That if I did, no one else would have to…"

Lyafra sighed, and she reached out to gently place her hand on top of his hand. "That is why you are still just a child. No one can save the world on their own. We all love to sing praises to heroes and saviors… But one thing all these songs and tales have in common is that the heroes always go out with heroic sacrifice, entrusting the future to those who endure afterwards. My foolish brother Thano decided to do this as well… And now, he is missing. Your brother wanted to fight to protect you, and he too has entrusted the future to you. For we who survive, for we who endure, we have a duty to live on, and take care of this world that was entrusted to us. That is why I decided to take whoever was willing to join me to leave the ruins of our city, and abandon the wretched, corrupted remains of what once was our Sunwell. There is no future left for our kin, young Dalrus… But perhaps, there is one for you."

Dalrus closed his eyes. "You're right… I shouldn't dwell on what should have been, or what could have been. We all have a job to do… We all need to live on." He then smiled up at her. "Or die trying."

And to that, she actually broke a small smile. "Seems it will be one or the other, come the morrow…" And almost as if on cue, the first sunrays began to glow on them. So high up they all were, at the summit of that massive mountain, that the mornings began much sooner than usual. Dalrus, Lyafra, Fynna and Tysse all watched as the sun began to rise on the horizon, so high up that they could see nearly all of Kalimdor. From the lush forests of Felwood and Ashenvale, to the desolate wasteland of Thunderbluff, the imposing brown peaks of Stonetalon, and even the beautiful, vast blue seas even further beyond.

"Yeah." Dalrus said. "The final battle starts… Now."