Returning for Reinforcements
"When are we leaving?"
Athrodar looked up and over to Liadrin from the desk he sat behind, going through the handful of reports he received from Silvermoon as well as the ones the scouts had written whilst they were away. "At the moment, not for a week or two. Though that can change the moment I think we're ready to leave, or I am convinced to leave earlier."
"No doubt the General will have something to say about leaving earlier." Liadrin said, leaning against the table and looking down at her friend. "What do the reports from Silvermoon say?"
"Mostly that the scouts looking at the Amani have pulled back and that Thalina might be a Grand Magister soon." Athrodar went back to reading the reports, ignoring the widened eyes from the paladin leaning on his desk and trying his best to hide his smile.
"Already?" Liadrin asked him now. "She has only just been promoted to Magister, no?"
Athrodar laughed and nodded his head. "Okay, so maybe not. But I did read something about that the General might want to see." He handed the paladin one of the reports and waited for her to read through it. "They're not sure if this could be a threat or not. They've sent Halduron into Lordaeron to take a look with his company, hopefully we get some information soon whilst they remain unharmed in the meantime."
"Okay. She definitely needs to know about this." Liadrin said, looking up from the report and towards Athrodar again. "She vouched for him to be a Ranger Lord and to train with you guys. To see her prodigy become undead whilst we were defending our homes will anger her, but also upset her. She would have lost a good friend."
Athrodar sighed and folded up the report when Liadrin handed it back to him. "I'll tell her when I next see her, but I am not looking forward to the conversation. After that Honor Hold incident, she just needs a win and right not this is not a win."
"I suppose the Amani not being a threat at the moment could be a win." Liadrin told him, taking all the other reports and quickly reading through them. "The Kaldorei to the west of us is also a win, but she knows that already. The fact we have a clear path to Shattrath too written out in detail helps for another win." Liadrin looked over to Athrodar who gave her a small smile at her attempts to show him some wins to lessen the blow of this Nathanos news. "Besides, if you're the one to tell her, she might be happier than she would be if I told her or anyone else if I'm honest."
"That's what I'm hoping." Athrodar muttered, smiling at the paladin a little wider when she bowed her head slightly. "We're not in front of anyone, you don't have to show that much respect. I'm still your friend."
"Force of habit, sorry." Liadrin said, stepping forward and placing a hand on his arm. "Go tell the General. The sooner she knows, the better. Don't want to keep this from her any longer than we have."
"No, we don't." Athrodar agreed, leaving his makeshift office and making his way towards where the General was, or at least, where he left her. Knowing the company she was with however made him confident that she would still be there. "Unless she has figured out a way to quickly get rid of them." He told himself, entering the building designated to the rangers and smiling when he saw her with their children, Illana and the three elves who had managed to keep her in place.
"Good, you're back." Sylvanas said, handing Illana their son, her grandson, and making her way over to Athrodar to lessen the distance between one another. "Help me." She whispered to him once they hugged.
"Okay." Athrodar whispered back to her, kissing the top of her head and pulling back from the hug. "I have a few reports you need to see and preferably away from prying eyes and ears." He glanced over to Anya who smiled innocently at him. "Yes, I mean you."
"Fine." Anya said, sighing and slumping her shoulders. "I never get to be involved in the important stuff anyway."
Athrodar grinned at the ranger. "You're not going to guilt trick me into letting you join in. I've learnt my lesson."
"Good, you're learning." Sylvanas said, patting Athrodar on the chest. "So, these reports?"
Athrodar pulled a handful of reports from his cloak and handed them to the General, waiting for her to read through them and knowing she had reached the part about Nathanos when he saw her slightly happy expression drop. "I received the report a few minutes ago." He told her.
"I knew something had happened to him, I just didn't think it would be this." Sylvanas closed her eyes and let out a sad sigh. "He had so much promise."
"I suppose him being in charge of this band of free undead is the silver lining in this whole thing." Athrodar told her, watching the General closely to try and read her mind before she said anything.
"They don't know if he's a friend or foe." Sylvanas said, folding the parchment and placing it in the pocket of her cloak. "But it's also not our main priority right now." She then said, looking up at Athrodar and watching him give her a sympathetic smile. "Don't." She said softly. "I think deep down I knew this was his fate, or at least something similar." She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Right now, I want to focus on our mission to Shattrath and talking to Khadgar about my sister and where she could be."
Athrodar smiled back at her now, taking hold of her hand and feeling her squeeze his hand tightly. "When do you want to leave?"
"Preferably now, but we're not ready yet." Sylvanas told him, looking behind Athrodar and towards the three rangers with her children. "They will be ready the second we tell them, but we have a few injuries from the fight with the commander and we need to make sure this place is safe when we leave."
"So a week then?" Athrodar asked, smiling and getting a laugh from Sylvanas, placing a hand on her cheek and feeling her lean into it. "How are you feeling today?"
"Much better than the last few days." She told him, closing her eyes and trying to live in this moment a little longer. "Spending time with our kids and watching them get along with our other kids just made my day."
Athrodar frowned at the General. "Our other kids?"
"Anya, Clea and Melonara." Sylvanas told hold, making Athrodar laugh and nod his head slowly.
"I see." Athrodar said with a chuckle, stepping forward and moving his arms behind her. "Now, make the most of this time here, away from everyone else before we rejoin them all and I'm teased to death by those three rangers of ours."
Sylvanas wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and pressing her ear to his chest as she hugged him tightly. "Can I ask you something?"
Pressing his cheek against the top of her head, Athrodar held onto the General too until they were both agreed to return to their family. "Of course." He said, feeling her pull back a little just to look up at him.
"If the opportunity ever presented itself, would you stop being a ranger and choose to stay at home with our family?"
Athrodar began to think about his response. He had only just been given back his rank of Lieutenant Ranger and promotion to Ranger-Captain was close. He didn't really want to retire so soon into his career, especially when he could be a Ranger Lord in the next millennia. "Well that depends on a few things."
"What if I was also given that same opportunity?" Sylvanas asked him, watching Athrodar raise an eyebrow at her.
"Would you take it?" Athrodar now asked her in return, making the General look away.
"I would like to think I would." Sylvanas told him. "To be with my husband back home, with our kids and not having to worry about either of us dying." She looked behind Athrodar and towards their family. "My life will always be devoted to Quel'Thalas and her people, but it will also be devoted to keeping them safe."
Athrodar looked back towards their family too, smiling when he saw Talanas was asleep on his mother whilst Victoria was talking to Clea, Anya and Melonara. "Then I suppose i would join you." He said, returning his attention to his wife. "I can't have it that you're at home with them alone, waiting for me to return to you after several weeks or months because I was sent somewhere with my company."
Sylvanas smiled and hugged him tightly once more. "Then we retire together. It probably won't be for a long time, a couple decades at least, but it's nice to see we have a plan should this life no longer be suited to us."
Their hug was eventually interrupted by Victoria who smiled innocently up at them when they both looked down to her. "Have you finished working?" She asked, looking over to Athrodar who couldn't help but smile back at her.
"For now, yes." He told her, getting a bright smile from his daughter.
"That means you can teach me more about being a ranger, right?" She now asked, hopeful he would say yes.
"Of course." Athrodar told her, glancing over to Sylvanas who smiled and held onto his arm. "If that's okay with you."
The General nodded her head. "It's fine with me." She told them, letting go of Athrodar's arm and watching him leave to collect a few things before he taught Victoria about being a ranger. "Still asleep I see." She said when she made her way over to her mother-in-law, looking down at her son Talanas who was asleep on his grandmother's arm.
"All that running around earlier really exhausted him." Illana said, taking hold of Sylvanas' hand when she sat down on the other side of her. "You probably already know this, but you look a lot happier whenever he is around."
Sylvanas smiled at her. "I feel it too. Ever since we returned from Honor Hold, I yearn for him to be near me whenever we're separated. He was so protective over me during and after that incident that I never realised I needed someone to look out for me like I look out for them."
Illana squeezed her hand which made the General look over to her when her attention moved towards Athrodar. "If he's anything like his father, he will always protect you and this family until his last breath. Tahnir's best trait was that he was loyal and protective of those he loved and I can see Athrodar will be the same."
Watching Athrodar show Victoria a few attacks with dual blades, she began to smile when he looked happy and proud that she understood what he wanted her to do almost instantly. "Good." She said, looking over to Anya, Clea and Melonara who made their way towards her.
"Do you want me to take him to his bed?" Anya asked, crouching down in front of Talanas and placing a gentle hand on his leg. "I'll be careful not to wake him up."
Clea leaned closer to the General when she saw she thinking about her answer. "Trust me, General. Anya loves him like he's her little brother. She will most likely stay with him until he wakes up anyway, might even sleep nearby to make sure he is safe."
Anya smiled up at the General when she overheard Clea tell her what she might do. "She's not lying, General. I love him like a little brother, I promise nothing will happen to him and I will look after him." Her attention returned to Talanas who remained asleep. "I will even hold him whilst he sleeps to make sure he is safe and protected in his big sister Anya's arms."
Sylvanas rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe not that, but fine... I will allow you to take him to his bed. Just don't wake him up and if he asks where we are, bring him back here."
Picking up Talanas, Anya held him against her and pressed her head against the side of his when he cuddled up to her instinctively, thinking it was Sylvanas. "I'll take care of him, General. Trust me."
Melonara and Clea both watched Anya take Talanas away, turning their attentions to the General who didn't look comfortable with having her son away from her already. "He's in safe hands, General." Melonara told her. "Still, it is Anya..."
"When do we plan to leave for Shattrath?" Clea asked, sitting down beside the General. "We're all ready to leave here."
"It's the rest of the company and having guards here for when we leave that's the problem." Sylvanas told her. "We have a few injuries that we can leave behind, but they won't be well enough to guard this place when we leave, so I have sent Viraleth back to Silvermoon to ask for a second company, or at the very least, half a company to defend here."
"Who do you think will give us half of their company?" Melonara asked her. "I don't see it being any of the two Sunblade companies."
"I don't think it will be them either." Sylvanas told her. "I'm hoping Lor'themar knows why we're asking for reinforcements and hands half of his company to us without much arguing." Her attention returned to Athrodar and Victoria in the distance, watching the younger elf spar with her father. "She will have to return home with her brother until we arrive at Shattrath."
"I'll look after them." Illana said, smiling at the General. "I have been since this campaign started anyway."
"And I love you all the more for it, Illana." Sylvanas told her mother-in-law. "Once Viraleth returns from Silvermoon, we will start to get ready to leave if the answer is what I want it to be."
"And if it's not?" Melonara now asked.
Sylvanas sighed and looked at the two rangers with her. "Then we may have to leave the injured behind with a handful of our own rangers to guard this place and make our way to Shattrath with half our numbers."
"I had a feeling like that would be the case." Melonara muttered. "For a new world full of orcs and demons, it has been a bit too easy at the moment. So it only makes sense that we have to leave half of our company here should we not get any reinforcements."
"Yes it does..." Sylvanas muttered under her breath, sighing and standing up, stretching her arms above her head. "I'm going to go annoy my husband whilst Anya is distracted, you girls want to help me?"
Everyone chuckled though it was Clea and Melonara who agreed, leaving Illana to roll her eyes and shake her head at the request. "I'll stay here. My son will have too much on his hands with you three."
"Good point." Melonara said, watching Sylvanas and Clea make their way over to Athrodar and begin to hinder his training session within the first few seconds. "She's happy now, right?" She asked Illana, watching her frown and realising she didn't specify who. "Victoria. After her parents died, she was sad and looked to have given up, but now she is with us, her other family, she has gotten happier now, right?"
Illana smiled and nodded her head, looking over to Victoria in the distance and watching her laugh whilst Clea and Sylvanas pin Athrodar down and stop him from helping her train. "She is definitely happier. Especially when they're both around."
"And they sound like they want to be around her a lot more often." Melonara said, looking down at Illana when she took hold of her hand. "They've adopted her like you've adopted me."
"Not officially, but we're both old enough and love each other enough to know that you're my daughter." Illana told her, looking over to Athrodar who was now planting several kisses on the General's face who was trying to break free from his grasp. "And he has loved you like a brother, especially since his father died and you've been there for him."
"Tahnir was like a father to me too, so I needed Athrodar as much as he needed me." Melonara told Illana, squeezing her hand. "And I definitely needed you."
"I needed you too." Illana said, smiling at her with a warm, caring smile. "You can go annoy him now, I'll sit here and enjoy it from afar."
"Okay, mom." Melonara said with a chuckle, jumping on Athrodar's back when she got close to him and forcing him to let go of the General.
"Any news on these free undead?" Kael'thas asked, walking beside Lor'themar and the Magister Thalina who was shadowing the King this week whilst her father was away to learn the politics and how things worked at Sunfury Spire.
"At the moment, there's not much." Lor'themar told him. "Halduron arrived yesterday and has set up a few scouts in different areas of Tirisfal. Apparently they have a couple of towns and villages in their control as well as Capital City, except we don't see any movement in the city after we lose them."
"Lose them?" Thalina asked, bowing her head when both the Ranger Lord and King looked over to her. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Kael'thas told her, smiling at the Magister and looking back to the Ranger Lord. "Lose them?" He asked now.
"Yes, my King." Lor'themar said. "We can't go into the heart of the city without being spotted, since most of it is destroyed, so we stick to the upper levels and the outskirts, yet when these free undead go into what looked to be the throne room, there's a passageway behind it that we lose them down. There's no exit from what we can see and they are gone for hours on end, sometimes all day according to these reports." Lor'themar handed the reports to the King, placing his hands behind his back whilst Kael'thas began to skim through them quickly.
"Do we know if they're a threat or not?" Kael'thas asked the Ranger Lord, reading the reports in his hands.
"It's hard to say. They've had skirmishes with the Silver Hand, but we don't know if they know they're free from Arthas' control or not. Or they're just looking to eradicate any undead they see." Lor'themar shifted a little where he stood. "If they know they're free, yet they are hostile to the living, it could be wiser to let the paladins and priests of the Silver Hand deal with them."
"We might have to." Kael'thas agreed. "But we'll see what Halduron says if he gets into contact with them." He folded up the reports and looked over to Lor'themar again. "Actually, he will get into contact with them. I need him to find Nathanos or someone higher up in this new free undead society and talk to them, find out what their plans are and if they're hostile or not." He watched the Ranger Lord bow his head to him, placing a hand on his arm to stop him from leaving. "I don't think I need to tell you, but I will just in case. He will need to be cautious about this, just on the off chance they will attack and kill him for getting close."
"I'll make sure he knows." Lor'themar said, bowing his head to the King once again before setting off to write up the letter and running into a ranger he didn't expect to see so soon. "Viraleth?"
"Oh good, you're here." She said, making the Ranger Lord stop in his tracks. "We need reinforcements. We plan to leave for Shattrath any day now, but we will have no guards left when we do. The paladins with us won't be enough and the mages are there for research and not combat." She watched the Ranger Lord begin pace, knowing he was thinking and hoping that he would give them the reinforcements they need. "Without these reinforcements, we are forced to halve our rangers and who knows how many we need once we get to Shattrath and beyond. Especially if we're traveling further into enemy territory."
Lor'themar looked over to the General's Chief Scout and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know, you've spent too much time around Sylvanas. You're giving me the look she always gives me when she needs something and knows I can't refuse when I see it."
"And what look is that?" Viraleth asked him.
"One that is a mix of confidence and uncertainty, with a sprinkle of hope just to play on the hearts of those sitting on the fence." He sighed and nodded his head slowly. "You can take half of my company. We're spending most of our time in the city anyway, they might as well do that in a new land."
Viraleth smiled and bowed her head to the Ranger Lord. "Thank you, Lord Theron."
Lor'themar winced at the name. "Don't call me that." He said, hearing Viraleth laugh. "No doubt Sylvanas told you to call me that before you left."
"Only if you said yes." Viraleth told him, bowing her head to him again and leaving to gather half of his company to take back to Outland with her. "Thank you again!" She yelled, disappearing into the distance.
"I felt those tremors again." Liadrin said, standing beside Athrodar as she decided to take up guard duty for the night. "Can't sleep?" She asked, glancing over to him.
"Nope." Athrodar told her, looking out into the darkness before them. "Sylvanas has our son sleeping beside her, so she shouldn't wake up to find out I'm not there. At least not for a while."
Liadrin smirked at the Lieutenant. "Why, does she not like it when you're not there?"
Athrodar shook his head. "Not really. She tells me she sleeps better when she has someone beside her, so when I'm not there, she wakes up most of the time to come find me. But since our son is there with her, she might be able to sleep for a lot longer now that he's there." He glanced down to the paladin who was smiling up at him. "What?"
"It's hard to believe you two have only been married for a month or two." Liadrin said softly, smiling a little wider at him. "Whenever I talk to one of you about the other, you both seem to know a lot about each other in such short amount of time." Her attention returned to the vast darkness before them. "It makes me happy to know one of my closest friends has found their soulmate."
"Soulmate, huh?" Athrodar asked, grinning at the paladin. "Didn't think you believed in such a thing."
Liadrin shook her head. "I'll be honest, I didn't. But since I've known you, you have never been like this to anyone. The moment you two started seeing each other, I noticed you changing how you go about your time with women that it surprised me and the Dawnstrider duo. Fast forward a few years and you've married her, had a child and you two know each other practically inside and out." She took hold of his hand and squeezed it lightly. "I'm proud of you."
Athrodar chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Thanks." He said, looking out into the darkness again and feeling a light tremor. "What was that?" He asked, looking over to Liadrin who began to smile to herself.
"You felt that too?" She asked, watching Athrodar nod his head. "Good. That means I'm not going crazy. Something big is definitely out there and I think it's one of those giant demon machines we were told about."
"Fel Reaver?" Athrodar asked, watching the paladin nod. "I hope not. We are definitely not prepared for one of them should they make their way towards us."
"No, I don't think we are prepared either." Liadrin said, hearing the sound of marching behind them and looking over to it, spotting Viraleth and what looked to be half a company rangers with her. "I think she's back and you have your reinforcements."
Catching a glimpse of Liadrin and Athrodar on the outskirts of the town, Viraleth told the rangers she returned with to get to know the barracks whilst she made her way over to them. "Is our General still asleep?" She asked once she stood beside them.
"She is." Athrodar said, watching Viraleth raise an eyebrow at him. "Talanas is asleep beside her."
"Ah." Viraleth nodded her head in understanding. "That should keep her asleep for a while." She told them, looking back to the rangers and smiling to herself. "I have our reinforcements, hopefully that means we get to leave here in a couple days and make our way to Shattrath."
"I wish I could go with you." Liadrin said, sighing shortly after and dropping her shoulders. "Unfortunately, I am stuck here for a while longer as we have been tasked to patrol an outpost to the north of us. Apparently that new race of people, the Draenei, are over there. Vandellor would like us to make contact with them, see if they have anything useful they can tell us about this place."
"Well, a part of me wishes I had that job." Viraleth said, wrapping her cloak around her when she began to feel a breeze. "The one thing about this place being broken is that the nights are really cold." She told them, having her teeth chatter a little and looking back to the barracks in the distance. That's when she spotted the General looking around for Athrodar, also wrapping her cloak around her tightly and smiling to herself. "Your wife is awake. Turns out that Talanas plan didn't last long."
Athrodar looked back towards the barracks and saw Sylvanas making her way over to them, hugging herself with her cloak in an attempt to keep warm and standing as close to Athrodar as possible to share his body heat. "This is why I am happy I'm the General." She said, cuddling up to Athrodar even closer and feeling him move an arm around her. "I don't have to be a guard when it's freezing."
"If it helps, I can make the light warm me up." Liadrin told her, holding her ground when the General practically threw herself at her in a tight hug. "I was going to say you can stand close to me, not take over my entire body."
"But you're really warm." Sylvanas told her, smiling at the paladin and then looking over to an amused Athrodar, finally laying her eyes on Viraleth. "I take it we have our reinforcements, judging by the many faces I don't recognise in the barracks?"
"Yes, they are here, General." Viraleth said, finding some amusement in watching Liadrin try to squirm free from Sylvanas who was taking advantage of her Light warming her up. "I think we should invest in having some paladins in our companies, just as living campfires that will keep us warm when it's cold."
"Oh, great... It's not like we're elite warriors, using the power of the light to purge evil from this world and our world. All of that is second to heating up rangers who complain when it gets a little windy." Liadrin pouted and looked away from the three elves with her. "Not like I killed a demon Commander or anything.." She muttered loud enough for them to hear.
"And we are proud of you for doing so." Athrodar told her, not stopping himself from smiling brightly when he saw Sylvanas continue to squeeze the paladin tightly, even going as far as to burying her face into her neck if only to make her feel uncomfortable. "But your General is cold and you have a duty to uphold."
Liadrin groaned and stopped fighting. "Fine, but if she touches me somewhere I deem uncomfortable, I will make sure we both freeze out here."
"Relax, I can behave." Sylvanas said, loosening her grip on the paladin and standing closely beside her now. "So when do we leave? After all, this is your turn to be in charge and I follow." She said, looking at Athrodar who looked back to the barracks.
"Two days." Athrodar told them. "I think that will be enough time to brief the new rangers on what to do here and what to expect." His gaze returned to the three elves with him. "It won't be enough time for them to be acclimatized to this place, but then again, we're not exactly used to living here either."
"At least we have family." Sylvanas said, looking at only Athrodar as she spoke. "And the one elf who makes me confident that we're going to succeed here is the one I'm sleeping with, so that's a bonus."
Athrodar offered the General his hand, a gesture she followed through with when she took hold of it and stepped forward to hug him tightly. "Like I said, soulmates." Liadrin said to the pair of them, looking out into the darkness again when she felt a light tremor. "Whatever that thing is, it's going away."
"Good." Athrodar said, kissing his wife shortly after. "That means we can sleep without whatever that is coming towards us."
"Yes we can." Sylvanas whispered, kissing Athrodar on the cheek and pulling on his arm. "Let's go. I'm going to need you tomorrow as I don't plan to tell the reinforcements what to do on my own."
"Fine..." Athrodar sighed, looking back to Viraleth and Liadrin. "Goodnight."
