Lost Lion

Disclaimer! I don't own Wow. Blizz does, and your soul too.

Volume 3: Chapter 7

***Capital City – Military Enclave ***

'Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle,' I thought as the two Dalaran mages began waving their hands to form another portal next to the already active ones for Stormwind, Dalaran, and Silvermoon.

When I agreed to go to Stratholme, I figured we would be portaling to Silvermoon and then traveling on foot to the east gate. Flying was most likely out of the question since the elves probably didn't have enough Dragonhawks for our entire entourage. However, even on foot, we would shave off three days compared to traveling from Lordaeron Capital City to Stratholme. So, there I was, watching wide-eyed as the portal for Stratholme was created in front of us.

King Terenas' kingsguard was the first to cross through. After a few moments, one returned to inform Terenas that the other side was secured. The king was not alone; he was accompanied by the immediate royal family that included Queen Taria and young Varian. However, they weren't the only royals present. Stromgarde's king, Thoras, and his son, Galen, were there too. The boy, who I had last seen in Stromgarde, looked well and—upon seeing me—made to rush over but was held back by his father.

Next to Thoras' son was Derrick Proudmoore who represented Kul Tiras. He greeted me with a nod and an easy grin, which I returned before my eyes settled on his companion. She was a little blonde girl with her hair tied in braids, looking around in awe. Jaina Proudmoore was absolutely adorable as a child with her wide-eyed, innocent expression. It was said that daughters never grew up in their father's eyes, and if this was how Daelin remembered her, then it was no wonder he moved heaven and earth to find her.

Next to the princess of Kul Tiras was a dressed-up Taretha Foxton who—being the same age as the princess—was immediately delegated to be her companion and handmaiden.

Poor Arthas was looking a bit resentfully at the princess due to losing his playmate. If all went well, there was a chance the princess would become his future 'waifu,' though someone would need to sit down with the little punk and teach him about commitment. That, and to switch horses often enough so he would never grow too attached to one, as it could adversely and massively affect his mental stability.

In the timeline that I knew, the death of Arthas' horse, Invincible, became a major contributing cause for his downfall which was absolutely ridiculous. If that was for real, then the best solution was to do everything possible to mitigate the boy's potential fall by preventing the emotional attachment in the first place.

Finally, there were the others: Perenolde, possible traitor king of Alterac,but without General Hath at his side. Godfrey, in black and brown noble outfit for Gilneas complete with a top hat. Antonidas in an ostentatious royal purple robe for Dalaran, and then us. Lor'themar had portaled back to Silvermoon with Anasterian to prepare their army, while Kurdran did the same, only to Dalaran, as that was the closest portal point to the Hinterlands.

The royal dignitaries crossed over first, followed by Uther and his people. Before I knew it, it was time for me and my templars. I took a deep breath and stepped through the portal. Just like before, I marveled at how there was no buffering. One moment, I had one foot in Lordaeron, and the next, I was in front of the infamous city of Stratholme. Though, I was pretty sure it was only me who thought of it that way; for the rest, it was probably a holy bastion of sorts, like Vatican City from my old world or Mecca.

I watched as the highest-ranking nobles from the city marched out to greet us with all the pomp and circumstance imaginable. I wondered if that mayor was the same mayor who would have been purged later on. The irony wasn't lost on me that young Arthas was walking into a city that he would cull in the future—might cull—maybe cull?

Huh, I wondered if that part of Arthas' life was completely derailed now. Or maybe it wasn't? After all, unless I made sure Ner'zhul was dead, there was a chance he could come back as the Lich King. Anything less than a dead as a doorknob would just allow interference from the Bronze to ensure that Ner'zhul's soul got ripped out by Kil'Jaeden and turned into said Lich King.

With noble courtesies observed, Terenas and the other royals were ushered into the city. I was about to follow until someone cut in front of me. My eyes widened as the figure took off their hood to reveal startling green eyes.

"Lia?!" I asked in shock.

"Callan..." Liadrin, High Priestess of Silvermoon, breathed out as she stared at me. "It's good to see you well."

The two of us drank in each other's sight. Technically, it had only been a handful of days since I last saw her, but it felt like so much longer. Then, as if the High Priestess was assured that I was in fact real and standing in front of her, she moved her gaze from me to the templars behind me.

"High Templar Victoria, High Templar Laura, and High Templar Allyson, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Archbishop Foal has prepared a special seat for all of you to watch the ceremony," Liadrin said, inclining her head toward them.

"Likewise," Victoria answered. Being senior to Laura and Allyson, she spoke on their behalf as well. "You can forgo the formalities. You and I held the same rank before my induction to the Radiant Star."

"Then, Lady Victoria, Lady Laura, Lady Allyson, this way, please. These acolytes will be your personal attendants for the duration of your stay," Liadrin said, turning to her left where a group of priestesses was being beckoned over. A quick glance gave me a count of nine. They then broke into groups of three to stand before each of the three former clerics. "If you need anything, let them know. They are quite eager to learn of the Light from you."

Victoria was the only one of the three newly christened High Templars who took having the helpers in stride. Her two younger colleagues actually flushed red and appeared flustered under all the attention. It was not so long ago that they were the ones doing the serving, and now they were getting VIP treatment. I then noticed that there was no one for me. Liadrin, as if sensing my thoughts, gave me a soft smile.

"I shall personally be seeing to your needs like before, Callan," Liadrin explained, giving me a soft smile. "It's a role I've become quite adept at."

"Are you sure?" I asked her. "Wouldn't Alon—the Archbishop—need you for some other task? It's an important day, isn't it?"

"The Archbishop and I discussed this very matter, and it's merely an extension of what I did for you before," Liadrin said innocently. Yet, why did I see Laura and Allyson side-eyeing me at the edge of my vision? And Victoria, what was with that amused gaze?

"Then—let's walk and talk, like old times," I clarified loudly and extended my arm before Liadrin. "Lead the way."

The future Blood Matriarch of the Blood Knights motioned for me to follow her as we entered the city. My first thought upon entering the infamous city was that it was tight, or perhaps compact would be a better word. The design was quite similar to Stormwind, but there was no canal system to space the districts apart. It took me a moment to take it all in before I looked ahead and saw thatTerenas and most of the dignitaries had already gotten into the carriages and were beginning to leave. Liadrin led us to a few carriages bearing a seal that I did not recognize, just underneath the one for Lordaeron. Was it perhaps Stratholme's own personal seal?

"Each carriage has room for you and your acolytes, sisters," Liadrin told Victoria and the girls. She then turned to me and gestured for me to follow her to the lead carriage.

I unslung my sheathed runeblade from my back and placed it in the carriage before climbing inside. Liadrin followed me a moment later and shut the door, leaving us the only two people in the room. She knocked on the wall of the carriage and, a few moments later, it began to move. As it did so, I let my gaze wander to the window and the sights outside.

The carriage moved at a leisurely pace, letting me know that we were taking the scenic route so that they could show off their fair city. I barely remembered the game version of Stratholme, but I have to say that it had an uncanny resemblance to Stormwind. Could this have been the last city that the Arathi built before they left Lordaeron shores for good? Was that why, when they built Stormwind, they made it bigger and better?

"Callan." Liadrin's voice tore me out of my immersion into the sights of Stratholme. I turned to see her looking at me with a guilty expression. Even her two dainty hands were balled up so tightly that they were slowly whitening her knuckles. "I'm sorry... so—so very sorry for failing you."

I tilted my head to the side. "What are you talking about? Fail me how?"

The strong demeanor that was on display earlier in front of my clerics was gone. In its place was a young elven girl who seemed almost frightened, but not because of me. Her eyes shimmered as she fought back tears.

"If not for High Cleric Mara Fordragon, you would have died," Liadrin said, her tone filled with guilt. "All that time following you, learning from you, and when I needed to apply your teachings the most, I failed miserably."

Ah, so that's what this was all about. My first instinct was to hug her, but she wasn't a child. She was a fully grown elven woman. So, the next thing I did was reach out to her shoulder and give it a firm squeeze.

"Lia, that's not your fault," I told her sternly. "Mara learned it much earlier than you. I'm confident that, in due time, you would eventually have mastered it yourself. You not being able to do it back then was not a failing on your part, alright?"

"You don't understand! If I had been a better student, then things wouldn't have ended up this way."

I inwardly frowned. This wasn't working. I needed to find a way to cut through the guilt stew she must have been festering in for the past month. My mind raced for a solution until I suddenly had a light bulb moment. When in doubt, browbeat them with the Light!

"Lia, look at me," I said, meeting her eyes. "I believe that you were exactly where the Light intended for you to be, and you witnessed what the Light wanted you to see."

"What do you mean?"

"After watching Mara's resurrection spell, don't you now a better idea of what you should be doing to further yourself in your study of the Light?"

Liadrin took a long moment to think about my very flimsy reasoning. However, whenever the Light was invoked, as a holy woman of the faith, she had to consider it carefully. "...yes, but you still suffer—"

"...no more than what was needed," I interrupted whatever she wanted to say. "The Light brought me back using Mara's hands. Next time, it might be by yours. Regardless of everything that happened, you walked away with a deeper understanding of the Light, did you not?"

I wasn't sure if she did, but this was Liadrin, the future legendary elf. I had faith that she did in fact learn something while I was gone. As if to prove me right, her expression slowly relaxed, but not without scrutinizing my face for potential falsehood. I clenched my jaw and gave her my most serious expression. In the end, it was Liadrin who looked away first as she reluctantly conceded my point.

"Lia," I coaxed her in a soft voice. "Remember, we learn from the Light, and since we are all one in the Light, that means we are meant to learn from each other. This lesson, harsh as it is, will only make us stronger."

The high elf didn't say anything more after that, but I could feel her gaze on me as she digested what I told her. To give her the privacy she needed, I turned my head to look at the scenery outside the carriage window. I saw many people lined up, shouting praises to the king. Others were pointing at our procession, and children were on the shoulders of their parents trying to get a better glimpse of us. They probably had no real idea of what was going on but were just excited by the atmosphere.

"Callan..." Lia's voice made me turn to her. She gave me a complicated gaze before bowing her head. "I... I will reflect upon your words."

"Good!" I grinned widely and clapped her shoulder. "There's the Lia I've come to know and love!"

The elven woman's face became stricken before she blushed red and shy. "Y-You are teasing me!"

"Shouldn't make it so easy now, should you?" I said casually, folding my arms behind my head and leaning back. "A hesitant Liadrin is no Liadrin, I tell you. Your faith and conviction are some of the things I admire about you, you know."

The female elf priestess blushed so hard that her face matched her hair for a moment. Alright, guess I can relent.

"So, this new order Alonsus is forming, the Silver Hand, are you planning on joining?" I asked, switching the subject. "If not, you really should. I think you'd do quite well. Heck, you could probably make an elven order for Quel'thalas."

Liadrin gave me a sharp look, probably thinking I was teasing her again. However, my expression was dead serious, and she saw that too. "Y-You think so…?"

"Yes," I told her without a hint of hesitation. I knew she could definitely do it; in another life, her order rivaled the Alliance. It was then I felt the carriage begin to slow, and a quick glance out the window showed us approaching a massive monastery-like structure. It looked like we were here. Giving Liadrin one more look as the carriage came to a complete stop, I threw out my final words. "Just think about it."

The moment it was safe to do so, I opened the door and exited it to take in the heart of Stratholme. It was said that the city was built around the Church of the Light, and it showed. Everywhere I looked, there were buildings dedicated to training the priesthood; signs of the Light were more prevalent here than in the civilian sectors. The rooftops were the colors of gold and white, signifying their ties. Another thing to note was that—unlike the wooden buildings in the civilian sector—the buildings here, in the heart of the city, were all made with white stone. Where other buildings around it were large and ornate, this building, The Church, was of more humble design, with its sloped roof and stone white walls. It looked more like a beefy version of a chapel if I was being honest, but it appeared capable of holding thousands easily.

"Even I was impressed when I first came here," Liadrin said as she settled down next to me. There was no hint of her distress at all, though I doubted that I resolved all her worries. My entourage exited a mere moment later and formed up behind me. "Come, the ceremony is to start soon. You can leave your weapons here; none would dare touch them."

I was a bit hesitant to leave my new runeblade, but I understood why. This was a place of peace and worship, not war. It would change soon enough, but for now, old customs had to be observed. I gave my weapon one last lingering look before depositing it and following Liadrin inside.

Upon entering the building, I was greeted by more stone white wall, each one stacked intricately on top of one another and sealed with mortar. The hallway wasn't fancy or special; it was simply square stone hallway, and while I might have been a bit disappointed that it wasn't fancier, it gave off a home-like feeling as if all were like before, I could see many priests and their acolytes bustling about, making last-minute preparations for the ceremony. Many of them, upon seeing the lion sigils on our armor, stared in wide-eyed awe. A lot of those awed looks were directed at me which, now that I knew where I stood in terms of 'holiness,' made a lot of sense. So, digging deep from a memory from Earth, I did what the celebrities there used to do: smile politely and wave.

The design of the monastery-church was more in line with Stormwind's. Unlike the honeycomb-like pathways in Lordaeron's Keep, it was kept simple with long hallways stretching in either direction that had no breaks in between. That way, even if I got lost, I could head to the end of the hallway, hit the wall, and either go left or right until I reach an exit. We continued along like this in silence as this was probably the first time we had ever seen the birthplace of the Church of the Light.

Soon, I began to hear low humming chants with a musical quality to them. Liadrin led us to an entrance and opened it, revealing a massive room that was circular like a dome. It felt almost Greco-Roman in design from my old world, with sculpted pillars and marble floors. After taking it all in, my eye was drawn to the massive altar in the middle, carved from stone. I wasn't sure if they were aware of this, but that altar was radiating with a tremendous amount of Light energy. It probably started out as an ordinary stone, but over the centuries, it became imbued with the faith of millions of priests. In fact, this entire room was filled with a deep imprint of the Light, but the altar still easily outshone it all.

Luckily, I didn't bring K'ara along; this would have been like an all-you-can-eat Light buffet for her! All my amused thoughts were cut off when Liadrin took us closer to the altar, revealing four intricately carved seats for me and the girls. We weren't directly behind the altar, but we clearly got backstage seats. Looking out into the crowd, I saw King Terenas in the very front row, followed by anyone of royal blood. People like Godfrey had to sit in the row behind them.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and flushed a bit red as I realized that in the context of my old world, this was a position for fellow priests or ministers. It couldn't be any more obvious to me that I was one of them now. I always had a certain respect for people of faith in my old world, but I had never truly seen the Church of the Light as a legitimate organization that demanded the same respectful reverence. Yet, seated here in the heart of their faith, with the Light imbued in every aspect of this room, perhaps it was time that I did.

There were clearly other powers out there, of course; one of those transported me here, after all. But maybe I shouldn't be overlooking what passes for gods here so easily. I would probably never convert to any of their faiths, but it shouldn't hurt to engage with them in a more respectful manner. The sudden sound of bells tolling took me out of my complicated thoughts as I heard a familiar chant being almost sung.

"It...could that—" Unfortunately, it stopped before I could confirm my suspicions. So distracted was I by the song that I failed to see that Alonsus Foal, decked out in holy finery, was standing in front of the altar and saying words in old Arathi, which sounded like a bastardization of Earth-Latin to me. Before him, kneeling, were five male figures with hoods hiding their faces. I smirked as I knew exactly who was behind those hoods.

Alonsus finally finished his introduction before he somberly looked at the nobles in attendance.

"For centuries, the Church of the Light has stood for peace," Alonsus began in Common. "In our efforts to spread that peace, we nurtured the spirits of the people, healed their bodies, and gave alms to the needy. Though some of us have lost our lives in this noble calling, none have regretted their end."

The Archbishop swept his gaze across the assembled masses.

"However, that is no longer possible." His voice dipped low. "For not since the times of Arathor and the Troll Wars has our peace been so thoroughly shattered, our faith so wholly challenged."

Oh, he was good. While Winston was more direct and characteristic, Alonsus had a storyteller's quality to his sermon.

"Even now, these invaders, these orcs and their Horde, sit on our very doorstep, eager to slaughter us much like the Trolls once did. But this time, they are more numerous than even the Trolls our ancestors faced thousands of years ago," the older man swept his gaze meaningfully among the royal contingent. "However, by the grace of the Light, our kingdoms have united once more, like Arathor of old, to combat this threat."

Alonsus looked at Liadrin who was standing behind my seat and gave her a soft smile.

"But we are not alone, for our ancient allies from long ago have reappeared to join us in this fight." The famed Archbishop then waved a hand towards me. "Even the blood of Thoradin has returned to take the field once more!"

'Oh! That was good! Nearly gave me goosebumps. Nice tie-in!' I thought while nodding my head. As if to confirm my thoughts, the older man gave me a quick grin before turning back.

"But even that is not enough." Alonsus's tone became dire. "To combat this threat, we must look further back, to the hallowed antiquity, to when the mighty god Tyr took the field and vanquished evil with his mighty warhammer."

The story of Tyr, as told by the Lordaeronians, was that he was a war god who fought against evil. He never compromised and fell only after vanquishing a great evil. His most notable feature was his silver hand; he had lost his real one fighting a massive dragon in Northrend. His story was one of personal sacrifice and an unwavering resolve, inspiring many last stands in Lordaeronian history. In a twisted way, dying in defense of a just cause was seen as the noblest end.

"And so, my brothers and sisters, esteemed kings of Azeroth, we shall follow Mighty Tyr's example and combat evil with the Light itself!" Alonsus declared loudly. "We will shine like a beacon and never falter against evil, just as he once did. Though Tyr is no longer among us, we shall act in his stead, to be the guiding light for his people and their protector. We shall be his silver hand."

As if on cue, a banner unfurled behind the altar—a silver clenched fist over a pure white tapestry. The image set the room abuzz with interest and excitement.

"No longer will they be known as knights or mere lords, but as the best of them all—Paladins," Alonsus proclaimed, and I felt the Light fill the room once more. "They shall be the truest and most valiant of knights, but no longer will sword and shield be their only weapons. No, they will wield the Light itself!"

I don't know how Alonsus did it, but suddenly a pillar of golden light descended upon all five hooded figures. Thunderous applause greeted the old holy man's announcement, but he was not finished.

"And so today, I will anoint these five men you see before you as the first of many more to come." Alonsus raised his voice to be heard over the applause, capitalizing on the fervor of the moment. He pointed to the first cloaked man in armor. "Arise, Uther, the First Paladin, the Lightbringer for these ever-darkening times!"

The cheer grew louder as Uther removed his hood to reveal a ruggedly handsome face and rose to his feet. I had been informed that he had earned the title Lightbringer for his deeds in the Hinterlands. It could have been my title—some might argue that it was—but it was too late now. Uther had showcased the Light first, and the survivors spread word of his deeds like wildfire while I was stuck in Stromgarde. He was the Lightbringer now.

Alonsus then moved from Uther to the other hooded men.

"Stand up, Tirion Fordring of Hearthglen," the Archbishop said as Tirion revealed himself. "Stand up, Saidan Dathrohan the Bold!" One by one, the younger versions of these legendary paladins were unveiled. "On your feet, Turalyon, son of Dorus," Alonsus continued, "and finally, stand firm, Othmar Garithos, Elf-friend!"

'The fuck?!' I mentally shouted, nearly getting to my feet as the young Garithos pulled back his hood. Where was Gavinrad?! I knew he was assigned to Lordaeron as Taria's adviser, but because I didn't see him, I thought he was prepping for the ceremony.

"Together, the five of you shall be Lordaeron's first paladins and lead the Knights of the Order of the Silverhand!"

The applause was deafening, with people clapping so hard that they might need to visit their local priest for hand healing. Meanwhile I was still looking at Garithos, the man who took Gavinrad spot. I guess I had somehow butterflied his chances of becoming one of the Silverhand Paladins away as well.. As if on cue, the bells tolled once more, and Alonsus began chanting a litany similar in tone but different in lyric from what I had heard before. His solo continued for a few moments before a priestly chorus joined in.

Gloria~

Honorfice~

Praelium Facio~

I might have forgotten many details about the MMORPG, but the "Call to Arms" was an unforgettable musical piece. The lyrics were still as unintelligible to me as they had been before, but hearing it live and in person gave me goosebumps. Right then and there, I decided to sit back and simply enjoy the moment.

Stratholme Main Entrance - The Next Day

I stood at the designated portal area; I said designated because all of it was an area located right outside the stone white gates of Stratholme. It was the iconic twin gated entrance with the stone foundation, and it was here we would set for the warfront. Apparently, Stratholme didn't have an arcane leyline to alleviate the burden of creating a portal. According to Liadrin, King Terenas had mandated that his major cities be equipped with a portal in case of emergencies. As a result, Capital City had become the hub for the portal network within Lordaeron, while places like Hearthglen, Stratholme, and Andorhal acted like small airports, unable to handle large volumes of foot traffic.

The delay in the mages' arrival was due to the fact that Stratholme's portal mages had to juggle sending King Terenas and the royals back yesterday after the ceremony. While the mages in Lordaeron only needed to exert minimal effort, those in Stratholme had to work at full capacity for the dignitaries' travel. Fortunately, Derrick, Godfrey, and I had stayed behind to wait for the Silverhand paladins and their newly inducted members to gather their things. I had thought the ceremony would end with the induction of the first five paladins, but it continued throughout the day for those knights deemed worthy to take up the mantle.

There was also the ceremony to bless the stones imbued with the Light that were to be used as hammer heads for the new paladin's warhammers. Note to self: be sure to ask Mara if K'ara could do something similar for our templars.

Everything combined together to make it an all-day affair, and by the end, I was near the point of collapse by the time that Liadrin had shown me to my room. That night, I slept like the dead.

If it hadn't been for Liadrin waking me up, I'd still be asleep.

"I have to say, thanks for getting me up again, Lia," I said to the elven priestess.

"It was my duty, one I was happy to perform," Lia replied with a soft smile. "It would not be the first time I've had to get you up after an exhausting day."

'Now, wasn't that the truth?' I thought, recalling those grueling days in Stromgarde. It was a tough time all around, but there were some silver linings. I felt three stares on my back and knew they were from my entourage. It wasn't intense or anything, but I could tell where their thoughts were. 'Damn it, Victoria, I did not, and I repeat, did not have sexual relations with that elfette!'

Ignoring their gazes, I turned to the official holy warriors of Azeroth—the Silverhand paladins. They had kept to themselves, not out of rudeness, but because, no sooner had they been ordained, they were to be sent off to war. Having been on the logistical side of things before, I knew how easy it was for a million little details to slip through the cracks if you weren't diligent. Uther and Saidan were busy lecturing the new recruits, Tirion was checking their wagons with a parchment checklist in hand, and Turalyon and Garithos were distributing tomes of Light scriptures to the new recruits.

Maybe I should offer a hand? With my course set, I walked over to the Silverhand's group, and their attention shifted to me instantly.

"Hierarch Lothar," Uther greeted me. I ignored the awe-struck looks from the recruits, though I noticed that several, including Saidan, were glancing past me at my entourage. "How can I be of assistance?"

It was kind of interesting to note that the Radiant Star had a higher female enlistment rate compared to the Silverhand. In fact, half of my main entourage had a gender split of fifty-fifty. Perhaps Stormwind women were just tougher than their northern counterparts. Though, I decided to keep that thought to myself.

"I was about to ask you the same, Supreme Commander Uther." I grinned. Uther and I were peers now, and that felt quite heady. "I have a knack for organization and would be happy to lend my services. After all, we are all soldiers of the Light now. We need to look out for one another."

"You honor us with your words, Hierarch." Uther smiled. "But I believe Tirion has things well in hand, or at least he should."

The legendary knight then gave the future—well, second future—Ashbringer wielder a stern look.. It was clear that Tirion and Uther must have been close friends, as Tirion was in the middle of giving Uther a rude gesture when he seemed to remember they were not alone. He then ignored his Supreme Commander and turned to me instead.

"I am grateful for your generosity, Hierarch, but this is the Light's punishment for pushing such work onto the majordomo of my estate," Tirion said, gesturing to the stack of parchments in his hands. "It is something we will all need to relearn in time."

Message received.

"In that case, I'll leave you to it." I inclined my head toward the second-future Ashbringer wielder. Though, now that K'ara was alive, it might have changed that bit too. Here's hoping I didn't inadvertently change things too drastically and that Frostmourne was out of the picture; otherwise, many would face very, very grim fates. Shaking my head, I noticed Uther and Saidan step aside, a silent invitation for me to join them. Leaving my entourage behind, I stepped into the space they had created. "So, this might be a bit late to ask, but do you know which part of Hillsbrad we're heading to?"

I had a rough idea of where it was, but a bit of small talk wouldn't hurt. Besides, there was no guarantee that Hillsbrad Fields would be the canonical location. In another time and place, it was the only area large enough to accommodate all of Stormwind's refugees.

"Ah yes, I had almost forgotten," Uther said, turning toward the new paladins lined up. "Captain Roper!"

A bearded man in his late thirties stepped out of line and approached us.

"We'll be supported by the Dorus estate which has acted as stewards for the region for many years now. In fact, the reason Southern Lordaeron has so many militias is partly due to their family's efforts over the centuries," Uther explained before turning to the two other paladins. "Turalyon!"

I watched as Turalyon, one of the greatest heroes in WoW, made his way over. It still filled me with awe to be in his presence. To me, he was THE hero, the benchmark for all future hero archetypes, and had few literary peers in my book. It almost felt wrong that he was looking at me with such awe when I was barely holding back my urge to ask for his autograph. Hopefully, spending time together would help me get used to his presence.

"Yes, Lord Uther?" Turalyon asked, trying his best to keep from gawking at me. "You called for me?"

"Yes, the king has passed along orders for you before he left yesterday," Uther said, as Captain Roper arrived. "Captain Roper, you have King Terenas's instructions for Turalyon, do you not?"

"Aye, milord," the Captain replied in a rich, deep, and familiar baritone voice.

'It can't be!' I mentally denied even as an incredulous grin threatened to split my face open.

The Captain took out a missive from his pouch, unfurled it, and faced the future legendary paladin. "Due to your position as regional commander of the southern defense forces, King Terenas commands that you raise an outpost in the Hillsbrad Foothills—"

It was another epic voice narrator guy!

***Dalaran City-State ***

Lirath Windrunner sipped his mana wine, seated as he was in the portal area as he awaited his friend's arrival. Despite his house majordomo's reservations, the only male heir of the Windrunner family had decided to journey to the war-torn human kingdoms. Unable to convince him to return to Quel'Thalas, the majordomo had reluctantly hired a mercenary group from Dalaran to ensure his safety.

The mercenary group was an unusual assortment: six humans clad in black armor and led by a female arms master named Eris, with their leader being a blue-haired elf maiden named Tyri. Though he had never heard of a powerful magister by that name, Tyri had corrected him, revealing that she was a wild mage. Not an uncommon thing in Quel'Thalas, though Lirath suspected Kael'thas would have tried to recruit her had he known of her talents.

So here he sat, flanked by Tyri and Eris, waiting for his quarry. Callan Lothar, friend or not, had much to answer for. Not only had he made Lirath's indomitable sister shed tears with his supposed death, but he had failed to send her a message upon his awakening! Most egregious of all, however, was his audacity to promise his favorite sister a song.

Passing through Stormwind, Lirath had heard the bards' songs, which were surprisingly unrefined and sometimes borderline vulgar. Yet, despite his best efforts to resist, he found himself enjoying them. Imagine his surprise when he discovered that the songwriter behind these melodies was none other than Callan Lothar himself!

If Lirath had to screen all the unique songs from Callan's head and find the most worthy, then it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. After all, he couldn't just let any song be used as a serenade to his favorite sister. With his resolve firmly set, he took another sip of his mana spring wine just as he felt the arcane energies from the Lordaeron portal spike. Moments later, heavily armored humans began to step through.

Lirath's keen eyes, honed by his Windrunner heritage, quickly spotted his old friend among the group. Callan Lothar walked through the portal with an amused expression, seemingly indifferent to his surroundings.

Such laxity!

Rising from his seat, Lirath waved his arms dramatically.

"Callan Lothar!" he shouted.

Callan's gaze found him almost immediately. While Lirath had expected some level of surprise, he didn't anticipate Callan taking a few steps back and rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"Tyri, Eris, with me," Lirath ordered, a determined gleam in his eye. The heir was here, and it was time to delve into the depths of his musical repertoire!

TBC...

AN:

First and as always thanks to Icura for editing this, always putting in work!

Secondly, thanks to all of my supporters who contribution allowed me to continue this hobby in a steady manner. Thank you again!

As for this chapter, and now, it is official there are two holy warriors factions, one from the North, the Silverhand, one in the South, the Radiant Star. Templar and Paladins. I intend to show the difference in each other style going forward subtly and not just give people a stat sheet that goes "Okay so a Templar can do this and a Paladin can do this." I intend to weave it into the tale organically but feel free to speculate away. As for the final part, if you spot it, you spot it, but I ain't gonna spoil it :P Also yes, the Roper name should be obvious but then again that game was so old people might not realize. But that okay too, it amused me. Thank you again for reading!

UPDATE NOTICE For Steptember 23rd Post : While the support and contribution helps, I still am at the whim of my employer. As such I have been assigned work out of town and so would be away from my computer, and no I don;t have a lap top, can't afford one yet. That said, my supposed schedule time to return is on the 28th, so expect it sometimes between then ad Oct 1st. After that I would still follow the same Tuesday update. It is what it is and all I can do is roll with the punches. Thanks everyone!

Once again, please considering supporting us on patron at "icuraandvahn" , Thank you!

Finally, as always, CC and discussions are always welcomed!