The city of Stormwind was in an uproar. People were both in a state of mourning and panic, while farmers from across the Kingdom were slowly gathering, taking away from their families, incomes, and the kingdom's future crops to supply raw recruits for the Alliance war machine. Even during the invasion of the Burning Legion, there had been so many recruits and adventurers volunteering their services that Anduin had felt no need to institute the Kingdom's draft. Yet after the Siege of Lordaeron, all of Stormwind's reserves were called forward; outposts that had been manned by kingdom footmen for as long as the young King had been alive were left to militia to defend.
And this news rocked the city; it was all the Church of the Light could do to keep everyone calm as fears of future famine or worse crossed people's minds. Yet still more terrible news was circling Anduin's court. First was the fortunate news that the Hyjal portal had opened again, and the Empire had indeed sent a relief army under Shandris' command, but this news was mired with uncertainty as follow-up reports indicated this army was not going to help relieve the Kaldorei lines, nor did it seem to bear any of the goodwill Anduin typically associated with an army of the Alliance. Also following the battle of Lordaeron, many people, particularly contrarian nobles with grudges against the Wrynn royal line, had flocked to Volkmar and his Knights with their stories of the horrors of their world and their own Empire's steadfast stand against evil. And then lastly was the arrival of the Horde's newest reinforcements and yet another otherworld army through the Scarlet Monastery portal.
Anduin had extremely limited information on this Grand Cathay, but armies under that banner were already spreading across Lordaeron, claiming Horde outposts and neutral territory across the landmass as their own. Already their presence was interfering with Alliance operations, and so far only the Horde was able to benefit from their interference. But at least this Grand Cathay did not seem to actively be against the Alliance. Instead, only insisting that they were obeying the orders of some Grand Celestial Dragonflight while filling the skies around their newly claimed holdings with strangely designed, slow-moving airships.
In other words, the war was now entirely uncertain, with Anduin's own allies trying to subvert him, the Horde's strength entirely unknown to him now, and a questionable and slightly intimidating mass army moving into positions where they could threaten the Alliance and already were partially shielding the Horde from deeper incursions by the Alliance's armies.
This led to Anduin slamming his fists on the table of the war room while Genn and Muradin Bronzebeard argued about the current events. "Muradin, I was there. While it was impressive, the people gathering around Volkmar have no idea about this demon. It was no different than any Pit Fiend. We should either censor or jail these dissidents trying to overthrow Anduin and allow ourselves to focus on the real issues at hand. The situation on Lordaeron is drastically altered. The Skaven are the only force consistently opposing us up there. The Horde United army is in disarray, and Quel'Thalas' Sunsworn are spread too thin to make a difference if we make a strong push. And the more time we spend bickering, the more these Cathayans will buy the Horde time to reorganize and further entrench themselves. We can take half the Kingdom of Lordaeron, perhaps even secure everything from Brill to Tyr's hand, trapping the Horde forces enough to keep them all contained."
The dwarf, however, viewed things very differently. "And if we proceed this way, you're leaving us too exposed. I'm not calling Volkmar a threat, but between the demons of his world and the nobles trying to use him for their own ends, we have a problem brewing back home. I even caught my niece trying to visit him for her own ends while still demanding that Anduin accept the Dark Iron clan as an independent part of the Alliance. If we focus solely on the Horde, we're going to miss all sorts of troubles and all types of good that we can do. Between SI:7's work and these Cathayans being very open about their intentions, we know that they're still establishing their own power base here on Azeroth. It seems they've been directed to Stratholm and the city's docks district. Since they're neutral, perhaps we could encourage the Argent Crusade and Silver Hand to work with them to cleanse the city and make it habitable again. But that's not going to be possible with a blind attack leaving ourselves open to being caught off guard."
"And this Stratholme fantasy will just give the Horde a new bastion for the Forsaken if we can't hold them from seizing territory." Genn countered while glaring at his Dwarven counterpart.
Anduin had no patience for this bickering and moved to change the subject. "Do we have any new news on Kalimdor or the ocean lanes? Perhaps we can free up more resources to make both your suggested courses possible."
With that, Genn looked to Anduin before giving a respectful half-bow and answering. "The news is muddled, my King; however, it doesn't look good. Shandris Feathermoon has boarded a transport and is on her way to Stormwind as we speak. These Empire forces are moving independently and seem to be traveling either to the Stonetalon Mountains or to the Northern Barrens. However, our own failures have made the situation at sea worse. Princess Talanji was freed from the Stormwind stockades along with Sourfang. SI:7 has confirmed that Talanji has returned to Zandalar, but Sourfang has gone to ground; he may still be in the Eastern Kingdoms. If Talanji is influenced by the Horde, she could well sway Zandalar into supporting the Horde's naval efforts."
"And then Zandalar will cut us off from Kalimdor and secure most of the unclaimed islands where Azerite has been increasingly manifesting while also likely giving the Horde Silithus." Anduin sighed, head in his hands. The Horde was acquiring new allies left and right, regardless of these allies nature, and they were using them expertly to bludgeon the Alliance into being several moves behind Sylvanas.
"If it's Zandalar's navy that's the issue, we then just need to expand our own navy, and if it's Mallus, then we just need to find our own Mallus allies." Anduin looked up, somewhat in shock. After Lordaeron, Jaina had secluded herself, saying that she needed to think and study; only her own servants were allowed to see the former leader of Dalaran and now lost Theramor.
"Jaina, I was worried that you were unwell after Lordaeron." Anduin greeted the woman eagerly, glad to see another of his few allies in good health after fearing much worse.
"Unfortunately not. I'm still..." The woman paused as if uncertain. "Recovering from our ordeal with the Daemon in Lordaeron." As she spoke, Jaina's eyes darted to her hand, which held her staff; thick bandages were wrapped around the palm and back of this hand, only leaving her fingers free.
Anduin didn't want to, but now he felt compelled to fish for information. If Jaina was cursed or poisoned, he would need to help her even if she didn't want the help. "It was you who vanquished the demon. But I've never heard that spell before. Do you think we could make use of it again to safeguard Azeroth against future incursions by any of these demons?"
"No." Jaina answered too quickly for Anduin's liking. "I had to purge the memories from my mind. Which I suspect the daemon, or rather the forces it represents, are using the Horde. That ritual... It was dark." Jaina provided.
At that, Muradin spoke up. "Care to explain why you think the Horde is being used, as you call it? I recall them frequently using darker magics; the Forsaken are the bastion for the shadow priests with the cult of forgotten shadow. And with the Horde's past and their affinity towards dark magic, including Gul'dan and so many others, are we sure they aren't complicit?"
Jaina shook her head in the negative. "No, this was brought by one of their other world allies. And even this daemon is just a part of something else. But think to the Siege: would the Horde have held against us without the Skaven creating such a wide front on our flank, without the Vampires holding Brill as they did, or even that Daemon's disruption? The ritual was also certainly done by one of the otherworlders. I think the Horde is trying to bring up everything they can to fight us and turning a blind eye to the consequences."
Now Anduin rose, stepping towards the archmage. "And what are the consequences, Jaina?"
"I don't yet know." The woman answered.
"Jaina, what were the consequences of banishing the demon?" Anduin insisted, now his voice far more authoritative.
Jaina sighed. "I don't remember. However—" Jaina began to unwrap her hand before exposing her palm, where a circle with eight jagged lines was cut into her flesh. The scarred skin was flared red, almost unnaturally in agitation. "I've been trying to cleanse this since, but the mark is persistent, and it doesn't exist in anything I have on record. I'm almost certain it's related to the Daemon and the dark forces of the other world Volkmar had been raving about."
Behind Jaina, Genn scowled while Muradin locked a worried gaze on the offending mark on Jaina's hand. But Jaina then wrapped her hand again and continued. "If the Horde are to win, they not only need to leverage those new allies against us, they also need to expand their own Azeroth allies. Otherwise, I doubt they have enough to maintain their side of the war against us. I believe we have two courses that can eliminate these options for the Horde. The first is to fully counter their other world allies. Obviously, the first option is to bring the Empire of Man into the war, extending the Horde's front to include the Empire and having to commit forces to fighting on Mallus. That alone would undo much of the Horde's work this far."
Then Jaina paused for a dramatic effect before she continued with her speech. "Additionally we can explore the other portals. The Waning Glacier Portal and the portal into Silvermoon are both showing signs of accelerating their development. I don't know where the Silvermoon portal is leading; however, I have heard rumors of where the Waning Glacier portal is leading. A hill-covered forest, though we suspect it's one far from Mordheim, the air is humid and hot, and while the ground is dusty and dry, the scent of salt water is in their air. So likely the portal opening is closer to the ocean than the first two. At the rate of acceleration with some magical effort, we can have those portals open fully enough to support military action in a month. And if we can, depending on where this new portal is, we may convince those on its other side to support us against the Horde, granting us a further advantage against the Horde."
Anduin raises an eyebrow, considering the woman's statement. "And how will Kul Tiras take the Alliance conducting military operations on their sovereign land?"
With this, Jaina sighed. "I will convince them to return to the Alliance. I will reconcile our differences, apologize, and make them see the reason in stopping the Horde. And together we will change the tides of this war."
Now Genn Greymane perked up. "The Kul Tiran fleet could prove devastating to the Horde, perhaps even give us dominance over the sea entirely." The Gilnean King proclaimed with eager excitement in his voice.
Muradin Bronzebeard then next spoke. "If we can open up new fronts, the Horde's numbers will thin, stripping them of their advantage. Even if any new allies we make are entirely dependent on the Alliance to fight the Horde and their allies, the decision to ignore the other world or try and move the battle to the other world will still create vulnerabilities in the Horde's alliance that we can exploit." The Dwarven leader sat as he provided his reasoning while nodding along with his own explanation.
With this, Genn returned to the war table and sat down. "This still leaves us with the issues of Zandalar, Volkmar, and Cathay. If, IF, Zandalar proves to be as powerful as their propaganda claims, they could nearly negate the advantage of Kul Tiras rejoining the Alliance. And Volkmar, despite his better nature, is a political animal serving the interests of his nation and his cult first, making him useful for your political enemies in Stormwind's nobility. As for Cathay, all of this with them is too uncertain, but their armies could prove devastating should they turn on either side."
Muradin Bronzebeard sighed. "Then Kul Tiras is a race; if we can secure their support, then we will launch a preemptive invasion of Zandalar, destroy their fleets, and cripple their armies before they can join the war. Volkmar we just need to remove. With the portal back to Mordheim open, we can return him home to his Empire safely. As for the Cathayans, we can only hope to keep them from engaging us while we bring more of the Mallus factions to our side."
Anduin nodded along. "We'll have to keep it a secret then. I will personally return Volkmar to the Empire. With their troops already aiding Shandris Feathermoon's forces in whatever they have planned. Then surely I can convince their Emperor to fully side with the Alliance. Perhaps we can even use this second portal as leverage, or the Empire as leverage on whoever is on the other side of this portal."
"We'll delay in returning Volkmar until we can confirm Shandris' goals. Jaina, return to Kul Tiras as soon as you think you are ready. Everyone here must swear to keep all of this strictly confidential. We can't risk the Horde realizing our plans until it's too late for them." Anduin then ordered, which was followed by the others, all immediately swearing to secrecy. With that, the group broke up, Jaina returning to her room while the rest began to prepare for the rest of the day's meetings. They had a war to win, and following Lordaeron, they now had work to do to win the rest of the war.
Sylvanas groaned as she woke up in, far too bright, Quel'Thalas. She couldn't return to Orgrimmar, despite the city being both the heart of the Horde and the seat of the Warchief's power. Not while the portal to Mallus in Scarlet Monastery was now in constant use, these Cathayans were streaming through and occupying the Crimson Post while making demands of her, and she had no way to try and fight back; her armies were exhausted and needed elsewhere to fight the Alliance, while her current stock of Skaven were both running low on numbers and had proven far less effective than she had hoped fighting against the Alliance.
What was worse the Council of Thirteen was obviously scheming something behind her back, considering that Thanquol had apparently possessed the power to summon a demon on par with an Annihilan. Already she had to put a lock on this information and black out Baine from his typical sources of information while paying close attention to her Skaven allies. The rats were troublesome, their soldiers were untrustworthy, and their leaders were all far more interested in self-delusion and scheming against their own allies. Already they caused the Horde's troops countless troubles when working together.
If Baine could find any hint of the schemes the Council of Thirteen was obviously brewing, he might gain enough pull to force her to sever the Horde's alliance with the Skaven. And without a suitable replacement, that would be the same as if Baine just betrayed all their secrets to the Alliance or even if he pulled a Vol'jin and started a Horde civil war as an Alliance puppet. No, she needed to find, counter, and cover up any of the idiotic schemes of the Skaven before this got any worse.
Thus, she had been keeping Baine busy and distracted for the past few days, holding meetings with the Skaven and discussing what to do after the fall of Lordaeron. If she could distract both Baine and the Skaven, then she could keep them from tearing her Horde apart from the inside. It was already hard enough to keep the narrative under her control, blaming the Alliance and the demon for why Lordaeron had to be blighted.
But today was her last day of grace she could buy for herself this way. Sourfang had chosen to go into hiding after being freed from the Alliance stockades. Talanji, though with her liberation, needed to be returned to her homeland and was already asking for the Horde to aid her in settling some internal crisis for Zandalar in exchange for their allegiance to the Horde and the commitment of their fleet to the Horde navy. Some vampire representative was on their way for an audience with her, and lastly Grand Magister Rommath had demanded the right to show her something he felt could influence the war and the Horde going forward.
Sylvanas dressed while squinting her eyes. Traveling through the familiar streets of her one-time home city, the Banshee Queen felt both the nostalgic call of the past and also the bitterness of reality that her sisters were now her bitter enemies in a war to determine Azeroth's fate, that her sisters valued the Alliance and humans over Quel'Thalas, over their own people, over their duties to those they first swore to lead and protect, over her. And her sisters, the Alliance, those daring to pretend to be her allies, all called her a monster.
But she was now used to standing strong alone; she endured Arthas, how he used her, twisted her own soul against her, and she broke free; she created the Forsaken, giving refuge to those harmed by Arthas as she had been. She protected the Sin'dorei and brought them into the bastion of the Horde when the Alliance had used them as sacrifices against the Scourge and allowed the self-righteous Kaldorei to sabotage them along with the dwarves. She had been a true force driving the world against Arthas, ending his reign of terror, and though they dared strip her of her revenge against the Lich King, she held it not against them. She was given the vision of Garrosh sacrificing the Forsaken, her bulwark for Quel'Thalas against the wall of Gilneas, and she instead broke Gilneas, but not without honor, without mercy; it was the Alliance who allowed the Worgen plague to spread unchecked and broke truce with her forces.
It was her love for her peoples that had her stand against Garrosh's foolish plan to wipe Theramore off the map and thus endanger Quel'Thalas and the Forsaken, making them targets for Alliance ire. She stood against Garrosh, and Baine's Alliance sympathies stood for all the Horde when even their Warchief had been against them all. And if she had been allowed to exact her judgment on Garrosh, then so much of what was happening now could have been avoided. That is why Vol'jin declared her as Warchief.
And she had devoted herself to the role of Warchief for a time. Even as greater powers thought to use her as a pawn via the visions and dreams, she kept to her own growing strength, strength necessary to hold off the doom that was to come, that plagued her rest. Even as the Alliance betrayed her again and again and fools kept putting their trust in backstabbers and those who abandon their own kin to a wretched human princeling.
Sylvanas stepped into the meeting hall, in the form of an unbreakable and unwavering force of will, for the final meeting before Baine would return to Thunder Bluff. Return to being either a pain in her back or the waiting dagger of betrayal she always knew him to be. He was no different than the pathetic rats sneering at each other from opposite sides of the chamber. Only Lor'themar and the Sin'dorei drew anything resembling pity from Sylvanas' well-hardened and long-dead heart. Lor'themar and her beloved elves didn't deserve to be subject to this farce needed to keep her disloyal allies in line. But she couldn't shelter them from harsh reality, and if they didn't understand the harsh truth of finality. Of the truth of doing what was necessary, then perhaps they were as doomed as Baine. But she knew her once people would be far better than that.
Before speaking, Sylvanas did one last check of the room, the golden light from the red and gold chamber's skylight burning her eyes, now far too used to darkness. Each of the necessary players in her game were now in place; Gallywix had come practically dragging Ikit Claw from that rat's laboratory. Rommath was waiting at Lor'themar's side, ready to share the revelation she had been holding him from sharing until today. Eitrigg, though he replaced Sourfang, was gone, searching for the Iron Horde's remnants to add to her Horde's ranks. Mayla Highmountain and Thalyssra of Suramar were both in attendance. Mayla by Baine and Thalyssra by Lor'themar. And standing in place of Aleksandr of the Von Carstien vampires was his spawn, Tarei, and the recently arrived figure, another vampire who had come with a small entourage. She had been allowed to attend, but Sylvanas didn't know her name or her agenda yet.
"The war is currently in our favor; Azerite harvesting is at an all-time high, supplying the Horde with a surplus. I have received confirmation that Princess Talanji of Zandalar is en route home with Rokhan, where she will argue the value of the Horde to her father and people, and with Zandalar's fleet, we can replace our losses from the Legion invasion as well as capitalize on the Alliance fleet's own crippling." Sylvanas began, her voice loud and triumphant.
"Despite failures, Skaven numbers have proven a worthy addition to our ranks. Though I have need of new plans to ensure that the Skaven moving into Azeroth can more appropriately integrate into the Horde and avoid endangering themselves facing other subterranean life on Azeroth." This statement earned scowls from the Skaven, each of them clearly thinking themselves above her authority and likely needing a private reminder of her power over them, and clearly not willing to admit the Skaven's near crippling and frustratingly new tendency to start small, and costly, miniature wars with whatever life happened to share whatever cave system they tried to run off to in order to establish their 'warrens' in. The Skaven lower castes were quickly learning to dread the possibility of encountering Kobolds, Troggs, and the other things lingering in the depths. She was also certain she needed to demand the Skaven's lowest 'cast' was done away with on Azeroth; hiding the open slavery practice was far more effort than it was worth; at least the deplorable things died quickly enough.
Before Sylvanas could continue, Baine interrupted. "Enough. Enough of this victory speech, Sylvanas. You have yet to spare a word for what happened in Lordaeron City, the Blight, the Demon, or what happened with Sourfang. This is war; while you're here giving self-congratulatory words, people are suffering. How do you plan to bring it to an end?"
In response, the Skaven in the room all hissed at Baine, and Sylvanas had to fight back a grin at how they were all, despite scheming against her in their little black hearts, unified as one, acting perfectly as her pawns. "Calm down. That is what we are here to address, the final decision on our moves forward. With Zandalar joining our ranks and soon the Mag'har of Durotar from the alternative timeline, we need to prepare for the final stages of the war. First of which—"
Again Sylvanas was cut off. "Is me. I will not tolerate exposing myself to rat swill for another second of my time. It's throwing my humors out of balance." The vampire announced, stepping forward with a fanged smirk on her face, one full of contempt, while Tarei behind her glared with absolute hatred.
Sylvanas could not hide her own scowl of contempt for the self-important and gaudily dressed woman before her. "Yes, miss—" she trailed off, leaving room for the new arrival to introduce herself.
"You shall address us, as my lady. But I am the voice of the Night Court, mouth and ears of Manfred Von Carstien, heir to the Empire, Elector Count of Sylvania; mine name is Alya Von Carstien. See, one doth not take the name of Von Carstien for granted. The fool Aleksandr hath entrenched himself and our name in your petty squabbling for an uncouth length of time. Thus my expertise hath been called for to address thy courts and assess this mire of insolence Aleksandr has brought upon our name. You shall grant me passage to this Stormwind City of this pathetic Alliance so I shall render mine judgment to their courts. If you're..." The vampire's contempt as she spat the word was obvious. "Horde, is worthy. Manfred might see it worth his while to take you under his wing to shield and guide thine people under proper stewardship."
And with that the vampire turned and made her way out of the chamber, leaving only a written paper with her stated demands, worded much more eloquently and diplomatically, laid out with what appeared to be a formal seal of office formally marking the document, pressed in red wax. As the vampire left, Tarei's hateful glare followed her every step, dripping with a desire to murder that Sylvanas rarely saw one supposed family member give another. While Sylvanas was often merciful, she also knew how to use an opportunity; if Tarei knew Stormwind, then perhaps she could use that animosity to frame the Alliance for yet another crime that should have rightfully been theirs already.
Once the sound of the annoying vampire was gone and Sylvanas could pass aside the document for Nathanos to review later, she continued the meeting properly. "Rommath, who was supposed to be first, now will inform us all of his recent discoveries with the world of Mallus and the portals connecting our worlds."
Rommath stepped into the light, replacing Sylvanas as she stepped out of the harsh beam and back into the gentler Shadow. "I'll be quick; if you don't understand, you can ask someone else later. The next portals after the first are beginning to open up; the growth of the portal is becoming faster as each before opens in sequence. The forces then contribute to the exponential growth of the tears. By this sequence we were able to devise which in the sequence should be next to open, and observation has confirmed the hypothesis. As such, I've given orders for a limiting boundary to be established to contain the growth of the Scarlet Monastery portal while we observe the next portals. My own conclusion is that of the next portals, the first to open will be here in Silvermoon, followed immediately after by one in Kul Tiras."
Rommath spoke swiftly, not pausing for anyone. "We have gotten initial reports from the other side of the portal using spirit conjurations. The air is dry, and there is sand immediately outside the portal; however, depending on the time of day, the sand will be replaced with salt water. Temperatures during the day also can reach well towards or over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit during the day; the hottest we detected was one hundred and six. Further, a wind gust carried additional sand particulates, which has led to the assumption this portal is opening onto a desert island of some kind. As such we should prepare Silvermoon by building a canal between the portal and the dock. If the otherworldly allies are able to identify this location and any other potential allies or threats, this would also be of note."
Now Lor'themar spoke up, he clearly having the same question as Sylvanas. "What is the quality of the naval fleets from Mallus?"
The Skaven eyed each other nervously, clearly wanting to boast, but convinced the first rat to make an untrue boast would see their position in the Horde suffer severely, which would lead to the other backstabbers ganging up on him later. Which, surprisingly, Thanquol was the first to finally speak. "There are many great ships in the Empire of Man fleet, all trapped in a river for stupid-dumb man-thing reasons. Decks lined with many cannons. Blistrox should be able to tell you exactly how the clan Pestilens fleet is bigger-greater, yes-yes."
Across the way, Blistrox looked sicker than he normally did. But before this Skaven bickering could continue, thankfully, Rommath caught on that allowing the Skaven to continue playing their petty politics was useless to the current conversation and pressed on. "The second portal should, by virtue of its location, be more secure than the Scarlet Monastery portal. However, for the Alliance, the second portal they can aim for leaves their next move rather predictable, though I have no idea as to where it leads."
Baine now spoke up, adding perhaps his only useful insight of the last several days. "And this portal is in Kul Tiras, which has remained neutral despite open hostility towards the Horde. Kul Tiras, who was the naval arm of the Alliance until after the third war and whose land the Alliance will need to bring in whatever they find on the other side of the portal."
Rommath then spoke up, finishing the thought. "Or it can be an avenue of attack if only we can find the opening and a means to get our armies to it."
Sylvanas sat brooding; they acted like Jaina could just ask, and the Kul Titans would forgive not only her but the Alliance's betrayal. No, the world was not forgiving, sisters, mothers; it was all the same. They held that bitterness in their hearts always. It would be Alliance trickery and politics that would bring Kul Tiras into the war. And what she needed for that then was trickery and politics of her own. Her information had brought her some flavor of something from the other world she could possibly reach out to now, possibly head off Jaina's scheme if her own portal opened fast enough, or if the Kul Tiran portal opened to an opportune location. She had news of other vampires, other natures of undead. Restless sailors, vampire captains, a perfect stain to help blight Kul Tiras, souring its taste to the Alliance forever. If the Alliance wanted the island state back, she could make sure it would never be worth the price of their trickery.
"I think we have enough of the news; Rommath, prepare the new portal and expeditions to explore it once open. I wish to make sure our Von Carstien allies are properly seen to. Everyone else is dismissed. Return home, see to your people, and share your love for them and your families. Let them know this war is ours, securing the future for the Horde so they may never know fear of the Alliance again."
Reviews:
Guest 1: that remains to be seen.
Guest 2: well hopefully I could for the answer for that actually into this chapter, but it's Thanquol's ritual circle, and Jaina was working to take over his ritual so she could cancel the spell, and the spell well when summoning the Daemon their very name is in dark tongue. As when Thanquol accidentally summoned Skarbrand the first time his name was marked as the symbol of Khorne on a fake Skaven relic.
Guest 3:and this one of the closest equivalents of a Slaan they had banished him using a preprepared spell, at some unknown personal cost.
deadliestfan:I didn't cover it well because I was trying to stay close to Patrick's POV and to avoid excessive detail. But Jaina was snap casting after being distracted from her real task, studying the summoning circle to figure out how to banish Skarbrand, so she's not throwing out her best, and then Khorne's daemons are the second most endurant, if you leave out Tzeentch magic BS. And this Jaina was obviously the one to Banish Skarbrand by taking control of Thanquol's summoning circle and voicing the banishment command.
Amanwithhobbies: Probably not for some time. Khorne's just impatient and trying to claim skulls before the other God's can stake their claims.
Ironwall: or it could be something else entirely. The planet soul or whatever now isn't even a Titan by Blizzard, which to be fair was a longer standing theory.
OscuroSignore-51:Dark Tongue isn't something you learn, it infects you. But the Skaven have been around long enough that the Horde can decipher and speak Queekish, and Jaina is well a genius routinely given rather BS feats that make this look simple. All she needed to do was find the Demon's name and call it out in the banishment phrase, the the circle needed Skarbrand's name that's part of Warhammer Daemonology, you can't control what daemon you get unless you have their name, and their name comes in dark tongue... This spreading the "infection" of chaos.
If you know Hellblades they're a better Frostmourne. Like Blizzard never shows what happens to someone not killed by Frostmourne, and those cut but not killed are always shown being fine, despite the fanboy counterclaims of "well it just didn't cut them because anyone cut by the blade just dies" where a Hellblade... Not only does the blade claim your soul upon death, it boils your blood. Men cut by a Hellblade unless cleansed by a priest of worthy skill, like the wound being submerged in the cleansing waters of a Shallyan Temple, or a Wizard with the power to cleanse corruption like a user of Hysh, the victims wound will not stop bleeding and their bone marrow will heat up as their blood boils until finally the victim dies and their body burns away into nothing... But that process is described as actually taking time, so for the Alliance specifically I doubt any of the surviving victims would suffer that fate since they have gods expy Anduin right there plus an army of top priests, and even if not then likely the individual was caught in the Blight when a certain bitch gassed her own city. Horde on the other hand, Druidic and Shamanistic healing is depicted as being more naturalistic and uses seperate cleansing, so they might see a guy suddenly die and burst into flames. ... Suck it Frostmourne you fucking suck you freaking handicap allowing a dying and weakening death knight of a human man child beat a badass of thousands of years being fantasy doom slayer.
Antonio ranza: and reality burns.
micelzod:And the Road to hell is paved with good intentions but a evil heart.
Hakuryuu: personally I'm just sick of Blizzard making the Horde races and individuals like the Alliance more and painting anyone with a critique as some deranged lunatic or self serving hypocrite whose going against all things good. Let the Horde have good reason to not trust or like the Alliance, they're routinely done dirty and get painted as the bad guys even in the few moments were they're solely the victims.
BloodRedRoses11:well hopefully this gives some hint as to that plan, you may want to reread earlier chapters even in this very book to get the full clue as to what's likely coming.