(AUTHORS NOTE:Aren't family fueds grand?...Startling family revelation coming up! Enjoy!)
Chapter 8: To Orgrimmar
After several days, Drake had gathered a squadron to accompany him to Orgrimmar. Many of the soldiers were simple city guards. Two of the members were exceptions, Longshot and Neluun. Neluun was a draenei Drake had met while he was stationed in Northrend while the Lich King was still alive. Neluun was not really a friend of Drake, Drake found the draenei to be a very spiteful and angry person, particularly towards the Horde and especially against orcs. Nonetheless, Neluun was a marvelous shaman and Drake could use his assistance. Drake was searching the city for the final member for his squadron: Tygra. He found her once again at the Park.
"Tygra…I'm departing for Orgrimmar…" stated Drake. Tygra turned to him and stared deep within his eyes.
"Be careful." replied Tygra emotionlessly. Drake sighed and approached the elf.
"Tygra, I would like for you to accompany me."
"Why…I'll only get in the way…" whispered Tygra.
"Look Tygra, I may not know what you feel like right now and I may never understand, but what I do understand is that we are at war with a force we can't even begin to comprehend! Now you can sit here and mourn Kyavel's death like a miserable widow or you can fight to protect those who are close to you and avenge his death! Ask yourself, would Kyavel want you to be like this?" pleaded Drake.
Tygra appeared to be taken back by Drakes outburst. She clenched her fist and approached him. She was so close to him, Drake could feel her breath escaping through her gritted teeth. Just as Drake thought she was going to slap him, Tygra sighed and released her fist.
"Perhaps…Perhaps you are right. Very well, I shall join you Drake…I will gather my things. " murmured Tygra as she slowly walked away. Drake looked in her hand and saw a necklace made of flowers and shrubbery. It was the necklace that Kyavel had proposed to Tygra with.
Drake and his squadron were waiting at Stormwind Harbor for Tygra. The elf arrived in her battle garmets and carrying a travel pack on her back.
"Well we're all here. Everyone on board." ordered Drake as he ushered his squad onto the boat.
"Tygra, I'm glad you decided to come." Drake said as the elf passed him.
"I only came to crush the demons' skulls under my feet." hissed Tygra without even facing Drake as she boared the ship. Longshot stood next to Drake and folded his arms.
"Seems we be havin ourselves a lil she-devil ey?" scoffed the dwarf as he followed Drake onboard.
"Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned....That's an understatement in this case" sighed Drake as he boarded the ship. Once the squadron boarded the ship set sail for Durotar.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Drake arrived off the shore of Orgrimmar later that evening. His squadron exited the ship and began to head towards Orgrimmar.
"I can't believe we are assisting these savage mongrels…" growled Neluun.
"Neluun, I will have none of your spite on this mission. I brought you along merely for your prowess as shaman. Don't you dare step out of line." barked Drake.
"Very well…" hissed the Draenei. The Alliance force reached the broken gates of Orgrimmar and were approached by the guards. The the guards did not attack, but were cautious and gripped their axes tightly.
"We mean you no harm. We are ambassadors of the Alliance. We wish to speak with Thrall." said Drake. The orcs cautiously nodded and let the Alliance walk through. Neluun was trailing at the the back of the pack. He stopped and faced one of the guards, giving him a nasty leer. He thrusted himself towards the orc slightly, causing the orc to jump back defensively.
"Hmph…Coward." scoffed Neluun as he followed the Alliance squad.
Drake and his squad were escorted by guards to Thrall's chambers. They received plenty of spiteful looks and remarks on the way there. The squad arrived in Grommash Hold and stood before Thrall.
"So you are the Alliance ambassodors?" asked Thrall.
"Yes, we were sent by Lord Varian Wrynn. My name is Drake Valarian" answered Drake.
"Very well. We shall begin planning our next move then. What information do you have of these events?" asked Thrall as he left his throne and approached the squad.
"Not much. These demons have attacked our forces as I'm sure they have attacked you. All we have been able to figure out so far is that a gnome warlock going by the name of Nal might somehow be tied into this." said Drake. Thrall raised one his brows in curiosity.
"Intereseting…We received reports of a gnome warlock crossing into our territory in the Barrens not too long ago. He decimated an entire platoon before proceeding south…" said Thrall.
Before the conversation could continue, a large orc wearing broken black armor barged into the throne room accompanied by several other battered looking Horde members.
"Gargon, how went the battle?" Thrall asked eagerly.
"We…we won…but one of the rises of Thunderbluff was lost in the process. We did all we could." said Gargon.
"I see. This is terrible news, but at the very least we were able to kill those damn demons." grumbled Thrall.
"Drake we shall carry on this discussion tomorrow. I have business to attend to. My guards shall escort you to your quarters." said Thrall as he exited the room. Drake was following the guards when he saw a familiar face amongst the orcs who had entered the room.
"Draggo, it is good to see you!" said Drake as he held out his hand to the orc. A faint weak smile spread across Draggo's face as he shook the human's hand firmly.
"You to my friend. What brings you here?" asked Draggo.
"We are ambassadors of the Alliance. We sought out council with Thrall but it would seem there are more pressing matters at hand." explained Drake.
"Yes, pressing matters indeed. Drake, I would like you to meet my son, Draggar." said Draggo gesturing for his son to step forward. Draggar slowly stepped forward and saluted the human. Drake replied in kind.
"It is an honor to meet you Draggar. Your father is a great warrior and it would seem you followed in his footsteps…Pardon my asking, but you wouldn't happen to be a halfling would you?" asked Drake. Draggar shamefully looked to the ground.
"No need to be ashamed. It is a blessing to have the ancestry of two races flow in your veins. By the looks I would guess your mother is a draenei, correct?" asked Drake with a smile. Draggar looked back up in shock and nodded with a large grin. Aside from his parents and few close friends, no one had every praised his heritage before. Drake turned back expecting a violent outburst from Neluun after hearing of a half orc half draenei being, but to his surprise he heard nothing. In fact, Neluun wasn't even there!
"Where is Neluun?" asked Drake in a commanding tone. He knew Neluun n an orc city would only lead to chaos.
"The last we saw of him was when we were passing the refugee quarters sir." answered one the Alliance soldiers.
"Damnit! Tygra, Longshot, come with me. The rest of you, go to your quarters and wait for me there." commanded Drake as he rushed out of the throne room.
"Excuse my absence Draggo, we shall speak again soon. It seems I have pressing matters of my own." said Drake as he, Longshot, and Tygra ran out.
"…He's way to polite to be a soldier." chuckled Draggo as he turned to his son.
"Who was that man?" asked a curious Draggar.
"That, my son, would be none other than Drake Valarian." said Draggo with a grin. Draggar's eyes widened in shock.
"The same Drake Valarian who fought alongside you against the Lich King!?" asked Draggar. His father had told him many stories of his adventures in Northrend. Draggo held Drake in high regards, especially in his stories.
"The very one. Come, I'm sure your mother and sister are worried sick about us." said Draggo as he and his son began to exit the room.
"Of course they are. Can you blame them?" said Draggar.
"I suppose you're right…Well at least we won't have to hear you mother chastising us with her 'Alliance-Horde' peace talks. We can finally be warriors and be free of her ridicule." joked Draggo. Draggar simply rolled his eyes at his father.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Drake finally found Neluun amongst the Horde refugees. He was arguing with a draenei female, and by the looks of things they were both extremely upset.
"Neluun! What the hell are you doing here!" hollered Drake as he approached the enraged draenei.
"Stay out of this Drake, it does not concern you!" growled Neluun without even looking at his commander.
"Sister, what is wrong with you!? I thought you had left on an expedition and died! Now I come to find out you're held up here with these miserable green-skins!?" shouted Neluun.
"I had no choice, I knew you wouldn't approve of my actions so I did what my heart told me to do: I fled! I fled from your hate and the hate of your faction!" said the draenei woman.
"You mean our faction, little sister! Do you remember that it was these monstrous green skins that murdered our parents all those years ago!? They laid waste to our home world and brought us to the brink of extinction! Our parents died so we could live on and avenge them and they tasked me with looking over you!" yelled Neluun.
"No brother, you're wrong! Our parents died fighting for peace! They wouldn't have wanted us to become murderous avengers! These orcs are not the same ones that killed our parents! They have changed Neluun. They want peace just as we do." pleaded the draenei.
"Peace? Peace!? Peace with these mongrels!? No, I don't want peace. I want revenge for my ancestors! Why do you protect these monsters so vigorously, Kanya?" asked a curious Neluun.
"Mommy what's happening?" asked a small Draenei girl.
"Go back inside sweetheart, mommy will be there soon." whispered kanya as she shooed her child back into her tent.
"What is…She's a halfing! You allowed yourself to be violated by these, these-these things!?" hollered Neluun. He grasped onto his sisters arm tightly and began to drag her. "You're coming home Kanya. You have been brainwashed by these monsters."
"Neluun, get your hands off of her!" ordered Drake as he approached the draenei. Neluun angrily knocked Drake to the ground in a single blow. Before anyone else could make a move, a voice called out:
"What's going on here…" boomed the voice. Everyone tunred sharply to see two orc's, one with a rahter odd appearance.
"Who the hell are you?" snarled Neluun.
"My name is Draggo Dragonblade. Why are you grasping my wife…" Draggo said in a calm voice.
Neluun glared at Draggo and the other orc. It was very apparent he was also a halfing.
"So…you're the one…You're the one that turned my sister into a whore!" shouted Neluun as he tightened his grip on Kanya. Suddenly, Draggar ripped his swords from his belt and charged at Neluun.
"Release my mother you fiend!" shouted Dragger.
"Draggar, stop!" called Draggo, but his voice landed on deaf ears.
As Draggar approached, Neluun snickered and dropped Kanya to the ground. Once Draggar was close enough, Neluun ripped his gargantuan mace from his back and thrust it downwards at Draggar. Draggar just barely managed to block the blow with his blade, but the blow brought him down to his knees and shattered his blades into tiny fragments.
"May this blow vanquish this foul cursed birth from this world." prayed Neluun as he raised his mace once again.
"Neluun no!" cried Kanya. Neluun swung his hammer down with every bit of force he had. Draggo charged and attempted to stop the blow, but he did not make it in time. The sound of the mace striking metal echoed throughout the city.
Drake managed to get his sword between Draggar and the mace just in time. The paladin swung Neluun's mace to the side and brought the draenei down with one powerful punch to the face. Neluun glared up at Drake from the ground and attempted to get to his feet, but Drake placed the tip of his blade at Neluun's throat.
"What did I tell you Neluun…" hissed Drake. Neluun spit out some blood and gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Tygra, Lonshot, take him back to the ship. He will not be staying in the city." ordered Drake as he lifted his sword from the draenei's neck. Tygra and Longshot cautiously approached Neluun. He quickly jumped to his feet and knocked their hands off of him.
"Fine! I rather sleep in the desert amongst the scorpions than in the city full of these green skinned monsters," Neluun said turning towards Kanya, "and a traitor to her race. I thought my sister died long ago…I was right…" barked Neluun as he angrily stormed off. Drake pulled Tygra to the side.
"Make sure he stays on the ship. Don't let him leave your sight." whispered Drake.
"I understand." replied Tygra. She passed the message along to Longshot as they escorted Neluun out of the city. Drake turned back to Draggo, Draggar, and Kanya.
"I…apologize for that outburst. Please forgive me." apologized Drake as he bowed. Draggo stepped over and lifted Drake up from his bow.
"Do not apologize. It is not your fault. In fact, I owe you my foolish son's life." said Draggo as he turned to his son who got to his feet, still shaken from the event.
"I would also like to thank you." said Kanya as she approached the two.
"What is your name?" asked Kanya as she curtsied before Drake.
"This would be Drake Valarian." said Draggo. Shock overcame Kanya as she stared at Drake.
"Sir Valarian, I have heard so much about you! It is an honor!" said Kanya.
"The honor is all mine. I must say of all the draenei I have encountered you are by far one of the most beautiful." said Drake as he took her hand in his and politely laid his lips on it.
"Oh my…" said Kanya as she blushed.
"Watch it kid…" said Draggo as he pulled Drake off of his wife. He knew Drake meant no harm in this action. Drake was too polite to come on to a woman like that in front of her own husband. They both laughed at the gesture.
"Well I must be taking my leave. I must speak with my troops. Farewell." said Drake as he walked off.
"Such a polite man reminds me of when you were younger. When you were a gentleman" Kanya said bluntly to her husband.
"I'm a warrior. I don't bow and kiss hands, I fight armies." scoffed Draggo.
"So…that was him huh…" said Draggo as his tone became serious.
"Yes…That was Neluun…my brother…" said Kanya as he wrapped her fingers around a pendant hanging from her neck.
"That's my uncle!?" called out Draggar in astonishment.
"Now is not the time Draggar…Go inside." ordered Draggo. Draggar obeyed as he entered the tent with a heavy look of confusion on his face.
"Do you want to talk abo-"
"No…I'll be fine…Really." said Kanya, cutting off Draggo as she went inside her tent. Draggo sighed and followed suit.