A/N: Please note that this is of course Fan Fiction, therefore the events described would be slightly deviated from the orginal telling.

And nope, I in fact do not own Warcraft or anything else I write about.

Chapter 23

In the following days the addition of power brought forth by the returning Farstriders smoothed into a pleasant transition of normalcy. The entire encampment felt much more sound in the wake of their mad Prince abandoning them, leaving the remaining Elves nearly defenseless. With protection and reason restored, all were able to continue onward with some feeling of security. Though the slow yet steady decline they all felt through their magical addiction continued unabated. Some showed signs of physical ills, all were fading on the inside. Yet that was only one among the many issues that leered in the face of the surviving Elves.

Arlandria and Lor'themar naturally emerged as the conjoined leaders. Hope was the most valuable (as well as one of the few) gifts they could offer to their people. They set no difference between themselves and the rest. The long chain of hierarchy that was so prevalent to the Sunstriders and Elven society in general was discarded. For the first time in thousands of years, Elves viewed each other as perfect equals.

The return of the Farstriders brought not only an extremely capable military force, but also supplies. Trade routes to faraway sanctums and neutral coastal markets restored a desperately needed life line. Provided that the restless vagabond Scourge did not find their way onto the supply roads. More and more often the undead began to swarm along the roads. Though they would roam around in large groups, their power was greatly diminished. They appeared only to be castaways, too weak and useless to be bound to their central command. This was easily fixed with convoys of Elves on Hawkstriders surrounding the group at all times.

It did not take long for another type of castaway to begin returning to the encampment, Sunstrider's followers. At first Lor'themar was suspicious they were spies, but the sheer number of deserters kept coming with geniune despair in their former leader's will and judgement. Rangers and civilians alike testified to being sent into skirmish after useless skirmish under the direction of human warlords. Their Prince was subservant, seemingly not caring how many perished fighting someone else's struggle. They were welcomed back with open arms.

The situation as to their magical needs was still in no way moving towards being solved. Arlandria, Lor'themar and many of the Elves within the encampment were not skilled magical practitioners. The Kirin Tor either could not help or would not help Kael and his followers. The situation seemed hopeless as day after day went by with no solution brought forth.

That is until another large band of deserters appeared at the stone entrance. This one was being led by an Elf named Rommath, a grand magister. He was among the very few of this elite magical class to have survived the undead invasion. Nearly all were gathered around the King on the base of the Sunwell.

Lor'themar instantly distrusted the magister when he confronted him at the entrance. Rommath quickly threw up the same allegations that all the returning Elves shouted when they came back to see Farstriders, seemingly in control. The two groups polarized in fierce arguments as insults and shouts of traitor were lobbed from both sides. It was common knowledge that Rommath was loyal to the Sunstrider house. If Prince Kael should receive information about this 'usurpation' of power, then the consequences could be dire.

Yet again it was Arlandria, flanked by a small group of her Rangers that walked fearlessly into the middle of the soon-to-be bloodbath. She managed to raise her voice over all their rageful and hysteric shouts in her call for sanity.

"Stop looking for an enemy in everyone!" Arlandria shouted. "This is no way for High Elves to resolve conflicts!"

"How can we still claim to be 'High Elves,'" said Rommath. "When we have all fallen from grace," he said while staring at Lor'themar.

"We have returned to save ourselves from the ruin that your mad Princeling left us in!" shouted Lor'themar.

Both sides again erupted in shouts of accusations. Many were growing more and more aggressive, reaching a hand out to grip onto their weapons. Arlandria had to momentarily cover her ears with her hands to shield herself from the deafening noise. Fed up and frustrated she bellowed out "SILENCE YOURSELVES!" as loudly as she could, which cowed them all again. When all was quiet and all hands were off of their weapons, Arlandria turned to Rommath.

"For what reason have you and your followers returned?" Arlandria asked as calmly as she could.

"That I have already explained," Rommath said, casting another distasteful look at Lor'themar. "We have lost faith in our Prince, he is leading us evermore to our demise. He has stopped taking our council's advice. Sadly, I also believe that he has gone slightly mad."

"Of course he is!" shouted Lor'themar. "But why should we believe that 'you' came to that conclusion. You're just a spy!"

Arlandria gritted her teeth and prepared for another burst of shouting. Her vocal cords were already going to ache for awhile as it is. But suprisingly Rommath was calm, or at least appeared to be on the outside. He reached within the folds of his cloak and pulled out a small leatherbond book.

"The salvation of our people lies within this. That is, if we can ever move past this damned entrance!" said Rommath.

"That all depends on whether you can set your past differences aside. Without doing that, no tome can hope to save us," Arlandria said.

"For the time being, yes," Rommath sneered.

"That is not an acceptable answer," responded Arlandria.

Rommath quickly turned and stared at the Ranger-General angrily. Then his face smoothed to confer a hint of respect. "I can set it aside," he said sincerely.

"And you?" Arlandria said as she turned to Lor'themar.

"I can," said Lor'themar.

All was quiet for a few seconds. "Welcome back," Arlandria proclaimed. "We need each other's help now more than we will ever know."

End of Chapter 23