Damon stared at the priests standing demandingly before him with a stern eye. Just last night he had given a speech to the people and sent Sir Randall, brave and loyal man that he is, through a portal to an unknown destination. The man had sworn, live or die, to deliver his message to Lordaeron should the portal not reach it. Now the priests stood before him looked to assert their position and take over the guard duties for the centaur young, which had the loyal men following Sir Randall practically up in arms.

Corven Greybraid, experienced commander that he was, had already forseen the need to station his son and the tauren nearby in worry of problems. Three arguments had already been diverted by fear of a raging dwarf and a mountain or two of muscle, which was worrying. The priest Damon had ordered arrested had been a hardline radical and recieved a summary execution once the man besmirched their fallen King and lost Prince. Luckily it seemed that even the priests were aghast at the man and his actions, but it still drove Damon to quick anger which only helped reinforce his position among the more nationalistic of his refugees and kept the place in line.

The stories of Damon and his rage towards the orcs during the war carefully kept the various demanding factions in line more than any effort he gave them, so he had let a few warriors know some tales to help spread. He was mostly impressed that thin and squeaky priests had the gall to actually demand construction of a holy place, but he really shouldn't be. He had invoked the name of the Light, and these priests would of course leap at the chance to get ahead.

"You really think this is the time for your demands, Fathers?" Damon recieved several stern gazes in return but most were so weak he didn't notice them. "And how do you expect me to accomplish this?"

"It doesn't matter how Sir Ashfall," the squeakiest of the priests spoke, noticeably larger than most of his fellows. "The Church of the Holy Light needs a voice in these times, why even now the people call for a holy place at Ashfall Landing an-"

"What landing?" Damon quickly asked, cutting off the priest.

"The others have been calling it that Sir," Jonathan spoke up, rigid and straightbacked at his knights side at the presence of the priests. "I heard several of the men at the fires remark about it, and Commander Greybraid didn't seem to dispute it."

"Our refugees have been so reassured of your leadership that they seemed to have named our settlement after you. Any true settlement needs a place of worship, which you will give us because the people want it." The smugness at catching Damon out iritated him as the man continued on. "I believe Ashfall Landing is apt as any name, don't you Sir Commander? Especially now as your family..."

"Watch your tongue," Damon growled as the priest trailed off knowingly. "You seem to forget that you are also a refugee in a camp filled with Stormwind military, and as such this outpost is firmly under the authority vested unto me by the King of Stormwind."

"What my fellow priest was saying Commander, is that some voices are rather louder than most." Another priest stepped forward and looked to have served the military himself at one point. "Unfortunately they may also not be the wisest, as this has shown," he remarked as he glared at his fellow. "We simply fear all this fighting in these dark times will call for help from the priesthood, and we seek to have a home for ourselves. It would make it far easier for the people to find us in times of need so that we may aid them, as the tents limit space and cleanliness in even the finest."

"I'm grateful to have a number of your bravest and finest among us," Damon replied with a nod. Most of the priests Damon currently had with him were the more sensible and brave folk that had stayed to lead and tend to the civilians as long as they could. Damon had kept open lines to them during the evacuation and had been forced to pull them out himself with the last of the civilians. "I remember several brave men from your priesthood had stayed until the end, so maybe you and one of your brothers should remain to speak with me. I have to keep things running, after all, and too many voices all at once just lends to foolishness."

The muscled middle aged priest smiled slightly and gave a nod before quietly speaking with his fellows in a corner of the tent. Shortly after several left, the largest much more quietly than he had entered. Damon took the chance to pull several maps to the table before his eye caught on something interesting. The mountain northwest of the centaur camp they had destroyed had finally been added in by the scribes, and Damon wanted an outpost on his. Something to plan for.

"Ok," Damon started once the priest and a priestess remained, "I have here the basic plans, barring security concerns, for our settlement. Disregarding the small chapel in the planned keep, which your fellow priests have already deemed inadequate, where should I build?"

That was a rather difficult question for the priests, as Damon had sat for hours with Corven Greybraid and worked the plans over. They had even bounced ideas off of Jonathan and Seamus for different viewpoints. Not one yard of space was unaccounted for in the design, even for horses and a small memorial to honor Stormwind. Even now the stonemasons were carving a hulking monolith over 20 feet tall after having it dragged into place by golems.

"May we have a moment to discuss things?" Damon gave the man a nod. "Thank you."

Eyes on the frontier map on his desk he waited patiently as the priests overlooked things. How would he best go about getting an outpost on that mountain. He'd need dwarves, for sure. He'd need their stonemasons, miners, engineers, and shaman. Especially for healing the land and keeping up communication portals, if they needed one. Need some mages and hunters for faster communcation. Not good, as they weren't regular forces. Specialists were always more annoying to work with, even if they did jobs that the rank and file couldn't. But who could command it?

Damon couldn't go, the place would fall apart with him to beat them into line, despite Greybraid and his efforts. Greybraid wouldn't do it, except as a very big favor, since the dwarf was keeping a heavy portion of the trouble off Damon as it was with how efficient he was. Seamus couldn't do it, as while he could command a fight the paperwork would drive him insane. Sir Randall was off through the portal, even though he would've been ideal.

"What do you think?" Damon pointed to the mountain for his squire to look at. "How would we get proper fortifications here?"

"Is that a trick?" Jonathan asked quietly, glancing up at the distracted priests working over the plans. "It seems easy."

"Oh? Do tell," Damon encouraged with a grin. "How will I get this?"

"Make the priests do it."

Damon froze before running through several scenarios. Yes, that could work. Boot the priests out, give them an objective, and force them to research for him. The common folk would focus on the cause of whatever the priests spewed, unless it really went against their desires. A victory monument over the defeat of the centaur tribe and a proper garrison would allow for the priests and any pilgrim seeking them out to be safe, while getting rid of some of the most obnoxious from whatever name they want to call this settlement.

"Justice Peak," Damon muttered, catching the attention of the warrior priest.

"Sorry Commander, what was that?" The priest gave off a quiet confidence that helped Damon reassure himself.

"Justice Peak," Damon told him, "is the name of the mountain overlooking the... was it Gelkis? Clan of Centaur. We defeated this clan and I wish to fortify the mountaintop and surrounding area, to secure it for our people and spread proper nature back into place." Damon resolutely refused to look at the slight shine of the acorn showing, swiftly closing the half open drawer containing it without glancing from the man. "My squire has just given me an idea."

"And just what is that, milord?" The slightly older priestess gave off an image of 'mother' to calm her followers no doubt.

"The Church wants a proper cathedral, I want a garrison and victory monument. No doubt Justice Peak appeals to you?" Damon swiftly looked through several documents before handing over a more detailed map of the area. "See how it overlooks the valley and the mountain pass? Our elvish neighbors are more than likely south of us, so this would be firmly on the path between. I expect no problems to occur with our neighbors should the priesthood choose that location. Am I understood?"

Seeing their nods, Damon swiftly grabbed parchment and ink and got to work on his idea. A team of specialists would need to secure the area first and get the framework built, which would likely include several engineers that would stay for the entire project. They would need guards, medics, supplies, and scouts to keep the land under control so that nothing could catch them unprepared. Getting the initial construction materials there would be a hassle but then they could get it from the land.

'Unless,' Damon thought as he looked things over, 'I can get the tauren to help deliver things with those kodo. We could get basic defences up and running long before the troops and construction teams get there.'

With the centaur presence to the north and east the garrison would have to include a good number of their forces, so hopefully Sir Randall sent word back soon. The fact that the centaur would never be able to attack them without warning again, barring weather, was far too tempting. Miners and surveyors would be needed, but again could be requested to serve. They were going to need water barrels though that was for certain, who knows what the water they saw to the east was like. It all came back to who had command and Damon was regretting that he couldn't pass that off to his new tauren allies, but nobody would get behind that at this point and communication was still an issue to most everyone.

The supply officer, Dame Millicent, could probably handle it but that was critical work in itself and they could not afford her. Oghren wasn't an officer. He was almost tempted to send Jonathan with Seamus Greybraid backing him up so the lad could get some experience, but he was a bit young for it. "We're going to need at least six priests," Damon told the priests as he thought about it. "Just for the initial investment into the place, as injuries happen in such environments you know."

"We can agree with this, along with your suggestion. Justice Peak shall be the finest example of Stormwind fortitude this world has ever seen." The priest gave a smile and salute. "If I have to take up arms again to assure this, it will happen Sir Ashfall."

"Thank you, Father." Damon turned to his squire and passed him a note. "I want everyone on this list, regular forces and specialists, to report to me. You are to find Seamus Greybraid and bring him yourself."

"Understood Sir."

Damon smiled at the forces he had gathered. Oghren had positioned the Stone Golem right in the center of the field in front of Damon and already several of the most interested specialists were gathering around it. Having already seen several warriors, hunters, and mages arrive and inspect their assistance had amused him to a large degree. He noticed several lone figures slink up to the group and integrate themselves and marked them as the rogues.

Several knights arrived along with the priests, and they were followed shortly by Commander Greybraid, Seamus, Jonathan, and the shaman. Chieftain Magrum and his kin were the last to arrive, and they gave Damon deep nods as they passed him. Seeing that an appropriate number had gathered and he had no reason to send for more, Damon cleared his throat and caught their attention.

"Friends and allies, I have gathered you all to discuss an operation that may become to key to our peoples morale," Damon spoke as he pulled out a newly made map, spreading it over a table in front of him. "Justice Peak overlooks the sight of our victory against the centaur and I want it occupied. The strategic importance of the location and the desires of the priesthood for a holy place have come together to provide a perfect location to show our glory to this land."

"Why have ye gathered us all here Commander?" Seamus Greybraid asked the question that probably belonged to his father as the elder dwarf looked over the map with approval. "We the advance party?"

"Exactly," Damon replied as he made a gesture to include everyone. "You all have skills I've seen or heard about from reports. I want this specialist platoon to claim this mountain and establish Stormwind and her dominance of the region."

"Seems easy enough to me, Commander," Oghren called out with a laugh. "We go in, plant our flag, and kick some arse!"

"That leads partially to why you are here Chieftain," Damon said as he turned to Magrum. "I wish to request your kodo to transport the supplies for this force. We'll likely need anyone you have gifted in shaman magic, besides the Elder, as the secondary mission of this force is to help heal the land."

"We will serve, Stormbringer." Magrum turned to his tribesmen and swiftly started to speak.

Damon smiled with relief at the supplies being protected by the tauren and turned to the priests and mages. "You are needed for the obvious reasons, but I also need you to research ways into blessing or warding the land somehow. We will need cartographers for the hunters and rogues," Damon nodded to the quiet figures in the crowd, "to map the region out, with care for centaur holdings in the area."

"'Scuse me Commander, but does this bleedin' thing say Jonathan has command?" Oghren was obviously very surprised at Damon's choice, and so was Damon's squire for that matter.

"M-me, milord?" Jonathan asked with a quiet voice. "I'm just a squire sir."

"You're my squire Jonathan, and you've spent enough time around Commander Greybraid and I to have picked up a thing or two." Damon replied as he handed the boy several papers that he would need. "Obviously Commander Greybraid and I cannot leave the settlement at this time, which is why you'll be acting as my eyes and ears on the frontier. You'll have Seamus and Oghren with you to help you out, so listen to their advice but keep your head and make your own choices."

"But aren't I too young?" The worry was strong in his voice now, but Damon paid it no mind.

"You'll be fine, just keep an eye out for any elves heading overland. See if you can find the path they used to get here if you can. I've got the whole command organized for you already, it just needs you to guide it." Damon gave the boy a wide grin before his next words. "It's basically just paperwork at command unless a battle is nearby anyway. Also work on getting the mages to enchant something to communicate with us back here."

Hearing the boy groaning and complaining about having to explain to his Ma gave Damon and Corven Greybraid a good long laugh. They gave him some advice to dealing with his Ma and sent him on his way soon after. The rest of the platoon quickly left to collect their gear.

It was shortly after lunch that the specialist platoon left for Justice Peak from Ashfall Landing, which Damon had given into after a short ribbing by Commander Greybraid. It wouldn't replace his home but it would do fine for now, as it kept him very busy running it. It was looking to be a couple days before the main forces were reorganized and a couple projects finished in order for them to send men and supplies to construct the promised bastion, but the priests were already making their rounds and spreading word. Damon had made sure several dwarves and humans among the platoon were already skilled engineers, but he had recieved no less than four more volunteer engineers to join the main effort.

Damon and Greybraid had already fixed the patrol route and schedule before Jonathan left so he would be able to pass message along swiftly enough, even without the hunter birds he had. Mage portals would work for an emergency in case of attack, but the majority of the mail Damon expected would just be reports and maps and those could wait the time it would take to travel. He had also ordered a good portion of the remaining transports converted into fishing vessels in order to sustain his population, as the expected crop yield to such an extant would take even the shaman and those tauren 'druids' a while to accomplish.

Speaking of druids, he had been informed of the discovery after asking about the plant magic that had been witnessed. Apparently there were many druid among the night elves but they slept for long periods of time, and in the distant past they had taught tauren the way. Magrum only had one druid among his tribe, but the increase in growth speed and yield that he could affect was desperately needed to keep everyone fed. The fact the druid could shift into beast form was just a bonus, as it made it that much harder for someone to kill such a valuable person.

Damon wouldn't put anything past anyone after the orcs, but he tried to think fairly in most case. It still didn't hurt to be prepared though, as the centaur attacks had shown. If it wasn't one foul beast it was another to knock on their doors. 'I've been spending too much time listening to priest babble,' Damon decided before he turned to head for his tent, intent on getting everything arranged in as little time as possible.

Halfway there he was intercepted by Healer Briar and thanked profusely for sending more assistance, as the other healer had needed the extra break time and returned as patient as ever. He also informed him that the elven woman had woken up briefly but after explaining why she came, through translation, had fallen into a restful sleep. Damon asked about her name but was informed that the healers had been more focused on making sure she didn't suffer a head injury to double check her name, though they would catch it the next time she was awake.

Relieved at the recovery of a valuable ally Damon was also pleased to discover the report of another functional mine having been opened, valuable iron already being found. It gave him some hope into the bounty of the mountains northeast, but also dread at having to clear it of the barbarian inhabitants. He resolved to convert as many of their young into fine citizens as he could, hoping a better life might lead them to make excellent heavy shock troops and mounted shaman. That was a far superior life than what they could lead now, and it was in truth a blessing many would overlook.

The rest of the day was spent getting ahead of his paperwork, talking to the men, and getting a general feel for things. He made sure to inspire his countrymen to the best of his ability, even as he worried as he took longer and longer for Sir Randall to get word back. A mage portal was a simple thing, in his mind at least.

He calmed shortly after the evening meal once word had gotten back to him. The men had exited the portal north of what they believe to be a forest of silverpine. Considering where that tree grew geographically they fortified their position with some felled trees and natural defences and dispatched a rider in the direction they believed Lordaeron City to be. The earliest expected report he could expect from that would be after lunch the next day, if that.

After spending a morning doing drills with the men so that he didn't lose his touch, Damon took lunch with Corven Greybraid. The aged dwarf and human noble discussed recent events and reports, and what they would be most relieved about if contact was made. It was an interesting experience at least, which Damon always looked forward to.

"I'm tellin' ye lad, if we get any lumber from Lordaeron we can have houses built in half the time. Most of the issues come from usin' that incredibly dense magewood, and that is far too good for a farmer to get. That stuff needs to be in our defenses, not a farmhouse." Greybraid looked thoughtful for a moment before leaning back in his chair. "Did ye know that the magic from the storm seeped into the soil?"

"No," Damon replied with interest, "I haven't heard anything about that."

"We only noticed because of that druid," Greybraid spoke before taking a drink from his mug. "We hadn't even noticed it in the iron and steel, aye even there, because we didn't look. Seems to literally be in the land. Druid and the shaman claim we brought a 'spark' back into the lifeways of the place." Greybraid took another, long drink before staring at Damon. "Bah, we don't need that magic enhancin' stuff, but I already requested a few mages to do runes for us. We'll see what happens there."

Damon nodded at that as he put his own drink down. "We'll see if we can't get some wards to protect us using that metal. I think we can inscribe something or enchant it somehow, but I'm no mage. And glad of it! The training I already did took forever, but I'm glad I went through it."

"I hope so, sending my boy off like that," a voice called out, chilling Damon who had heard it before.

Sure enough, when he turned to look, he saw Jonathan's Ma. The woman herself was only a handful of years older than Damon, indicating she married young. "Hello Madam Marie. No need to worry, Jonathan has capable fighters around him. He'll be in no danger."

The shorter woman stared the younger man down before she sighed. "I saw Sir Randall heading for your tent when I was on a break, and volunteered to get you. I think he had a young woman with him but I didn't ask, as she had her hood up."

Damon blinked while he thought that through but came up with nothing. He shared a glance with Greybraid, who gave a nod and stood up. "C'mon ma'am, let's see if we can't get ye somethin' to eat yourself."

Damon swiftly left as Greybraid wandered off with the woman, to his relief. He was eager to get Randall's report of course, and didn't want to get chewed out by a worried mother again. Seeing Sir Randall before his tent Damon strode forward with a smile, which swiftly changed to a frown at the look on Sir Randall's face as he rushed to Damon. Pausing in step, Damon glanced towards his tent opening only to freeze at the image of a dead woman, or so he thought.

For standing there, heavily pregnant, was his supposedly missing younger sister, Arianne Ashfall. "Hello, Brother."

A/N: I need a name for this elf, so if anyone has a suggestion I'll listen. May or may not keep her around but will probably see her again. Also what is the Alliance without dead people not being dead, am I right? I was super inspired for this chapter and blitzed right through it this morning.