Emerald Aspect.

Part VI: Heart of Courage.

Uther and the others walked out of the Mage Tower, through the peaceful streets of Stormwind, quickly reaching the Cathedral of Light.

"Uther!" a voice cried as they entered the Cathedral.

Onyxia and Ysondre side-stepped as the man hurried over and eagerly hugged Uther. He was wearing dusty old armour, and a brown travelling cape, with the hood falling down to reveal greying brown hair.

"Good to see you that you are still fighting; and that armour suits you better than me, especially when you're the one defending the Light on the front lines." Tirion said, as he pulled away from the embrace. "Care to introduce us." He looked at Sylvanas, Onyxia and Ysondre warmly.

"Tirion Fordring, may I introduce Sylvanas Windrunner, former Ranger General of Silvermoon," Uther said, as Sylvanas stepped forward. "Onyxia, formerly of the Obsidian dragonflight, and Ysondre, of the Emerald dragonflight, they are my travelling companions."

"A pleasure to meet you all," Tirion said, shaking hands with the three women.

"What are you doing here? I remember that you were exiled!" Uther quickly asked, abruptly changing the conversation.

"I… My son fought tooth and nail to get me back in the Order, I am here to argue my case" Tirion sighed.

"Why was I not informed about this?" Uther asked, and Tirion grew nervous.

"Because you now work for the dragons, not the Order," a man said coldly, Uther turned and his heart sank.

"Dathrohan?" Uther said in disbelief.

"Yes Uther, in your absence I was chosen as the new leader of the Silver Hand," Saidan said proudly. "I have led the Order of the Silver Hand to destroy the last holdouts of undead, and those who call themselves the Cult of the Damned."

"Just because I am now working for the Dragon Queen does not mean that I have forsaken the Light, or the Silver Hand," Uther said defiantly.

"But you have neglected the responsibilities of leading the Silver Hand old friend," Saidan stated. "You are still a paladin, but you are not the leader of the Silver Hand. Good day."

With that Saidan strode away, leaving the others in an awkward silence, until Tirion plucked up and asked an obvious question.

"May I enquire why you are here?"

"Sylvanas would like to become a paladin of the Silver Hand, but still use her ranger skills," Uther responded, and Sylvanas stepped forward.

"Well we can always use more paladins, and I am sure you can serve the Light with your elven ranger abilities as well," Tirion smiled. "But I am afraid you'll need to head back up north to officially join."

"Why?" Uther asked, confused by the sudden revelation.

"Saidan has fully established the Silver Hand headquarters in Stratholme, and declared it the only place to be inducted into the Hand." Tirion sighed. "Personally I think it is a petty rule, but he is adamant about it."

"We will fly there today then, should be there tomorrow evening," Uther said quickly, but Tirion chuckled.

"No need Uther, those ingenious gnomes have a faster solution" Tirion smiled. "The Deeprun Tram now connects Stormwind, Ironforge, Gilneas City, Lordaeron and Stratholme, and they are negotiating with Lor'themar for it to go all the way to Silvermoon City."

"I am guessing we are now on friendly terms with the Sin'dorei?" Uther asked. "And that the Gilneans have returned to the world?"

"Not really," Tirion said quickly. "The tram runs under the city, but there is no station there, the Gilneans have ignored our attempts at reconnecting with them."

"What about my people?" Sylvanas asked.

"We are mostly on good terms with your people, as they are still cautious about outsiders. But Kael'thas' extreme views are ignored, to the extent that he has been overthrown." Tirion sighed, as if the news bored him, but Sylvanas found it worrying.

"What?" Sylvanas exclaimed.

"Prince Kael'thas rallied the Sin'dorei armies for an all-out war with the Alliance of Lordaeron," Tirion explained. "When we sent envoys warning him that every race in Azeroth was united as one, and that attacking Lordaeron would likely result in the complete destruction of Silvermoon, he dismissed it as 'human lies'."

"What happened next?" Onyxia asked.

"Word spread through Silvermoon, and the elven armies overthrew their prince, proclaiming Lor'themar as their new leader." Tirion continued. "Kael'thas went into exile, and Lor'themar saw the Sin'dorei join the Azeroth Alliance, he is currently hosting a summit with the other racial leaders in Silvermoon."

"Wait, where is the king in all this, what happened to him?" Sylvanas quickly asked.

"He became King Regent after the Sunwell incident, and Kael'thas took over most of the responsibilities," Tirion replied. "He still lives, but he does not rule Silvermoon."

"The prince had the shortest reign in our history," she chuckled.

"Let us hope this democracy works for them." Ysondre said quietly.

"By the way, if you think your mission is still secret, think again." Tirion said under his breath, leaning in so no one would overhear. "Every racial leader has been informed, and are hence preparing their armies, and watching for any signs of trouble."

"A wise precaution, they may want to co-ordinate with Alexstrasza, she's the best figure to lead everyone against the coming storm." Ysondre said quickly.

"I will make sure your suggestion is heard, but I would recommend you head for the Deeprun Tram, the next tram to Lordaeron should be leaving very soon." Tirion said, looking out the window at the position of the sun.

"Alright, good day Tirion, I wish you luck with your trial." Uther said, shaking his old friend's hand.

He led the three ladies through the streets of Stormwind, and as they entered the Dwarven District, they bumped into another familiar Paladin.

"Uther!" the man said proudly, hugging the older Paladin.

"Sir Thomas, it is good to see you," Uther chuckled, as the two Paladins parted from their embrace. "Ladies, this is Sir Thomas Thomson, a fellow Paladin in the Silver Hand. Thomas, these are my companions."

"A pleasure," Sir Thomas bowed. "Might I enquire why you're back among us 'mortals'?"

"Mortals?" Ysondre asked.

"I heard whispers that you were cursed with immortality, although Saidan waved this off as an impossibility." Thomas chuckled. "I have learnt not to dismiss things even if they seem absurd, we recently defeated a plague of undeath, as I am sure you've heard."

"Indeed, but we struck the killing blow, ending the entity that commanded the undead." Uther said boldly.

'-Or so you thought-' the voice whispered.

"Indeed." Thomas smiled. "By the way, I have been handed the reins of your former steed, a it was a gift for my many a valiant deed."

"Treat her well," Uther smiled, but Sylvanas was irked by the Paladin's speech pattern.

"Please stop rhyming." Sylvanas sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"I'm sorry my dear, I often cannot help myself, I apologise if my rhymes have upset such a noble elf." Thomas said, giving Sylvanas another sweeping bow.

"Rhyme this, purple." Sylvanas said flatly.

"Purple..." Thomas repeated, thinking hard about what it rhymed with. "My dear there is no word that rhymes with purple, I shall remember this if I ever fall back into speaking in rhyming couplets. Might I ask where you are headed?"

"Stratholme," Uther stated. "Sylvanas wishes to become a Paladin under my tutelage, and we've been told she can only be inducted in Stratholme."

"Indeed that is true, it pains me to admit that Saidan is not as great a leader as you." Thomas said thoughtfully. "I shall bid you farewell, I am here to oversee Tirion's trial."

With that they parted, with the four heroes quickly arriving at the entrance to the Deeprun Tram, which was far grander than he remembered.

"What is this?" Ysondre exclaimed, looking in confusion at the large, underground rail system.

"An underground tunnel that connects the cities of the Eastern Kingdoms together, though we're still tunnelling to Silvermoon City." A gnome said proudly as they approached the kiosk.

"Why does such a thing exist?" Ysondre asked, still perplexed by this man-made miracle.

"It connects the major cities of the Eastern Kingdoms with a direct underground tram, allowing people to travel between the cities faster than by Gryphon or Horse." the gnome said brightly. "We have heard that the Goblins are working on a twin in Kalimdor; connecting Orgrimmar, Darnassus, Thunderbluff and Gadgetzan."

"Doesn't this put a lot of people out of business?" Onyxia asked. "And what about the Maelstrom?"

"Oh no my dear, the gryphons, hippogriffs, and wind riders are still be needed to reach the more rural areas, these trams only go from city to city." The gnome stated quickly. "But enough explaining, how may I help you today?"

"We need to get to Stratholme as fast as possible," Uther stated, and the gnome tapped on his computer.

"Alright, the next one to Stratholme is in five minutes, that will be… wait, I recognise you from somewhere," the gnome stated, finally looking at Uther's face.

"I am Lord Uther of the Wyrmrest Accord, formerly of Lordaeron, and paladin of the Silver Hand." Uther stated, and the gnome looked at him confused.

"Uther the Lightbringer?" the gnome asked and Uther nodded. "I thought you were dead, they're building a statue to commemorate you in the Valley of Kings."

"Well, I am not dead; I have just been away for a long time." Uther chuckled. "How much for the tram tickets?"

"On the house, anything for the man who ended the Dark Iron threat and united all the races of Azeroth!" the gnome nearly yelled. "Hurry or you'll miss your tram."

-AN-

The inclusion of Sir Thomas Thomson was merely a bit of fun, as in the lore he becomes the Headless Horseman.

I am well aware that he did not become obsessed with rhyming until he went mad, but it was merely a bit of seasonal fun so it's not all bad.