Southern Conversation
Nareyin Sunseer should have been content. He should have been happy.
Everything he had worked and striven for was coming to a head, in the most fortunate way imaginable.
When the "Exiled" Embassy had first settled in Stormwind it had been a hostile territory. The people of Stormwind were jealous of the elves wealth, the House Nobles saw them as objects to be manipulated, and the King of Stormwind viewed them with distrust and suspicion. Their objective had been to carve a new home for themselves and convince the leaders in Stormwind to launch an expedition to reclaim Quel'thalas from the Scourge. A goal that seemed utterly out of reach.
How dire it had seemed then. The King and the House Nobles locked in a political stale-mate, corruption and division abound; all more concerned with the Horde across the ocean than the shadows in the north. Defias running rampant across the land, poisoning the mind of the people, countless trolls seeping through the Stormwind territory in Stranglethorn intent on pillaging and rape.
Yet, they had persevered. His kindred had been "convinced" to be charitable with their wealth and coin, and their warriors had helped aid the sapped Stormwind garrison in Southern Elwynn against Trolls striking from Stranglethorn. On a personal level Nareyin himself had found friends among members of the House Nobles, chiefly Lord Blackwater and Lord Barret. And perhaps most beneficial, he now shared, if not friendship, great mutual trust and respect with King Varian Wrynn.
And these facts were not merely pen on paper. Elves were finally seen –if not as citizen- then not as invaders by the people of Stormwind. Exiled Embassy policy held more sway than ever and the Master Ambassadorial now truly possessed the authority of an honorary Councilor of the House Nobles.
Most importantly they were capable of using their political capital to push through the proposal set forth by Luc Valonforth to begin plans to seize the North from the Scourge.
That had been the crowning moment of all their endeavors. Every mission and every success was all merely preamble to retaking their homeland from the undead and Arthas. Now the process had begun, the dice had rolled in the elves favor, and the very real idea of seeing home again fluttered in Narain's chest.
And that was the problem. Despite, everything he had done, everything his people had done, in the end, the future of their efforts lay not in their hands, but in that of former human captain.
It wasn't that he thought he thought Luc Valonforth was the wrong man for the job. Quite the contrary, he was quite impressed by the man's record of service, and considered him a far better choice than the handful of regional commanders in Stormwind he would have had to have chosen from before the captains arrival in South Shore.
But the old soldier from the Troll Wars still burned in him, demanding he take up the sword and lead an army to liberate Quel'thalas himself. He knew it was ridicules, if every elf in the land were a seasoned warrior they still wouldn't have the troops necessary to take back their homeland, and Nareyin had been a foot soldier, not a general. But still.
Nareyin shook his head and smiled bitterly. Still, their fate rested in the hands of humans. As ungrateful as they were for the gift, fate was still the humans to decide.
"Nareyin!" shrieked a high-pitched female voice, "Are you done brooding yet or are you going to come down and eat breakfast?"
Nareyin response was a harsh loud hiss, "I'll come down when I feel like it Katrana! And for your information, I WASN'T BROODING!"
"So what exactly do you call sitting at your desk, staring out a window, into the pouring rain for eight hours straight without food or drink? Fun? Hm. I'd almost believe that of you," came the biting reply from downstairs.
Nareyin cursed and lurched to his feet. Katrana was his maid! His servant! Where did she get off speaking to him like this?
"I'll stay up here as long as I damn well please!" replied Nareyin, firmly, as if that decided the matter.
"Well then," came a new mocking voice from the base of the stairwell, "I hope you feel like coming down rather quickly Lord Sunseer. I'd hate to tarry here for long, what with my wife baking a fresh cherry pie back at home, and there really was a matter I wanted to discuss with you."
Nareyin stopped cold.
"Lord…Barret?"
"The one and only," laughed the mirthful human.
Nareyin screamed silently, pulling at his white silver hair in quiet distress, his eyes screwed together.
Why the devil hadn't Katrana told him he was here?
Well, replied a small voice in Narain's head, you kind of already know the answer to that.
Because the bloody woman loves to embarrass me that's why!
Nareyin opened his eyes, pausing a moment to consider himself in the nearby mirror. Tall with broad shoulders, he was quite lean, though relatively youthful in appearance, seeming only in his mid thirties by human standards; yet in fact being over two hundred summers in age. His dark blue eyes stared at him through somewhat sallow sockets, taking in his otherwise handsome pale face.
His silver gold robes were held tightly against him, exaggerating his chest, and held together with buttons and white roped sash. Two sapphire gems adorned his left hand.
"Good enough," he thought as he moved to glide downstairs
As he descended, Nareyin attempted to gather what pride he could about himself, and he gazed over the visitor and maid appraisingly.
Katrana stood in the corner, her hands on her thin dainty hips, a smirk painted plainly across her pretty face. Her amber eyes were alight with victory over her employer, her hands wrapped lightly around a wooden spoon. She smiled she let the spoon down, and began to tie a band across her forehead, knotting it on the side, making her hair heavy in the front.
Lord Barret sat in a nearby sofa, his back slightly stooped, hair gray and thinning across his unusually tanned brow. He was smiling mischievously, his blue eyes twinkling. Patting down his dark green coat, he rose and held out his hand to the elf ambassador.
"Evening my good friend," he said with only a hint of playfulness.
"Evening, Lord Barret. To what do I owe this humiliation?" asked Nareyin stiffly.
Barret laughed then, the richness of the sound belaying his age, "Hardly Nareyin. Why, Besse bullies me just as much as your Katrana here, and she does it in front of everyone. Including the king himself!"
Nareyin smiled as he thought of Lady Barret, the homely wife of Lord Barret, and the best cookin the Royal Court of Stormwind. She was one of the few people who had shown genuine kindness to Nareyin early on in his arrival, and he found that her candor advice could often be as helpful as Barret's political counsel.
"And how is Besse doing?" asked Nareyin.
"Quite well, quite well. She's a bit put out by all this rain we've been having, but otherwise is keeping in good spirits."
Katrana came over then holding a tray of biscuits and a steaming pot of tea. Setting the tray down, she poured a cup for Lord Barret, who accepted it with a gracious thanks. Nareyin accepted his own cup with a cold glare, still yet unwilling to exchange niceties with his servant.
"So then," began Nareyin as he took a seat next to the human, "You come on business I assume?"
"Indeed," replied Barret, his rosy tone taking a dourer note, "I have a bit of news from Lord Blackwater. Nothing concrete mind you, but unsettling nonetheless."
"It appears our victory over in passing the Reclamation Expedition was not as absolute as we once thought."
Ice instantly scoured Narain's vein, "What do you mean?" he asked attempting to keep an outward calm.
"It appears as if relationships between Kul'tiras and Ogrimmar are beginning to encounter trouble. Though Jaina has managed to smooth over much of the hostilities between the two nations, there is developing friction between them."
Nareyin relaxed slightly, "But, what does that really have to do with the expedition north? Barring all out war, it really doesn't affect our cause."
"It does," explained Lord Barret, "When the other House Nobles begin to use this as an excuse to horde their stores in preparation for what could become a very messy war. It does when the Captain-Admiral, who swore to ship the supplies needed for Valenforths army, devotes half his fleet to patrolling the eastern Kul'Tiras sea-border. Thus increasing his expenses threefold. It matters when King Varian orders resources once devoted to the expedition to the cause of making post-Orcsea War garrisons in Kul-Tiras battle ready again."
Nareyin was silent for a long moment as he digested the man's news.
"You think Varian will listen to the other House Nobleman don't you?" he asked quietly after a moment.
"I think that in any given situation, King Varian is not simply a good man, but the best man, for making decisions. But that when orc's are involved even his bright vision of the world can become clouded."
"Can things really be this bad? I've heard nothing."
"As I said, this is mostly just talk. But the talk is quickly devolving into action, on their side as well as ours. People have begun to prepare for the worst.
"I've always believed those who prepare for the worst, simply ask for it," replied Nareyin.
"And in this case you may be right. But, as I said, we must proceed cautiously. The other House Nobles will attempt –due to honest worry or honest greed- to devote resources once planned for the north to the preparation of a possible war in the west. We must prepare arguments and statements against this."
Nareyin nodded, "I'm sure Blackwater has already prepared such statements."
Lord Barret smirked slightly, "As always, Blackwater is prepared. But it will require the attentions of us all to ensure that we lose nothing out of this fright. I'm sure it will pass in time, but for now, let's concentrate our efforts."
The elf lord sighed again then, his gaze appreciative, "What would I do without you Barret?"
"Not much," came the human's warm reply as he took another sip of tea, "Not much at all."
A/N: And so another chapter is born. This is a bit short but I felt it might be better to do a quick update now rather than waiting for a mega update. As it stands the next update will once again be considerably longer than the prior. Also for clarification "Orcsea War" is simply a made up name for the Kul'tiras invasion of Durotar. I couldn't recall an actual name for the war and it seemed as if every conflict should have a condensed form of recognition so I -in my infinite wit- came up with this dull and unimaginative name. Also, for those of you who noted the term 'Southern Elwynn' know that I've rolled Duskwood -which is the exact same forested area seperated by a small stream- into Elwynn to form a North and South Elwynn. Please review if you enjoy this story or even have criticism for it. I need to know what you guys think!