Chapter 8: Night Raid

Jaina had yet to fall asleep, mind haunted by all the ways this change in the Scourge and the Legion's tactics would cause so much damage to Azeroth's chances of survival. She couldn't automatically assume the Scourge had targeted races and civilizations outside of the Eastern Continent, though there was a high chance. Worse case scenario prior to confirming that was that Ironforge and Stormwind fell. The Scourge would gain an immense population boost, and damn near a quarter of the potential Heroes of Azeroth would fall (close to half for the Alliance). That alone could almost fully cripple their chances of defeating the Legion...

The Legion...

She couldn't let them be summoned.

Medivh had implied that the longer it took for the Legion to be summoned, the worse off things would be. Jaina didn't know if she should believe that, especially with this turn of events. If they could survive the Scourge, they might need to stop the Legion's arrival in order to buy Azeroth's races time to repopulate and recover, which could take hundreds of years, maybe thousands, depending on how much damage was dealt. There were so many variables to consider, and she wasn't a tactician.

Still... there was no guarantee the other nations would fall. Ironforge and Stormwind were different from Lordaeran, both in size, structure, strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps they could weather the storm better. Not to mention, even with Lordaeran now under siege from the Scourge, they were still willing to help. Alexandrous Mograine had briefly met with a council of the Silver Hand before departing with a squadron of Paladins and priests to Ironforge. Gavinrad the Dire had left for Stormwind with a squadron as well. Jaina hoped that Alexandrous and the King of Ironforge would be crafting the Ashbringer a little earlier this time around.

On the other hand, here in Lordaeran, they marched tomorrow for Scholomance. It promised to be a nasty mess, that Jaina knew without a doubt. They expected her to lead them into the hidden school of necromancy once they arrived, using her supposed 'time as a cultist' against the Scourge. She had walked through Scholomance's ruins with the Silver Hand and the Kirin Tor after it had been cleared of hostiles back in her time, to detail and determine the horrors that had been done there. She knew its general structure, but didn't know of its exact defenses and occupants. The only true threats, aside from the Scourge's general forces, were Gandling, Alexei Barov if he had been turned into a Death Knight, and the lich Ras Frostwhisper, but she wasn't sure he had been converted yet to that stage.

She sighed softly to herself, rolling in her bed in her parent's quarters. While she was given the chance for 'redemption', she was to not be allowed to be alone, had to always be under watch or with someone until she had distinctly proven herself without a doubt. She didn't particularly mind it, she suspected they would rotate her with her parents, Antonidas, or different Paladins. And wasn't that a slightly terrifying thought? Her parents were not just 'royalty', they were fighters, warriors, and her father was an expert commander and navel officer. They would be in the thick of things, and that sent shivers of dark anticipation rolling down her spine. She had lost so much before, she didn't want to start losing those close to her once again...

She grumbled a little and rolled over again.

"Jaina," came her mother's tired voice, "Can't you magic yourself to sleep? You've been tossing and turning for hours."

Jaini winced. "Sorry."

"It's fine," answered Kathrine, "Just..."

There was a pause as the distant sound of a bell tolled, making Jaina's eyes furrow in the darkened room. "What in the...?

Her father was out of bed in a flash, pushing aside a curtain to peer out into the moonlight, "That's an alarm bell."

Jaina's heart skipped a beat. The Scourge couldn't possibly be... not already! They hadn't attacked the capital area until after Arthas...

Oh.

Arthas wasn't on his way to Northrend, and not only had Hearthglen fallen, but all of Strathlome by now. There were a lot more active Undead at the moment...

Jaina snapped her fingers, lightning candles in the room with magic, and rolled off her bed, scrambling for clothes and her staff, her parents doing the same. They burst out of the room into a hallway of tired-but-alarmed guards rushing down the hall.

"Move it men!"

"Is the capital under attack?"

"No, it can't be, that bell is not close enough, that's Brill's bell!"

"Light have mercy, the towns practically defenseless!"

"Well then GET A MOVE ON! It's at best a ten minute sprint!"

Arthas's voice boomed down the hallway. "To me men! I will lead and command the first response while my father and Lord Uther prepare the army to move out."

"I'm going with Arthas," Jaina told her parents, slipping off into the mass of guards.

"Jaina wait!" came her mothers voice, but she didn't listen.

She came to a small gathering of guards in the main hallway, with Arthas at the front. She moved through the mass and came to stand before her prince. He gave her a brief look over, amusement coating his face when his eyes landed on her head. "Bed head, Lady Proudmoore?"

She huffed a little. "Well, not all of us can look so regal and princely all the time."

That got a small wry smile out of him before he turned towards the Palace entrance. "Stay close to me Jaina."

"Always, Arthas."

The group moved, rushing through the capital city and making for the town of Brill. Even at a distance she could see the town was on fire. They arrived a short sprint later into utter madness. Civilians were fleeing the town, screaming in terror while guards and lagging civilians were overun by swarms of ghouls ripping and tearing them to shreds. Jaina aimed a hand and released a bolt of chain lightning at the closest undead rushing for Brill's survivors, bouncing between one ghoul to another.

"For Lordaeran! For my Father the king!" roared Arthas, blitzing into the battle.

Despite the small size of their group, one Paladin and one Archmage and a handful of footmen and knights was more than enough to wipe out the initial mass of ghouls swarming the town. They went building to building, clearing out undead and saving trapped civilians.

"Git the hell out of my shop you filthy mongrol!" came a shrill female voice.

Jaina briefly turned her head to see a ghoul wrapped in vines tumble out of a dimly lit shop, a redheaded woman with brown eyes in a dirty green shirt and pants stepping out and putting a rifle to the things face before blowing it off. "Harumph."

There was a small laugh from Arthas. "Did they ruffle your flowers botanist Fearlina?"

Wait, that was Grand Widow Fearlina? Not quite so grand yet, kind of looked like a country bumpkin if she had to say.

The woman looked over at him, raising her rifle to lean against her shoulder. "Well if it isn't the Prince. Here to bash undead or buy more flowers for your mystery woman?"

Arthas motioned to Jaina. "Well, my woman isn't so mysterious anymore."

Jaina's heart skipped a beat. Did he really still mean that? Still want her after that whole 'cultist revelation' mess?

Fearlina looked delighted. "Ah! He's been promising to introduce you for months. Never came through though, like most men, right?"

Jaina's lips twitched a little with amusement. She liked Fearlina when she wasn't a crazy spider lady cultist. "Of course."

"Hey!" said Arthas.

"M'Lord! They come again from the north!" cried out a footmen.

It was more than ghouls this time. So much more. It felt like Hearthglen again as Abominations thundered into the dimly lit town, their gaping stomach with protruding bones glistening in the moon and torchlight. Hooded necromancers and cultists lurked in the shadows, ushering zombies and ghouls into the fray. The creaking of meat-wagons sounded in the distance before the disgusting 'sploch' of raining body parts hit nearby buildings.

"Hold fast!" roared Arthas, "The King marshals the army as we speak, they will not take another town from the people of Lodearan!"

"Maybe this will help then," said Jaina, raising her hands to the sky.

A wall of ice surged up from the ground infront of the Undead, between two buildings, briefly blocking them out of the town from that entrance. The Undead slammed into the barrier, hacking away at it.

"That'll get us a minute at most," said Jaina, focusing her concentration, "Less if they go around."

"You know Jaina, that's a nice ball of undead massed right there," Arthas commented, eyeing the swarm battering the ice wall.

"Way ahead of you Arthas."

She called down sheets of ice, unleashing a blizzard on the undead, piercing through and dropping ghouls and zombies, only damaging the abominations unfortunately. Her wall fell a moment later, then the undead poured into Brill. The clashing of metal, guttural screams of the undead, cries of the living, ripping and tearing of flesh, cracks of rifles, the barrage of sounds was almost deafening. Jaina cast one spell after another into the mass of Undead.

"We meet again girl, our King still demands an audience," came a loud, chilling voice.

"Oh hell," spat Jaina, sighting the Lich Ordin Frostbane floating towards the battle from the treeline, "Arthas! Problem!"

"I see him, how many times do you think we're going to put him down this time?"

"To many times."

"Agreed."

Jaina redirected her focus on the Lich, throwing a bolt of lightning at him. To her surprise, the Lich raised a hand and caught the spell, waving it's bony fingers and redirecting it into Brill's defenders. Jaina hissed in outrage, gathering her power for something stronger.

"You will find that I am more than I was before," taunted the Lich, blowing apart the defenders between him and Jaina, stalking closer.

Jaina unleashed a cone of cold, briefly freezing the Lich before it shattered free. "The Lich King rewards his servants who serve him well. My power now trumps yours, little girl."

"But not mine," came a deadly calm elderly voice.

A massive fireball blew past Jaina and slammed into the Lich, exploding and sending it flying into thousands of little pieces with hardly a moments notice.

"For Lordaeran! For the King!" came Uther's voice.

Jaina turned to see Antonidas arriving on horseback, Uther and a mass of troops at his heels. Even King Teranas himself was here, charging into battle with his sword raised. The Capital's forces poured into Brill, as did the Undead. It was a mass of chaos she hadn't seen in awhile, and especially not against the undead. Originally, she hadn't fought in a mass battle against the Undead (and demons) until Hyjal. It had mostly been smaller skirmishes. War and conflict had grown from then on in, but full army against army rather than smaller battles or the Heroes of Azeroth taking care of things hadn't been that common for her to participate in.

She couldn't say she really appreciated being jostled around and unable to move in a sea of armored men trying to get to the battle.

She was suddenly teleported away and right next to Antonidas, giving out a startled yelp. "Oh, uh, thank you Master."

"The front lines are no place for an Archmage," said Antonidas mildly, "We will support the army from the back and bring ruin to the Undead who plague us so."

And bring ruin they did.

There were no words to describe what she felt, standing side by side with her Master raining destruction on the Scourge from afar. She had never had the chance to do this before, Antonidas had bid her to flee Dalaran when Arthas had arrived. She had never stood with him in battle like this. It filled her with pride, but also sorrow and longing for what had been lost before.

"Jaina, our troops could use some lighting if you would," said Antonidas.

"Lighting?" she asked.

"The light ball spell Jaina," he said tiredly, "It was one of the first tricks I taught you. Focus on that please, I will maintain the offensive."

Ooooh, she hadn't used or thought of that since she had actually been an apprentice Archmage. Jaina aimed a hand into the air and released a pulse of energy, contracting and pulling it together to form a illuminating blue sphere, aiding the pale moonlight in revealing the dark battlefield with a blueish tint. She refocused and resumed her spellcraft, keeping a small trail of energy feeding the spell as she worked.

"Impressive multi-tasking," mused Antonidas as he rained balls of fire down on the Undead, "I wasn't aware of you could maintain spellwork and cast other spells yet. Something from your time in the cult?"

Jaina gave a strained smile and evaded directly answering. "I've learned many things since I was a young apprentice my Master."

Antonidas huffed a little. "You are still young child."

"Only in body," muttered Jaina under her breath.

Judging from the sad look Antonidas quickly gave her, not quiet enough.

The battle lasted another hour, the Lich coming back only twice more only to instantly be blown apart by Antonidas and Jaina's combined spellcraft, before the Undead started tapering off, and then abruptly stopped coming. A great cheer and roar erupted from the army at their victory. Jaina didn't let a sound escape her lips, this was just the first of many battles. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and found a nearby crate to sit on while the army and the leadership sorted itself out.

"Nice magic show lady," came Fearlina's voice.

Jain turned to see the woman, her clothes now tinted black with gunpowder, and red with a bit of blood. "Thanks."

"So, I never got a name for the Prince's mystery woman," Fearlina said slyly.

"Jaina Proudmoore," Jaina answered.

"Oh, of Kul Tiras right? I've heard of you," Fearlina answered.

Jaina nodded and closed her eyes, letting a tired sigh escape her lips. "Yeah, that's me."

"Here, free of charge."

Jaina opened her eyes and blinked at an offered mana potion, before offering a soft thanks and guzzling it down. "You make potions?"

"I am a botanist, herbalist, whatever the heck you people want to call me," said Fearlina cheekily, "Makes a nice profit."

Jaina tilted her head to study the would-be Grand Widow. Fearlina had a well paying job, most likely had friends and was respected, even Arthas liked the woman, and Jaina could get nothing ill, vile, or evil from the woman's presence. So why had she joined the cult of the damned originally?

"Fearlina," said Jaina slowly, "You saw those robbed men and necromancers, right?"

"Yeah? What about them?" asked Fearlina, resting her rifle on a crate and crossing her arms.

"Have any of them approached you about joining them?" asked Jaina, "Or have you had any thoughts of joining them?

"What? No!" said Fearlina in disbelief, affronted, "Where does that question even come from? I am not some undead loving freak!"

"Perhaps not, but you were targeted to become one," said Jaina, "Forget the robbed men then, I want you to think: Has anyone approached you before now, offering knowledge and power, eternal life, or employment?"

Fearlina frowned. "Well, I was offered a job earlier this week by an envoy of House Barov to tend to their gardens. I had packed up most of my shop, and was planning on leaving tomorrow to go and take the position..."

Jaina took in a breath and let it out. Guess that answered it. In the original way of things, Arthas would have went to Northrend, and in the downtime between his dark return, Fearlina would have taken the job and been drawn into the madness of the damned. "Then its a good thing you didn't get a chance to go then. House Barov is a front for the Cult of the Damned."

Fearlina lost a bit of color in her face. "Oh... but... why target me? I'm just a flower lady!"

"A botanist could be turned into an expert poison maker," said Jaina, "And, you also have a great deal of magical potential."

Fearlina blinked. "I do?"

Jaina grinned. "Here, let me show you."

She stood and reached over, grabbing Fearlina's hands and uncrossing the woman's arms while she watched with confusion and curiosity. Jaina closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the heat within the woman. Scourge or not, she had a wild-fire raging inside of her waiting to be unleashed, fire would be her specialty. She gently tapped into the woman's unacknowledged power, and drew it out.

Fearlina yelped as her hands lit aflame. "You set my hands on fire!"

"Mmm, not exactly, this is your power, not mine," teased Jaina, "And notice how it doesn't burn?"

Fearlina's brief fear faded. "Uh... yeah actually. That's kind of weird."

"I'm keeping it tamed for now, but your going to need to keep calm when I let go, it will only hurt you if you lose control, alright?" said Jaina.

"W-wait a second!" exclaimed Fearlina.

"Just keep calm," said Jaina, letting go and withdrawing her own focus.

The flame jumped a bit, cackling and slightly spreading along the woman's arms before she managed to force a calm on herself. The botanist gulped nervously, but examined her hands and the flames coating them. "Okay, I can sprout fire. Weird magic when you consider my profession."

Jaina grinned a little, recalling a conversation she had with Malfurion Stormrage a long time ago. "Fire and nature go hand in hand. Sometimes a forest fire needs to happen for new life to bloom."

Fearlina blinked a few times. "Huh."

There was a loud clearing of a throat followed by Antonidas's disproving voice, "Jaina. May I ask what you are doing?"

She glanced back, noticing the heavy frown on her master's face. "Showing her how to tap into her power?"

Antonidas raised an eyebrow. "Without approval? As an apprentice yourself?"

Jaina winced a little. "Erm..."

Antonidas sighed. "Jaina... whatever am I going to do with you?"

Jaina bowed her head like the scolded apprentice she looked to be.

The elder mage glanced at Fearlina. "If you would banish your magic and refrain from using it for the time being miss...?"

"Fearlina," she answered, "And uh... how?"

Antonidas blinked once and glanced at Jaina with even more disapproval. "Will it withdrawing into you. Imagine the fire dissipating, and it will."

Fearlina focused for a good thirty seconds or so before the fire faded away. "Huh, that's neat."

Antonidas waved a soldier over. "Now, if you would be so kind as to go with this man here, he will escort you to a room in the palace. There are... questions we need answered."

Fearlina made a face. "She already nagged me about the cult! I don't have anything to do with them!"

"And if that is true, then you will be released," said Antonidas calmly before actually glaring at Jaina, making her wilt a bit, "But questions asked without a truth spell active can be falsely answered."

Fearlina grumbled under her breath before taking her rifle and shoving it at the guard. "Make sure this gets back to me, was my father's. You break it, I break you."

The moment she was gone, Antonidas turned a scowl in Jaina's direction. "Child, what were you thinking? You are on thin ice with the Crown, the Silver Hand, and the Kirin Tor. You have much you need to prove, and this is not the way to do so."

Jaina fidgeted; Light, he made her feel like a young apprentice in trouble again. Which, she technically was. She wasn't a hero of Hyjal, one of the most powerful archmages in the world (yet), nor a (former) champion of the Alliance. Here and now, to them, she was a former cultist and an apprentice archmage, with little to no influence in her favor. This... was going to be a trying experience.

"I just... wanted to help," she murmured, "I didn't feel that she was lying, and she could be of great help if taught how to harness her power."

Antonidas sighed. "You will get the chance to prove yourself and help in the trials to come Jaina, have no doubt of that. But until you have properly earned our trust back, let us direct you. Take no chances that could be used against you."

"Yes Master," she said quietly.

"Now come, we have the aftermath of a battle to deal with, a hopefully quick questioning of young Fearlina, and then an offensive to begin," said Antonidas, "I do hope you got some sleep Jaina."

"Not even a wink."

"I thought not."

Review Responses:

Prince of Petersburg: The only peace Jaina would consider is one with Thrall as the warcheif, the moment a Hellscream gets anywhere near that role, all bets would be off. Of course, there is also the problem of her having no influence at the moment, so... her own thoughts on the matter as of the moment have little importance in regards to the Horde. And dealing with the Horde, whether peace or otherwise, is still a ways off.

Reality Deviant: Could you link the wiki-page (or comic or book) that details the Bronze Dragonflight's exploration of the timelines? I'm not doubting you, but I'd like to see it to perhaps draw ideas from. And, those alternate timelines, are they just different paths, or someone from the future influencing them? Because those are two very different things.

Vulkhanos/Frozen862/AzureTemplar3535: Thanks 3.

Kelmoria: Oh, but the timeline wasn't 'altered'. One timeline was destroyed so another could be born, that is so much worse. Jaina and the Bronzes will have their moment, but it is a long ways off.

Meilstoer: Never watched those. Tichondrius, Jaina, and Kel'Thuzad are the primary changers, however, others will also cause massive changes because of what differences those three caused in their lives. Case in point, Fearlina's going to be Alliance rather than Scourge.

Australian Dealer: Ohshit, this story is on a pvp server! I'm not going to spoil the outcomes of the Scourge Invasions yet. Wait and see.

MEleeSmasher: 'Better' how? Because for Jaina, the Undead Route is going to be a god awful, emotionally devastating experience for like 60-75% of the story.

Eragon95159: ...?