Given the rather… Enthusiastic method Harry used to deal with the Scourge forces attacking her city, Coira barely made it to the breach to help deal with the few remaining invaders that had made it into the remnants of the city she called home. Given the carnage her newest friend was causing outside, which had more than one of the Rangers on the wall staring in awe and not so subtle desire, Coira decided to handle the diplomatic introductions that would be needed for them to get any further into the city.
Whilst she had been an agent out in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms for most of the last five years, Coira was still familiar enough with the power structure within the city to recognise High Guardian Camsen Redwing, one of the Silvermoon Guardian leaders who handled the defence of the city. The scarred and grizzled veteran, whose name was associated with numerous tales of valour from the First and Second Orc wars, was directing other members of the Guardians as well as the Blood Elf 'militia' members with practiced ease that came with centuries of practice.
"Guardian Nightspark, take twenty men and secure the streets, make sure no ghouls or wretched got past us in the melee. Farstrider Brightblade, I need you and any other bows you can spare on the walls in case the undead come again before our mages have a chance to fix the wall. Then I need 30 of you to come with me to go investigate what in the name of the Sunwell just happened outside, the rest of you can stop hanging around and get back to your normal lives, whatever that magical energy was it isn't going to be a free damn buffet…"
Coira frowned even as she slipped between the volunteering Blood Elves with practiced ease. Whilst it was good to see Camsen controlling the situation, the look of hunger that she could see on many of the gathered Blood Elves faces was unnerving, obviously the situation here had gotten worse since she had last spent any amount of time in the city.
"High Guardian Redwing!" Announcing her presence Coira noticed more than one person eye her, and more importantly her pouches, with renewed interest that had the hairs on the back of her neck on end.
She had gathered quite the collection of trinkets from Harry, both because Nash'ala had explained the Blood Elves' need for magic every few days to sustain themselves, but also because it was nice to 'beg' him for presents. She found though that the trinkets he made contained enough magic, and absorbed enough from the environment over time, that if she didn't get greedy they could last two weeks or so before reverting to their original shape. This meant she had 20 or so trinkets on her right now, and judging from the looks she was getting, it was more 'free' magic than most Blood Elves saw in months.
"Farstrider Lightblade, I assume you are one of those that appeared on the walls in the middle of the attack? Regent Lor'themar had informed us that you might arrive soon, but your help with Gargoyles was most appreciated, even if your human friend disappeared in the middle of the fight." There was some grumbling at the mention of Harry's presence, but Coira ignored it as she noticed a particularly pallid Blood Elf Priest doing his best to heal one of the injured Blood Elves, despite the fact he looked like he might collapse any minute.
"We were High Guardian, and I will explain further in a moment, but to summarise that 'human' is the cause of the destruction of the attack force outside." With 6 strides Coira was next to the Priest, grabbing a trinket from her pouch and holding in front of his face as his healing powers stuttered and failed.
The man needed no encouragement, his eyes glowing as he devoured some of the magic from the trinket in a manner that might be attributed to a dying man, his colour improving visibly as Coira watched and his healing powers bursting back into life with renewed vigour. Removing the trinket before he gorged himself too greatly on the magic, Coira turned back to the crowd as they watched her in slight awe, a quick scan of the crowd allowing her to determine there were no others here that were in a similar state of mana withdrawal.
"I assume you vouch for the rest of your group Farstrider?" Camsen's question showed the man was in better control of his emotions than most the gathered Blood Elves, and Coira decided to make it clear quite how important Harry and the others were before the man appeared and risked causing a feeding frenzy amongst the gathered Blood Elves.
"They are here on invitation of Regent Lor'themar himself, part of a diplomatic mission from a new group being created in Kalimdor. As you can see." She gestured out through the breach in the wall, where the remnants of Harry's finishing attack were still visible jutting out of the Dead Scar.
"They have some powerful magic users amongst them." Camsen seemed to get the hint, especially when she tossed the trinket in her hand up into the air and caught it, his eyes hardening as he reassessed the situation.
"Everyone who is not a full Guardian or Farstrider return to the city, secure the streets and reassure the populace that the city is safe. Farstrider Brightblade, if you and your people could secure the wall and scout for another potential attack, my people will handle crowd control and clean-up here." It was about as close to declaring the situation classified that someone of Camsen's level could officially declare, word would spread quickly of course but hopefully the details would be kept vague for now.
It was the same reason that Coira had deliberately misled those gathered with her comments about the Terran group in Desolace, no need for the news of a new race's arrival to spread too quickly after all. That said, they would be talking to the wider Council later, and given the way Blood Elf politics worked that meant the news would get out soon enough.
As the crowd started to disperse, admittedly with some reluctance from some of the civilians, Nash'ala and the others reached the base of the stairs leading from the rampart. The Naga girl was obviously more than a little surprised at the warm greetings she received from many of the remaining Blood Elves. Kelanas and Storri were treated with significantly more caution, but it wasn't as bad as Coira had perhaps feared.
"Nash'ala, is Harry finished cleaning out the remaining undead? I didn't think the hearthstone would deposit us at the outer wall, but it was quite fortuitous that we arrived when we did." Their arrival had probably saved several dozen Blood Elf lives, and that wasn't even considering the number of survivors who would have magically exhausted themselves like the Priest she had saved.
Those that did would either perish given the lack of easily available magic in the city, or would turn and become one of the Wretched. Coira knew if faced with that choice, she would prefer the quicker more painful death, rather than descending into the eternal hunger her people battled against everyday.
"He was engaging one of the Scourge leaders when we finished the gargoyles, he seemed to have everything under control. Do you know why the Hearthstone dropped us here Coira? I thought we were going to be deposited near our rooms?" Nash'ala's innocent question turned Coira's mind back from the positives their unexpected arrival brought, she had been under the same impression and the chances of an 'accident' causing their Hearthstone to relocate them to the southern wall of the city were unlikely to say the least.
Whilst she knew the change in landing location was unlikely to be malicious in nature, given the chance for a potential alliance Regent Lor'themar wouldn't dare risk such an overt move, Coira could think of a dozen potential reasons for the move that would be considered underhanded to say the least. And judging by the look on Harry's face as he stalked through the breach a few minutes later, so could he.
Most of the Blood Elves didn't notice the Terran's bad mood though, many more were interested in the slab of Earth that was floating along behind him that was taller than a Tauren and at least as wide. Coira could see a Wretched's head and shoulders poking out of the top of the slab, and she was impressed that Harry had managed to capture one, given their ability to devour magic such a feat was impressive.
Setting the imprisoned Wretched down in front of him, Harry ignored several of the Blood Elves trying to greet him or ask him to identify himself, and Coira put an arm on Camsen's shoulder when he looked like he was about to try.
"I wouldn't High Guardian, if I am right Harry is about to do something to fix the breach, and will not let himself get distracted. Besides, I think our arrival on the South Wall is not by random chance, and judging by Harry's expression neither does he. It would be best if your men focussed on their other tasks and helped secure the Wretched he has captured, then I will escort him through the city to the Palace, he is not going to be in a very conversational mood." It took a moment, and Coira knew that any other High Guardian would have dismissed her request out of pride and stubbornness, but Camsen was one of the few senior Blood Elves that recognised what their pride had cost them over the last 50 years.
"Guardians, I will deal with the human and the rest of Farstrider Lightblade's party personally with you six Senior Guardians. Guardian Nightspark, you will assume command here when the human has finished repairing the breach, he is not to be interrupted." Harry was already working on that fact, though most of those still here wouldn't have noticed it, the bodies of the Scourge that had fallen inside the body of the breach were being shifted outside the walls as if dragged by invisible hands.
She suspected it was his earth magics being used, as Harry was currently drinking one of the vials of mage water that she had been able to procure him during her visit to the Horde's outpost in Desolace, his magic spiking to the point that it was visible around him in the form of a small vortex of dust and air. He then started chanting, in what Coira now recognised as one of the Terran languages associated with magic, and she turned on her mage sight to watch one of her favourite sights in the world.
It was something she had struggled to explain to Lady Bones, as the red-headed Terran questioned her rather thoroughly regarding her exact motives towards her husband, everything ranging from trying to form a political marriage tying the Terrans to the Blood Elves to her simply wanting to use Harry as her own personal magic battery. Given Harry's ability to tell when someone was lying to him, and not willing to risk testing whether such an ability was something other Terran's possessed as well, Coira had been as honest as she could regarding her views and hopes she had for Harry before she discovered he was already taken.
Watching Harry's magic seep out of his body and into the ground around him was a sight that Coira would happily give most of her worldly possessions up for, the intricate twisting and sweeping of the magic as it reshaped the Earth itself one of the most beautiful things Coira had ever seen. Lady Bones had been rather surprised at her initial answer, but had known enough to keep digging beyond that initial reason.
Watching as the pieces of began to lift themselves from the ground and reform like a jigsaw puzzle to replace the bottom half of the wall, Coira knew she was somewhat attracted to the man. It wasn't like she was head over heels, such a notion was the sort of thing confined to the literature of children and romanticists, but seeing a man throw around more magic in a single sitting than most Sin'dorei could manage in a week was definitely a turn on for her.
This attraction was heightened by Harry's attitude, if there was one thing that Coira hated about many of her own kind it was the sense of entitlement and arrogance that many of them carried with them even now. Harry could be sarcastic and aloof at times, but for the most part he was honest and humble about his powers in a way that bordered onto shyness, something that no doubt attracted the other women in Harry's life back on Terra to him.
The Blood Elves watching around her had already been impressed with his repair of the bottom half of the wall, but there were several loud gasps as the earth itself shifted like a wave, washing up to meld with and above the wall itself on both sides of the breach, and when it washed away two minutes what remained was a sight that made Coira smile to herself even as she stepped towards the now kneeling and gasping Terran wizard.
Harry had asked her about Silvermoon before they had arrived, and Coira had preferred to think of the city before the Scourge had attacked it when she had provided her initial description. She had obviously done a good job of painting a picture in Harry's mind, as where the breach had previously been stood a tower that was reminiscent of Quel'thalas in it's prime, the gleaming white stone a stark contrast to the cracked and weathered walls around it.
The tower stood almost 5 metres taller than the rest of the wall and was almost half a metre thicker on this side, something she had no doubt extended to the other side of the wall as well, complete with a bright blue roof at the top to defend from fliers or ranged attacks. It was almost like Harry had taken the image of one of the original Quel'thalas watchtowers directly from her mind and transposed it upon reality, the likeness enough that Coira felt her heart swell at the memories it evoked.
"Nash'ala, is Harry okay?" Her questioning of the Naga about the Terran's welfare probably gained a few raised eyebrows amongst the few Guardians who were not still transfixed by the new tower, but their unasked questions were answered a moment later as Harry started hissing to Nash'ala.
Whilst Najza was a language that Coira knew she would never be able to learn, she had heard Harry and Nash'ala converse enough in the language to get a jist of the tone of the words if not the content, and she could guess that Harry's earlier anger was still present in amounts she never really saw from the relatively cheerful young man. It made her think of the tower again in a different light, and to her surprise she was amused rather than upset at Harry's veiled slap in the face to the higher ups in the Blood Elf leadership, that in two minutes he had restored more of the original Quel'thalas than they had in the two years since they had retaken the Eastern part of the city.
"Harry will just need a few minutes to recover, the fact that several of your people drained some of his magic when it passed near them made it more difficult than he thought it would be." Coira was about to turn a severe look at the gathered Guardians when she realised that the normally diplomatic and genial Naga was already doing so, her arms crossed in a manner reminiscent of an angry parent in the middle of chastising their errant child.
"Guardian's Darksun, Autumnheart and Dayspear, head back to the training grounds, I will have words when I get there about what 'Royal Protection' implies. I didn't think I would have to spell out that this detail fell into that category, but obviously discipline is slacking now that we have returned to our own walls." To his credit High Guardian Camsen didn't even pause before reprimanding the three Guardians he had obviously seen steal some of Harry's magic, Coira had to admit to herself that she had been too distracted watching Harry work to notice it herself, something she would have to be more disciplined about in future.
It had been one of the things Susan had 'firmly requested' as a condition for Coira to be allowed to remain close to Harry so easily, and considering several of the other things she had demanded before introducing Coira to Harry's other companions still made Coira blush when she thought about them, Coira had no issue with something she had a vested interest in.
'Short of Harry going nuts and going around killing your kind without provocation, you are to protect him from EVERY threat to his wellbeing. That means if you think your Regent is playing political games, you tell Harry. If one of your kind tries to take some of Harry's magic without permission, you put them down hard. And if one of those hussies tries to seduce him, I want her to wince every time she even looks at a Terran in future!'
Lady Bones' anger when they had reached the privacy of her quarters had been such that Coira now thanked every god she knew that Harry had intervened at the start, even if she had thought he was throwing her under the Kodo at the time. Given the viciousness Lady Bones' had shown in her protectiveness towards 'their man', Coira wasn't entirely sure she would have come away from a full blown rage with all four limbs healthy and intact.
Coira wasn't quite sold on betraying her ruler's manipulations to Harry, that kind of betrayal could very quickly lead to her being relegated from Silvermoon's walls permanently, but that didn't mean she couldn't help him reach the right conclusions through a few implications and half truths…
!"£$%^&*()_+
It took them an hour to reach the area Coira referred to as the Court of the Sun, it would have taken them much less time but Harry had deliberately been stopping and handing out trinkets to those he could see were the most affected by the lack of healthy ambient magic in the area. Indeed, any magic he let out from underneath the Cloak of Invisibility was quickly snatched up by passing Blood Elves, despite the efforts of the guards he had with him and Coira's glares.
Not only did such charity rapidly change the attitudes of the Blood Elves around him, to the point that there was a very large crowd of Blood Elves who had brought their children to wait for him at the entrance to the Court in the hopes that he would take pity on them, but it also had the added effect of making Regent Lor'themar and whoever else he had gathered to meet him wait.
Whilst Nash'ala said that Coira hadn't known why their Hearthstone had deposited them where it had, and Harry believed her even without the bonus of his powers, she had said it in a way that reinforced his thoughts that it had been done on purpose. As he transfigured the gathered stones and twigs into trinkets for the 40 or so gathered children, something that had them all smiling and shouting with glee in a manner that showed how much such a little gift meant to them, Harry could feel the gazes of the Blood Elf Council on the Dais behind him.
Lor'themar had obviously warned them of his powers to a certain extent, as many of them were doing their best to control their emotions, though given the barely contained annoyance that more than one of them was wrestling with it was obviously not something that came easily to them.
The sound of Lor'themar's voice from behind him made Harry grin slightly to himself, though it was gone a moment later as he put his 'game face' on and turned to face the assembled Council, pulling off a respectful bow as he waited for Lor'themar to stop talking and Nash'ala to translate. There were seven of them, not including the Regent, and Harry found himself slightly surprised there was only a single woman amongst the gathered leaders. He had assumed that the Blood Elves would have been similar to the Night Elves in terms of male/female ratio, though perhaps this was because the Blood Elves didn't have quite the gender specific Councils that the Night Elves seemed to favour.
"Regent Lor'themar welcomes you to Silvermoon City Lord Potter and thanks you for your assistance. Your timely intervention with the Scourge attack saved several dozen Blood Elf lives, and given the rather… impressive way in which you dealt with the breach in our walls, the risk of further attacks has been greatly diminished for some time." Given that the new tower was still visible in the horizon Harry knew there was no way Lor'themar could ignore it, and given the bursts of anger from several of the Council during Lor'themar's introduction the tower had obviously had the effect Harry intended.
They hid it well though, and judging from the generally positive emotions from behind him Harry decided to keep the meeting going with only the minimal amount of needling to express his annoyance at what he now knew was a play by Lor'themar to appeal to Harry's noble side. The sight of the Dead Scar, as well as the wasteland outside the walls that Harry knew from Coira's stories was once the Terran definition of Eden, was only compounded as he had walked through the streets.
Magic wasn't the only thing that the Blood Elves were lacking, food and clean water had to be supplied by ship from the looks of it and that couldn't be cheap, and that was ignoring the fact that every house seemed to contain two or three families as a minimum. The buildings themselves were the equivalent of slum houses, many repaired and patched to the point that less than 50% of the original structure remained.
The feel at the Court of the Sun was very different, many of the buildings restored to something approaching their original glory and even some trees and vegetation doing their best to grow around the periphery. Harry got the feeling that the Blood Elf leaders were doing their best to hide their troubles from any visitors/ambassadors they had from outside the walls, whether out of pride or to prevent another party from trying to take advantage of their desperate situation.
"Let the Regent know that I am glad that I could assist him against such an attack, between that and the walk through the city I hope he understands why we were a little later than we had originally agreed, it must have been a misunderstanding regarding where the hearthstone would deliver us to." He and Nash'ala had talked about the situation on the way over, the young Naga showing a surprising head for politics as she quickly caught onto what Harry was implying and had to try quite hard not to get visibly angry about it.
Given his own words back at Terra's Point, Harry trusted that whilst Nash'ala's words would be slightly different from his own they would still have the intended effect, making it clear to Lor'themar that he knew the hearthstone location had been changed deliberately without obviously saying so. Judging by the approving smirk that flashed over Lor'themar's face as Nash'ala spoke, Harry got the feeling that he had been right, but also that Lor'themar had been testing him about it.
Lor'themar started speaking again before indicating behind him and further into the Court of the Sun, obviously an indication that now the public greeting had been undertaken it was time for them to retire to less public grounds, probably because Lor'themar was concerned that Harry would have some far less polite words to say about being tested in such a manner.
"The Regent invites us to retire to Sunfury Tower for refreshments and proper introductions to the other members of the Council, he has then offered to personally show us to the Ambassador's residence where we can retire for the evening." The offer to personally show them to their sleeping quarters was a surprise, but Harry could work out the particular motives behind that move later, for now he had his own little cards to play.
"Tell the Regent that we would be delighted. Then when we get there, you know what to do." Nash'ala nodded with a small smile, as this particular ploy had been something she had suggested in their walk up here, and it was a rather good one at that in Harry's opinion.
Harry took his cue when Nash'ala began moving up the steps, doing his best to ignore the cries from the crowd behind him. No doubt his gifted trinkets were already being divided between the children's families to maximise the 'fuel' that could be consumed, but it was like a drop in the ocean of what these people seemed to need.
Still, as long as he didn't do anything too aggressive in the coming meeting the positive attention from the crowd would act in his favour, certainly the Council would be asked a lot of questions if he left the city in frustration and didn't return because of something they had said or agreed. Compared to the hike through the city itself, the journey through the Court of the Sun was a short and pleasant walk, but that didn't help Harry's mood all that much.
The Court was where the more influential or wealthy Blood Elves resided from what he could see, and compared to the rest of Silvermoon's populace, the well fed and almost opulently dressed Elves around him made him sick to the stomach. To Lor'themar's credit it was clear that he disliked the clear divide between the two parts of his city as well. Or at least it was obvious to Harry, given the Regent's face was a well crafted mask of civility as he lead the Council through the small groups and their assistants, who clearly enjoyed far more personal space than their less lucky brethren as well.
Coira was speaking animatedly to Nash'ala and pointing out various people or places, Harry would get the pair of them to brief him further when they were in more hospitable territory. It wasn't that the Elves were being hostile to their presence as such, but given the number of guards around them and the fact that more than one wealthy Blood Elf had to be shoved away at shield point from approaching him, it wasn't a location that Harry would be comfortable sending another Terran to for some time.
Thankfully as they approached the tower that he assumed was the previously mentioned 'SunFury', they passed through what seemed to be an improvised checkpoint, and beyond that Harry started to see more of the different races that inhabited Azeroth, and the Blood Elves here seemed far more focussed on their work.
There still weren't many Alliance members, in fact Harry had yet to see a single human, but there were some Dwarves and Gnomes that Harry assumed were tradesmen or similar. Despite the uneasiness between the two sides none of the different groups were hostile to each other, and Harry was quite amused by the sight of a Tauren in massive plate armour talking with a Gnome in robes and armed with a staff that wasn't that much longer than Harry's wand.
The amusement faded as they entered the tower, the main rooms that they passed through surprisingly lightly furnished until they reached a large room with a semi-circular table and chairs that looked large, imposing and most of all uncomfortable. The Blood Elf Council moved round to take the seats on the circular side of the table, leaving Harry and the Nash'ala with a single much smaller chair facing them, the other three having been 'politely' informed they were to wait outside.
Nash'ala spoke up at this point to those gathered, Harry activating the translation rune as he knew what she was asking.
"Apologies my lords, but I must briefly excuse myself to deal with a personal issue, please could one of your…" One of the Guardians, that Harry recognised from the fight at the breach, was already moving to escort her to wherever the nearest lavatory was located.
They hadn't tested it fully, but Harry was fairly certain that the range of the rune was much larger than Hermione had originally told him, as they had reached almost 100 yards apart from each other before without issue. So as long as the facilities weren't outside the tower, the Council was now left alone with someone that as far as they were concerned, couldn't understand a word they said.
"He knew the hearthstone taking him to the South wall was done on purpose, I told you we shouldn't have done it. With his powers he defeated Scourge assault almost single handed, and you wish to test his patience with these games?" Nash'ala was barely out of the door when the only woman in the group spoke up, her tone and voice level as if she was merely asking the man to her left about the weather instead of the scathing questions she actually unleashed.
Harry merely looked up at them with his best confused expression, but even as the dark haired man in gleaming plate armour the woman talked to responded in a slightly haughty tone, Harry was already determining exactly who was on which side in this new political game.
"So the human brat knows some tricks, if he hadn't seen through such an obvious ploy then he wouldn't have been worth our time, bad enough that he made us wait for him whilst he was wasting time with his trinkets through the City." The clack of a staff on the stone floor of the meeting room brought the attention of everyone in it to the oldest member of the Council, or at least Harry thought he was by the silver hair, beard and thick monocle the male Elf wore over his one good eye.
The old Elf was controlling his expression and tone far better than the plate clad Elf, but his anger burned with far more vigour beneath the surface, making it seem like he had merely dropped his staff accidentally even as he spoke in a raspy tone.
"I am told that those 'trinkets' are responsible for saving the life of one of my Priests, as well as at least a dozen others who were on the cusp of Falling, so if you will not watch your tone Champion Vranesh I will watch it for you. I may have had my doubts about him when Farstrider Lightblade first brought him to our attention, but any human who helps defend our people and saves some of our most vulnerable when we could not has my support, no matter where he comes from."
So he had swayed at least one of them to his side with his actions, and given the emotions the rest of the Council were displaying despite their best efforts, this Champion Vranesh was now definitely in the minority.
"What are your views on this Lord Regent? And I am surprised you are so silent on the matter Champion Balic, given your concerns about the man's powers and affiliations with the Night Elves I would think you would have said your piece already." This came from one of the Council that hadn't spoken so far, a fairly tall dark haired Blood Elf male dressed in mage robes of deep scarlet including a cowl that covered the lower part of his face.
Lor'themar merely waved of the attempt to include him in the conversation, though given the amusement emanating from the man's core it was quite probable that Lor'themar was enjoying the chance to not join the rather unsubtle politicking currently being hammered out in front of him. The other Elf the Mage addressed merely snorted dismissively, resting one of his hands on the large two handed hammer he had placed by his side before sitting down and gesturing to the rest of the Council.
"Unlike the rest of you Grand Magister, Ranger General Halduron, Quartermaster Allerion and I remembered what the Lord Regent told us about our newest guest's ability to sense emotions. I have no doubt that he can tell that you are all arguing with each other, even if he has no idea what about, and such a show of disunity and weakness is the last thing we wish to bring to the negotiating table." That brought the bickering to a stop very quickly, and with a slight feeling of disappointment Harry deactivated the rune, the agreed signal that Nash'ala could return whenever she was ready.
Harry kept a weather eye on the Mage as they waited though, whilst all of the Blood Elves he had met so far had small levels of Fel and Death magics inside their magic systems, this mage had almost 50 times the amount he had felt from anyone else. Even if the Blood Elf's magic reserves were the highest in the room by a considerable margin, that didn't explain the significantly higher levels. Harry wouldn't bring it up as part of the meeting, as he wasn't sure how much of a touchy subject it might be, but it was added to the ever increasing list of things he needed answers from Lor'themar later on.
It was a couple more minutes before Nash'ala returned, the Naga making her apologies before slithering up next to him, prepared to take her place beside his appointed chair. Harry decided to flex his ambassadorial muscles a little though, conjuring a large bean bag cushion for her to coil herself down onto instead, the bean bag cushion definitely one of Nash'ala's favourite things. Seeing several of the Council's questioning looks, Harry spoke to Nash'ala, in order to distract her from her newest comfort toy.
"Could you please explain to the Council that it is not Terran custom to have others stand whilst we sit, especially if that person is a highly valued friend and advisor." To her credit Nash'ala merely gave him a look before turning her attention from her seat to the Council, though Harry caught her head fin twitch slightly, which was enough of a reaction for him to chuckle to himself. Flicking a cushioning charm at his own seat, Harry sat down as Nash'ala finished speaking, already feeling more comfortable than many of the Blood Elf Council members looked.
Harry could see at least half of the Council approved of his actions, though Vranesh and the Grand Magister were seemingly more interested in his magic than in his motives. Lor'themar started speaking in his usual confident but controlled manner, gesturing to each of the Council members in turn starting from Harry's left and working his way round in order.
"Regent Lor'themar is introducing the various members of the Council. We have Keiana Raylance, who is the people's representative to the Council and is relatively new to her position, only having held the role for a year so far. Next to her is Champion Vranesh, leader of the Silvermoon City Guardians, that is the City Guard from what I can tell. Then you have Ranger General Halduron, leader of the Farstriders and generally in charge of all military operations outside of defending Silvermoon's walls." The Ranger General was one of the only two that hadn't spoken so far, and was the one Harry was getting the most difficulty getting a good read on, the Elf not even so much as shifting as Harry's gaze rested on him for several long moments.
"On Lor'themar's other side, the nearest to him is Grand Magister Rommath, who has only recently returned from Prince Kael'thas' forces in Outland and has been helping with the restoration and reclamation of the Eastern side of the city. I have heard his name mentioned several times in the city as we travelled through the city Harry, it seems that he has brought several crystals of power that he is using to restore some of the worst areas of the city in a manner similar to what you did with the tower."
That news made Harry even more interested in the still smirking mage, erecting that one tower after his destruction of the Scourge attack had drained him to the point that he would have been suffering from mild magic exhaustion if he had still been on Earth. To restore large areas of buildings in a short period of time would require him to remove the Cloak, or use a large amount of stored magic from some of the scrolls or runestones he had in some of his pouches.
"Next to the Grand Magister is Champion Balic Swiftfoot, head of the remaining Blood Elf Paladins, and next to him is High Priest Frennic Wavestrider. Lastly you have Alchemist Thaeron and Quartermaster Allerion, who are here representing the Merchant's Council and the various trainers in the city." With the Council introduced, Harry nodded at Nash'ala's questioning glance, leaving her to handle their introduction.
Then, with the last of the niceties out of the way, it would be time for the real fireworks to go off…
!"£$%^&*()_+
Regent Lor'themar wasn't one for outward displays of actual amusement, it would be unbecoming of a Elf of his station after all, but as Nash'ala reacted to Lord Potter's nod to begin his own introduction he was resisting the urge to relax his practiced smirk into a true smile.
Lord Potter had been in his city for less than an afternoon, and already his advisors were in disarray with how to approach this new and unconventional faction leader. Lord Potter had already earned some positive points with the general populace as well, especially if Coira's report on how much magic each of those trinkets the Terran had created contained and how little such a feat seemed to tax him.
Even with the crystals that Grand Magister Rommath had brought back with him from Outland the Circle of Magi were struggling to maintain the flow of mana crystals needed to sustain the populace and their thirst for magic, so the extra influx of even the 50 or so trinkets Lord Potter had summoned would reduce the strain on that particular resource for the next day or so.
"I stand here as the translator for Lord Harry James Potter, the first of his name and leader of the Terran people, heralding from planet Earth that is currently being devoured by the Burning Legion's forces. His people will be migrating here over the coming months, and given the opportunity meeting the Honourable Lord Regent provided my Lord has accepted the offer to visit Silvermoon City as the first official Terran ambassador."
Lor'themar gave the slightest of inclinations with his head as Nash'ala finished speaking, both Terran and Naga had improved dramatically in the short amount of time since he had last seen them, though for the most part all Nash'ala had really needed was some more confidence.
"And what does this Lord expect from us? That would be the purpose of his visit, to come begging for assistance from the Sin'dorei in return for a few trinkets and a fancy tower?" Lor'themar managed to resist wincing in embarrassment as Champion Vranesh's arrogance came to the forefront, the man still acted like they were living in the glory days of Quel'thalas and that non-elves weren't worth his time.
Thankfully the snort of amusement from Lord Potter as Nash'ala finished translating the Champion's questions, backed up with the rather dismissive wave of Lord Potter's hand as he hissed his reply, was a far better put down than any admonishment he would have given in such a public setting.
"Lord Potter says that he wouldn't wish to impose such a burden on your people given your already difficult position here, and given the Terran forces already have a sizeable stronghold on Kalimdor support in that regard is not something he is interested in either." The implication, that the Blood Elves had no land to spare for their own people let alone refugees, was the cherry atop that polite but firm metaphorical pie to the face.
Champion Vranesh's teeth were set in a snarl at the rather humiliating retort, and from what Lor'themar could see around the table he was unlikely to receive any sort of sympathy, despite the fact that Lord Potter's comments cut quite deeply to all of them. It was their own fault of course, several of the Council had argued for the plan to relocate the Hearthstone drop point in order to appeal to Lord Potter's seemingly generous nature, and in doing so they had revealed the depth of trouble the Sin'dorei were in to a man they had then greatly underestimated.
"And before we descend into unsightly name-calling and other insults, which will harm relations between our races before they've officially been announced, perhaps it would be best if we talked about what I know Lord Potter is actually here for." Whilst he could have let the show continue further, Lor'themar felt that the point had had intended for both sides had been made.
His Council had needed a reminder that they were not big fish in the Azerothian pond, especially if a race of refugees from another world considered themselves in a better position logistically than they were, and if it tested Lord Potter's response to an unexpected manipulation then all the better. Lady Sylvanas was expected in the city before the end of the Lunar cycle on behalf of the Horde, to assess the strength of the Blood Elf forces and the support they would be able to offer the Horde if the Blood Elves were to formally ask to join, and the Banshee Queen would be a far harsher judge of her former home.
"Lord Potter, for assisted access to our remaining archives and libraries to assist you in finding as much information as we possess on the creation and maintenance of interplanetary Portals and gates for you and whichever researchers you wish to transport over, what can you offer the Sin'dorei people in return?" Normally Lor'themar would be ashamed of having asked something so blatantly, but he knew that Lord Potter would appreciate a frank discussion over half truths and politicking.
And if Lord Potter could improve their situation by the time Lady Windrunner returned to her home, even if it was only slightly, then Lor'themar would assist him in bringing over his people himself.
"I am… Happy? Yes, happy that we are no longer… Nash'ala, help?" When Lord Potter spoke in Common, Lor'themar was far less surprised than the other members of the Council, it had been something he 'forgot' to mention to them when he informed them of Lord Potter's arrival.
What he was more surprised with was the way Lord Potter spoke, when speaking to the Horde leaders in Orgrimmar, his Common was so fluid and comprehensive that it was like he had lived on Azeroth all his life. Now it was faltering and unsure, almost as if…
A glance to see Nash'ala's shell shocked face was all the confirmation Lor'themar needed. Lord Potter could now speak and understand at least some Common without the need for a translator, and his advisors had just had an argument where they admitted the hearthstone disaster in front of him.
Perhaps even he had underestimated Lord Potter in this circumstance, how very interesting…
[]{}#%^*+=
After his initial revelation that he could speak Common by himself now, which despite how badly he did was worth it to see the twitch in Regent Lor'themar's eyebrow as the man figured out that it was natural speech, Harry reverted back to letting Nash'ala do the speaking for him. Despite being able to hold a basic conversation, advanced negotiating was definitely beyond his grasp for now.
They talked back and forth for a couple of hours, the members of the Council looking more and more uncomfortable in their chairs as Harry and Nash'ala enjoyed their relative comfort in comparison, the High Priest the only one not too proud to ask for a similar charm to be cast on his chair. Nothing concrete was agreed for what Harry and the other Terrans could do to gain prolonged access to the archives, but that was mostly on purpose so that Harry could under promise and over deliver.
As the meeting came to a close it was agreed that, if Harry could do something to significantly lessen the impact of Scourge attacks on the City, the Blood Elves would support the arrival of the other Terrans on Azeroth in the same way he had agreed with Jaina and the City of Theramore. Admittedly the two groups were not what you would call major players compared to the Orcs and the Night Elves, but it was a start.
Though the Council were polite and courteous as they departed the meeting, which Lor'thermar ended at sunset to allow Harry and the others a chance to rest after their travel and battle on Silvermoon's wall, he could tell which of them were actually happy to talk to him further.
High Priest Wavestrider was the most obvious ally that he had gained from the military side of the Council, the man offering the services of three of his priests to help Harry with searching the archives in return for twenty transfigured trinkets a day and the chance to speak to him about further requests in the future, a generous offer by all accounts.
Champion Balic and Ranger General Halduron were less enthusiastic in their approval, but had offered to speak with him further about strategic targets outside the city if he decided to aid them militarily, which was as close to positive support as Harry needed right now.
Grand Magister Rommath was impossible for Harry to get a read on, and given the level of Fel Magic in the man's body Harry wasn't entirely sure he wanted him on his side in all honesty. Still, better not to make an enemy of the man for the sake of clarity, at least this way Harry could keep an eye on him.
"You made quite the impression today Lord Potter, even I was impressed with the speed that you have picked up Common, though I think some of the Council were upset to find you weren't quite as clueless as you portrayed yourself to be whilst Lady Nash'ala was busy." The amusement in Lor'themar's voice made it clear he wasn't bothered by the deception, the Blood Elf leader having relaxed considerably since escorting the four of them to a large building on the edge of the Court of the Sun that served as the Ambassador's residence.
"I am a little surprised they spoke so openly, given you knew I could use Nash'ala to understand Common, or was this a test for both sides and you forgot to tell them?" Lor'themar merely smiled in a civil manner at Harry's accusation/question, something that reminded Harry rather eerily of Blaise once more.
"Many of the Council have only been appointed since the fall of Quel'thalas during the Rise of the Scourge, and so have only dealt with internal conflicts between Blood Elves until now. I may have felt that dealing with a leader such as yourself would act as a learning experience for them, before they are forced to deal with less forgiving opponents in the coming days." So he had been used as a Guinea pig, at least Lor'themar was being open about it rather than trying to hide it.
"So now that you have given your Council the belief they have some choice over the type and size of agreement we will reach, what are you actually looking for me to help with here? I have some ideas, but there is no point in me doing something if there are far more critical concerns." Lor'themar looked slightly upset at Harry's bluntness, which given how much the man liked playing word games was unsurprising, before he produced a letter from his robe and offered it to Nash'ala, who had so far been sat quietly drinking some fruit juice that had been provided at what Harry imagined was some considerable expense.
The strain the translation bond put on the pair of them was lessening as Harry started to understand more and more Common, meaning that he could have a conversation like this for a couple of hours now without needing to take a break due to the strain, allowing Nash'ala a break after dealing with the Council.
"I haven't informed the Council of this yet, but Lady Windrunner is planning on visiting the city in the coming weeks, both as an official envoy of the Horde to assess our military and economic strength, but also to potentially determine the cost of support for the Forsaken to assist our forces in retaking some of our former lands. As you have seen with your own eyes, our position is… Not favourable to either of those points at this time, we can barely hold half of Silvermoon City given the strength of the Scourge to the South and our economic strength wanes by the day as we struggle to sustain both our warriors and the civilians. We have set up some farms on Sunstrider isle, but they are not sufficient for even half of our needs, and we cannot cut down what remains of the forests there if we wish to replant them once we reclaim some territory. And whilst Lady Windrunner is a former citizen of Quel'thalas, she will not allow such emotional attachments to prevent her from obtaining the best possible deal for her."
Trusting Nash'ala to speak up if there was anything in the letter that she felt needed to be discussed, Harry sat back in his seat for a few moments, considering his approach here was important to say the least. Whilst Lor'themar being honest with him was appreciated, what he was asking for was a lot of work and the Blood Elves were not in a position to give much of a direct reward.
"So you would rather be beholden to myself and the other Terrans than to Sylvanas and the rest of the Horde? That is a dangerous line to tread Lord Regent, and one that relies on me not wanting to do the same." He wouldn't of course, good will was more important than any short term gain right now, but Lor'themar wasn't going to find him so easy to deal with.
"Depending on what assistance you can offer us Lord Potter, I would much prefer that version to whatever Lady Windrunner would ask of us, but above my concerns related to the Horde are the concerns I have for my people. So if you could come up with some way to assist us in a way that saves Blood Elf lives, I would take it as a personal favour on top of whatever is agreed between us." That was quite the offer, especially as the favour was a powerful bargaining tool by itself.
"I have some things in mind that may help, but first I have a question? Why have you not retaken the Western part of the City? Given the difficulties that many of your populace seem to be having with living space I would have thought that such a target would have been a priority." Lor'themar shook his head a little mournfully at this point, before steeling himself and replying.
"Based on the stories that spread of your exploits in dealing with the Scourge attack, I assume you have seen the Dead Scar that splits our city in twain?" Recalling the corruption and deathly feel of the earth inside that trench, Harry nodded his head.
"The Dead Scar is corrupted to the point that everything he have tried to purify it has had little effect, any barrier or wall that our mages summon crumbles within hours and the Scourge attacks are too vicious and regular for our craftsmen to try building a barrier more traditionally. And with it dividing our city, all the Scourge would need to do is fill the Scar with their forces and suddenly our forces are divided and isolated from each other."
So the Dead Scar and its corruption were the main problem, though the Scourge forces would need to be put on the defensive first before Harry could carry out what he had in mind.
"Well then Lord Regent, do you happen to know where I can find some Necromancers?" The fact that attacking the Scourge forces would also help him gather some ritual components that the Blood Elves wouldn't have on hand?
That was just a bonus…
A/N: Well, people were complaining that I had taken over a year to update this story and what can I say, I am a crowd pleaser. :P
A lot of this chapter, and the previous one as well to be honest, have built off a rather heavy discussion with Byakugan 789. So a lot of the kudos for this work is theirs as well, even if they had no idea of the madness I generated off their input. :)
The plight of the Blood Elves in Silvermoon City is something I really wanted to emphasise in this chapter, not because I want Harry to be the 'Hero' who sweeps into save them, but because I think the situation following the events of Warcraft 3 the situation faced by many of the races on Azeroth is for the most part dramatically underplayed.
In part, this is because it is something that does not translate into a MMORPG like WoW very well, as it would involve a lot of boring quests like border patrols, fetching hidden stashes of resources and guard duty. Still, it also acts as a very valid reason why they take so quickly into following in Prince Kael'thas' footsteps and allowing themselves to become somewhat corrupted by the fel energies of the crystals that Grand Magister Rommath returns with.
We also had a little Coira PoV following on from Kelanas and Nash'ala in the previous chapter, someone who has a far more mature outlook on her 'attraction' to Harry in comparison to Nash'ala and Stormfire's innocent crush. It also expands somewhat on what she and Susan discussed, but of course there is more there that has only been implied. :)
As usual let me know what you think guys, I hate to say it but I am going to take a break from this one now to concentrate on my other stories, which also haven't been updated in awhile. But I don't plan on leaving this one again for another year, don't fret yourselves just yet…
Defias Out!