Lost Lion

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

Volume 3: Chapter 6

***Tirisfal Glade – Capital City***

Arcane energy felt funny.

That was the only thought crossing my mind as I exited the portal from Stormwind to Lordaeron. As I had suspected, the portal in Lordaeron was positioned right by their military wing. The Stormwind portal, however, was not in the mage tower—or rather, the Conjurer's Tower—as I was used to. Instead, it was by the harbor overlook, out in the open.

Shaking my head, I brushed away the lingering wisps of arcane energy that wafted off my armor while I kept moving, aware that more people were coming through the portal behind me.

"Welcome, your majesties!" The Lordaeron Chamberlain, whose name I had forgotten, greeted our party. "King Terenas has been expecting you. Please follow me."

Our large party, now fully through the portal, looked to King Llane. The king acknowledged the Chamberlain with a nod and allowed him to lead the way. We were guided out of the military wing and onto a private, closed-off street that was empty save for a few dozen elite footmen. It seemed that they had cleared this route in advance for the arrival of the Stormwind royals. However, even though there were no civilians on the street, there were still several fancy-looking carriages and dozens of riderless horses.

"King Terenas is giving us quite the gracious welcome. His generosity knows no bounds," King Llane praised. Naturally, one could assume that such words would soon reach the king's ear.

As for our party members, they were all V.I.P., of course.

At the head of our procession was King Llane with his Kingsguard, the Queen by his side, and young Varian by hers. Next to them were Queen Lianne, Princess Calia, and the one-time future Lich King himself, Arthas. The Lordaeron royal family had opted to stay in Stormwind for a few days while Queen Taria entertained her friend and, of course, showed off the splendor of Stormwind. More than once, I caught Varian, Calia, Arthas, and Taretha playing around in the royal wing.

"Shall we, my dear?" King Llane asked his wife as they both boarded the carriage, followed by their son. Queen Lianne got into the second carriage, while a third was offered to the third V.I.P., my father.

Highlord Anduin Lothar politely declined and opted to take a horse instead. I knew he preferred riding with his knights and adjutants over traveling in luxury. He looked at me with a gentle smile, his eyes moving to the carriage meant for me. I shook my head; there was no way I was going to ride in a carriage if my own father was riding on horseback.

Choosing one of the many available horses, I mounted it easily. My retinue, the newly formed Templars from the Order of the Radiant Star—boy, that was going to take some getting used to—chose their mounts and followed in my wake as our procession moved out.

It had only been three days since the Radiant Star order was founded, and it had been a busy time for all involved. I was pleasantly surprised when Mara and Delilah took it upon themselves to handle the day-to-day tasks along with the training. Laura and Allyson acted as my adjutants, taking notes and bringing any matters to my attention. Even the newly appointed High Abbot took time to help with the organization.

In the end, I didn't have as much work as I thought, and other than giving the occasional B.S. Light lesson and demonstration, I was left to relax. I had come to a conclusion, after all this time, regarding how the Light worked. The Light was not something that needed to be explained; for that, I could gaslight them with almost anything.

Or rather…

The Light came down to basically one thing: monkey see, monkey do.

Because those priests and warriors had never seen a Light-empowered strike, they didn't believe it could be done. However, after watching me shatter a training dummy with it, they then knew that it was possible. With that example in their minds, they were able to empower their strikes with the Light to a higher level. In short, the Light was powered not by knowledge, piety, or even faith. It was powered by sheer belief. If they believed they could do it, then they could. Doubt would be their enemy, and hesitation their weakness.

Of course, having an affinity for the Light was a prerequisite, but in my opinion, the barrier for entry was pretty low.

It was just as I was getting into the groove of things when my father informed me that Terenas had called a Second Council of Kings even before I had awakened. As for the Lordaeron (continent) delegates that had arrived, they were to remain behind in Stormwind. Yes, even the larping red dragon Krasus was staying back.

And the reason that they had to stay behind? It was to display the Alliance's unity.

King Terenas, in his wisdom, realized that Stormwind was too far away to foster any real sense of unity with the rest of the Lordaeron kingdoms. Not only that, but King Llane had sent Stormwind troops north instead. In a grand gesture to Stormwind, Lordaeron had sent two thousand footmen with their delegates as a permanent foreign presence. King Llane was given free reign to use those soldiers and knights as he saw fit.

Naturally, because of political rivalry with the other northern kingdoms, each one sent their own permanent delegation along with some soldiers if needed. The final tally, when all was said and done, included another five hundred from Alterac, a thousand from Gilneas, which was matched by Stromgarde with a thousand of their own. Then came the heavy hitters: the mages from Dalaran offered Krasus but would answer to Aegwynn, and finally, a fleet to patrol Stormwind's waters. As for the non-human races, Silvermoon left Dar'khan here with his magisters, who would answer to Aegwynn, while their rangers and warriors would work closely with my father.

As for the Wildhammer dwarves, they could only spare us a dozen gryphons, which was actually better than nothing in my opinion. Great for scouting and taking out zeppelins, though I wondered if the zeppelins had been created yet or not. I was taken out of my internal musings as we approached the Royal Keep. The carriages stopped just before the moat, causing the chamberlain to look apologetic as he opened the gate. It looked like we were walking the rest of the way.

"Heh." I let out a soft chuckle.

"Callan?" a soft voice from behind me asked. I turned around and was greeted by the sight of Victoria, Laura, Allyson—who shot questioning looks at me—and ten more newly inducted Templar knights.

These particular knights had once been squires to the Brotherhood Knights under my father's command. The knights they served were lost before they could earn their promotions. In fact, many of our Templar knights were former squires or trainees who had yet to gain membership into the Brotherhood of the Horse. The sheer martial boon they brought to the Order of the Radiant Star couldn't be understated.

The irony that their masters served my father and now they were serving me was not lost on me. Tearing my gaze from them, I turned back to the front to see the king and my father walking into the inner keep, the latter gesturing for me to come with him. Since that didn't include the rest, I turned around and gave Victoria a look.

"I shall bring them to the Lion's Quarter," Victoria informed me before I could even give her an order. She then turned to her two younger Templar sisters. "Come along, sisters. You will find that Haylea has grown leaps and bounds since you last saw her."

Though the words were meant for Allyson and Laura, who could be called Haylea's superiors in the Light, I felt relieved that she had made it out after all. Toward the end of the siege, Haylea had learned how to be very economical with the Light. Her reserves weren't on the level of someone like Laura or Allyson, but she was a much better fighter. I was actually tempted to follow the girls to see the duel I knew would be happening.

"Lord Callan," one of the Lordaeronian elite footmen prompted me.

Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards right now. Turning around, I walked at a brisk pace and was soon behind my father as we were led down familiar hallways. Much to my surprise, we passed the rooms where I once met the king and instead went further down the hall. Lordaeron was built almost like a maze, and soon enough, I lost track of how many turns we took. Eventually, however, we made a left and saw two ornate double doors guarded by two Lordaeronian knights.

The chamberlain rushed ahead, conversing with King Llane about something I couldn't quite pick up. I was more curious about the change in venue. The two knights swung the door open for us, revealing two more knights on the other side with their backs to us. Beyond them, I could see a massive room. As we approached, I began to hear the sound of talking and rancorous laughter. Because the king and my father were blocking my view, I couldn't quite see inside the room. The mystery was revealed when a man shouted at the top of his lungs.

"His Majesty King Llane Wrynn, Highlord Anduin Lothar, and Hierarch Callan Lothar have arrived, sire!" the crier announced.

The noise from the room ceased even before King Llane crossed the threshold.

"Ah, welcome, my friend!" I heard King Terenas greet him genuinely. "And Highlord Lothar, it is good to finally see you on these shores."

When I finally entered the room myself, I was able to take in the sight. The stone interior matched what I had seen of Lordaeron architecture before, and the size of the room was as big as a decent wedding reception hall from my old life. The room was bright, and a quick look up at the ceiling edges revealed stained glass windows, much like those in Stormwind. There were also more empty windows to let in light and brighten the room.

"Ah, and there is my young friend, Callan Lothar. Returned to us hale and whole," Terenas's comment drew my attention to him. I saw the old king give me an indulgent smile as he approached and clapped me on the shoulder. "It does my heart good to see you alive and well, despite knowing so through missives. You did wonderfully, my boy—no, it's Hierarch Lothar now."

"Ah, it's fine, King Terenas." I inclined my head respectfully toward him. "You once called me friend, and for me, I've always felt that there's no need for formalities between friends."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Llane discreetly elbow-jab my father in the ribs and motion toward me with his head. The king looked very amused while my father only responded with a tightening of his jaw.

"Indeed, the lad is right!" a familiar voice boomed. Turning around, I spotted the owner of the voice. Thoras Trollbane, looking a bit thinner than I remembered, greeted me with a mighty clap on my back that would have staggered an ordinary man. "Good to see you, Callan! Now I can tell my boy that I saw you hale with my own two eyes."

"Likewise, King—" I trailed off as I saw the larger man give me a glare. "Thoras. I am glad to hear that Galen is also doing well."

"The lad worships you, and there's no better role model for him than you." The king of Stromgarde slapped me hard on the shoulder before he turned away, allowing me to get a look at a bunch of familiar faces. It appeared that the kings had brought their most trusted people with them. Nathanos, Uther, and Lor'themar were easily recognizable; the latter two gave me an acknowledging nod. The rest were strangers to me. I was pulled out of my thoughts as Thoras put an arm around my shoulder. "Seeing as how we are all royals here, I say we can drop the formalities and talk bluntly. All in favor?"

"Not everyone here is of royal blood, Thoras," Terenas rebutted, but without the title. "But I would say among royals, we could forgo titles. What say everyone else?"

"Ach! I fer one approve. Us Wildhammers aren't all fancy like our Bronzebeard kin," a jacked Wildhammer dwarf with "guns" that would have had him tested for performance-enhancing drugs and the most magnificent beard I had ever seen on a dwarf cheered.

"See, Kurdan agrees," Thoras grinned, thankfully missing my jaw drop at the name.

That was Kurdan of Kurdran and Sky'ree fame! I wondered if that legendary gryphon was here. The inner fanboy in me threatened to bubble up again. I had now met all five legendary heroes of the Warcraft universe.

' Get it together, Callan. Get it together!' I mentally berated my inner fanboy as Thoras turned to a familiar man in green.

"What say you, Daelin?" the king of Stromgarde asked

The Kul Tiran Lord Admiral just stared at the man before a much younger Katherine Proudmoore touched his arm. At her touch, the man exhaled and inclined his head toward the Stromgarde king.

"Let it be as you say...Thoras." With those words, the Lord Admiral gave his agreement.

Thoras then turned to a purple-robed man. Archmage Antonidas was in a losing battle regarding his hairline. It seemed that arcane magic could not cure male pattern baldness.

"Well, being as old as I am, I find that keeping up with such formalities tiresome," the Archmage replied easily. "I vote that we 'can' the formalities, as Thoras so eloquently put it."

Thoras then looked to Llane, who merely gave him an easy smile. No words were needed; everyone could see my king's preference. Finally, we came to the last three of the group.

"As a friend of Stormwind," King Anasterian spoke up first, drawing our attention. "I would not be averse to speaking informally in this instance."

Anasterian then looked over at Antonidas and gave the Archmage a wry smile.

"Contrary to how I look, I am not that young either. Such decorum, as Antonidas put it, grows tiresome over the centuries." The elven king just reminded everyone of their own short mortality.

"Well, Greymane?" Thoras asked. Unlike his joking tone with the rest, when he confronted the Gilnean king, I could see his posture stiffen and his mouth clench. "What say you?"

The Gilnean king—in the company of his wife, a much younger Mia Greymane, and the Alterac king, Aiden Perenolde—took a moment to think before he shrugged. "Seeing as how everyone here is of one mind on this, who am I to gainsay them?"

"Right, it is very wonderful, I think," Perenolde chimed in. I don't think anyone was surprised that Perenolde leapt to volunteer. We all knew the quality of their king; his people deserved better.

"Then it is settled." Thoras turned away from the Gilnean and Alterac royals and addressed Terenas, "There you have it, among the royals, no more formalities. That should make the meeting progress much smoother."

"Then, after our allies from Stormwind get refreshed, we will start the council," Terenas generously offered my faction.

"There is no need," Llane answered. "I am fine with starting the council now."

Terenas nodded and then gestured to a large rectangular table with a map of the Lordaeron continent on it. On it were metal figurines cast in the shape of each of our kingdoms' respective symbols. I watched as Terenas went to the head of the table, while the other kings took spots in the middle. Llane, with a wry grin, noted that the other kings had left the spot on the opposite end of Terenas open.

"My esteemed fellow lords," Terenas began, "before you is the current situation in Lordaeron as of two weeks ago. Marris here, along with Anasterian's own Ranger Commander, Sylvanas Windrunner, confirmed it."

Sylvie here? A quick search of the room revealed no female elf.

The kings of the Eastern Kingdoms immediately hovered over the maps. Some, like Thoras, said nothing, likely knowing the situation firsthand. Others, like Perenolde and Antonidas, whispered to the people they brought with them, perhaps to get a clearer picture.

I too took the time to study the map. As expected, many of our countries' figurines were congregated around Thoradin's Wall. Oddly enough, I saw a smaller force gathered a bit deeper to the west, around the Hillsbrad Foothills. Another thing I noticed was that along the Quel'Thalas borders, there didn't appear to be any large army of Zul'Aman trolls. Dare I hope that the Horde have not allied with the trolls yet? Perhaps maybe never? I would like to take credit for butterflying that away, but alternatively, it could have been Grom not giving a shit and completely ignoring them as potential allies.

' Oh God, please let them mess with the trolls,' I thought as I examined the maps further, recalling the significant presence of Forest Trolls in the Arathi Highlands. It wouldn't be anything massive, but any help in bleeding the orcs was a win in my book.

"As you can see, my lords," Terenas addressed the room, "the situation is dire. Although, for reasons unknown, the Horde has halted its push against the Bulwark, Nathanos and Lady Windrunner believe they are amassing for a major offensive soon. If that happens, it will be an extremely bloody fight. We need to commit more soldiers to the front."

"You're asking us for more soldiers?" Genn asked brusquely, pointing at the assembled figurines by Thoradin's Wall. "You have one of the largest gatherings of forces seen since the Troll Wars, and you are saying we need to send more?"

"You have not seen them as I have, Genn," Thoras spoke up in a grave tone. "For every one you kill, two more orcs take their place. There are as many orcs as there are trees in a forest or perhaps blades of grass on the ground."

"If I commit any more troops, I will leave my land open to attacks," Genn rebutted. "I will not be caught off guard like Stromgarde."

Thoras's eyes widened, and his nostrils flared in anger. "You dare—!"

"My lords!" Terenas slammed his hand onto the table loudly. The two kings grudgingly backed down from their verbal sparring. "There is another problem we must address."

Everyone looked to Terenas.

"While Lordaeron has sent many of her sons and daughters to the front," Terenas began, sighing heavily. "The fact of the matter is that they are mostly peasant levies. They are great in numbers, but lack the discipline of true soldiers. We need to rotate them out with our best before the Horde notices this, lest they break."

All the kings' expressions became grave upon hearing that. I could almost read their thoughts: after all, Lordaeron was the backbone of the Alliance. If the Horde could overwhelm them, what chance did the others have?

"Well, my lords." Llane's voice cut through the tense atmosphere among the northern kings. "If it is time we need, I believe we might have gained it unknowingly."

Now, all eyes shifted from Terenas, who was at the head of the table, to Llane, who was on the opposite end.

"Would you be so kind as to elaborate on your statement, Ki—I'm sorry, Lord Llane?" Perenolde asked. Of course, the Alterac king would have a vested interest; after all, if the Bulwark were to fall, his country would be next in the Horde's path.

"For that, I would have to let Lothar here explain." King Llane gestured to his best friend. "After all, he was the one who brought it to my attention."

Instantly, all eyes were on my father.

"I cannot take credit for this information," my father said before he looked at me, bringing their attention to me. "But I have good reason to believe that the Horde is dealing with internal strife due to me cutting down their leader when—when I came to Callan's aid."

Ah, shit. My dad was getting emotional again. Yeah, I died, but it wasn't his fault. Still, to reassure him, I gave him a discreet thumbs-up. The goofy gesture seemed to relax him, and he gave me a soft smile. The legendary warrior had been unusually sentimental since my return.

"I beg your pardon, Lord Lothar, but how could Lord Callan here possibly know that?" Nathanos asked skeptically. "When I was out scouting, you were… indisposed."

"Remember the time I spoke of the orc having a second faction?" I reminded them. While this was new information for the elven and dwarven kings, the humans' eyes showed they recalled my words. "Well, my father inadvertently slew their leader when he rescued me. By a fluke or perhaps the providence of the Light, we cut off the head of the snake."

"Would another leader not simply step up?" Perenolde asked. "Surely the northern Horde leader would have had a capable second."

"The Horde only respects strength," Llane answered for me. "They will only follow the strongest, according to what I've been told by Lady Garona."

"Ah yes, your pet orc," Genn interjected. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't fully trust the words of a captured greenskin."

"Lady Garona is a guest of mine, and I will not tolerate any slight against her," Llane warned the Gilnean king. "She has proven herself to be trustworthy and, more importantly, a friend."

' Oh snap!' I nearly brought a fist to my mouth to hide my grin. I watched with a sense of schadenfreude as the Lion King stared down the future Wolf King.

"It is because of her risking her life that we know the Horde forces to our south have pulled back their lines significantly," King Llane continued, even as the stare-down with Genn persisted. "Stormwind was only able to send aid to the north because of her information."

As King Llane finished speaking, the stare-down reached its conclusion, with Genn backing down first.

"Then, my apologies to… Lady Garona," Genn conceded, to Perenolde's surprise. Antonidas was visibly struggling to suppress a smile while Daelin and Thoras regarded Llane with respect.

"It seems that," Terenas said with a smile, "in light of the new information, which has been corroborated by Nathanos, Callan has indeed bought us valuable time."

' The bloody hell?' I thought, looking in his direction. How the hell did I end up getting credit for my dad taking out Grom?

"Wouldn't you agree, Aiden?" Terenas's eyes then flitted over to the Alterac king, who had the decency to look embarrassed.

"As you say, Terenas," Perenolde agreed, inclining his head in my direction.

Terenas's gaze then shifted to me so swiftly that I would have missed it had I not been watching him closely. That exchange with the Alterac king had been for my benefit. Someone must have informed Terenas about the events surrounding my awakening. Damn, Terenas… you're intimidating.

"Then we should bring all of our forces to bear and push them now while they are fracturing!" Thoras pounded his fist on the table, causing some of the figurines to topple over.

"I concur," Genn chimed in, much to Thoras's surprise. "We could dismantle the Horde in piecemeal if they are as divided as you say."

"I too agree!" Perenolde quickly supported the motion.

Terenas drummed his fingers on the table before looking to Llane.

King Llane met his counterpart's gaze before turning to my father, as if awaiting his opinion. My father's silence drew the attention of the other kings, who also turned to him. Although we were from different countries, my father's feats were well-known. After all, he had crippled the Horde under Blackhand. That alone earned him respect from any true warrior.

"Lothar?" Thoras prodded my father, who remained silent.

"Speak freely, Heir of Thoradin," Terenas said, reminding my father that he too was of royal blood and their peer.

"Then I shall speak bluntly," my father finally replied. "It would be… unwise for us to attack them now. We'd only be giving them a common enemy to unite against."

"That's why we should strike them now, before they can consolidate their forces!" Thoras said enthusiastically. Some of the other rulers nodded in agreement.

"Now that we have gained a reprieve, I believe we should focus on strengthening our forces rather than going on the offensive," my father began. "Forgive me for saying so, but many of the soldiers we are sending to fight, as you have stated, are barely trained or just part of local militias. I believe now is the time to train them up, to make our armies stronger and more well-rounded."

My father then looked each king in the eye.

"Furthermore, I propose the creation of a rapid response force—legions dedicated to the Alliance itself," my father explained.

"Is that not what we are doing now?" Perenolde asked. "Our armies are combined, are they not?"

"They are combined, Lord Perenolde, but they are not united. Our armies have different battle philosophies," my father rebutted before turning to Thoras. "You were in charge of our first unified force. Tell us, did they fight as one unified force?"

For a moment, Thoras's eyes grew distant, but then he shook his head.

"Aye, you have the right of it," Thoras agreed. "While they fought side by side, there was no time to instill discipline and unity in them."

"My lords, we now have the chance and the time to make our forces stronger before the Horde resumes their attack," my father continued, eyeing every king in the room. "The next time they face us, they will confront a stronger Alliance—one that will push them out of not only Lordaeron but through the dwarven lands and all the way back to the foul world from which they sprang!"

The kings were momentarily silenced by my father's passionate speech before someone reacted.

"Then by the Light, that's what we'll do!" Thoras pounded his fist on the table. "I vote we go with Lothar's plan!"

All the other kings nodded approvingly.

"You spoke of creating legions dedicated to the Alliance," Terenas interjected. "Can you elaborate on that?"

"Ideally, we would have trained our entire army to fight as one," my father said, holding up his hand and spreading his fingers before balling it into a fist. Everyone understood the meaning of his gesture. "Unfortunately, while the Horde has stalled their attacks for now, we still cannot pull those soldiers from the front to train en masse, at least not without weakening the Bulwark."

All the men in the room nodded in agreement.

"That is why we will send trainers and men-at-arms to the front to bring the levies and militias up to the standards of your respective kingdoms," he continued. The kings nodded at this plan. "At the same time, we will train several legions composed of every human, elf, and dwarf in the Alliance to fight as one. They will hone their strengths while covering each other's weaknesses. They will be the tip of the spear when we go on the offensive."

"That is quite a bold plan and addresses the most glaring weakness in our army," Antonidas, who had remained silent up to this point, spoke up. "While Thoras's army fought well and tried to support Prince Kael'thas as best they could, they did not trust that the mages under his command could help win the day. Likewise, my mages did not believe the defenders would protect them long enough to cast some of their more powerful spells."

"Aye, the trust between warriors was lacking at the time," Thoras admitted freely. "They were good lads, but as Lothar pointed out, every nation trains their people differently."

"Not to mention, we now have new weapons to incorporate into our army," Terenas said, looking at me and smiling. "If your Templars can perform even half as well as they did at Stromgarde, then the Horde's numbers will not hold too significant an advantage."

All eyes shifted to me momentarily before returning to Terenas.

"Then we have a plan," Terenas declared. "All those in favor of creating the Alliance legions?"

"Aye." Thoras was the first to speak.

"Aye," Llane agreed.

The rest followed suit, and soon, all the kings unanimously agreed.

"Then all that remains is deciding who should be in charge," Terenas said. "Who will be the Supreme Commander of the Alliance legions?"

"Having led them once before, I believe it should be me," Thoras volunteered. I could see his point; he had experience leading a multinational army. However, the title of Supreme Commander could only go to one man—well, two if you counted Turalyon.

"I disagree," Genn interjected. The two proud kings exchanged confrontational looks once more. "Why do we need a Supreme Commander? Our Alliance works well as it stands. After all, it wasn't a unified army under Thoras that stopped the Horde at the Thandol Span. It was the individual efforts of people like Callan and Alexandros that did more to halt the Horde's progress than any unified leader could."

That was a low blow, but it was one Thoras nor anyone else could refute. In hindsight, the initial Alliance attack had been chaotic: moving our army piecemeal, getting beaten at the line, and then being forced to split and flee. Since Thoras was in command, the responsibility fell squarely on his shoulders.

"There must be a clear chain of command," Daelin was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"There is one." Genn met Daelin's gaze. "Us."

Thoras glared at his fellow king. "You expect the Alliance legions to come to one of us every time a decision needs to be made? If so, you are a bigger fool—"

"Of course not," Genn interrupted, cutting off Thoras before he could rant. "I propose we establish a council of commanders instead—one representative chosen by each nation, with the authority to speak on their behalf. This is a new army we are forming, and simply put, we don't know who is best for the job until we put them in charge."

The other rulers appeared thoughtful. Genn had a point. A few discreet glances were shot Thoras's way. Had Thoras succeeded in stopping the Horde, he would have undoubtedly become the de facto leader of the Alliance forces. However, his failure was something that would likely follow him for the rest of his life.

"Furthermore," Genn continued, "let us agree that whatever decisions the commanders make, they must honor the majority's choice. If they later vote to grant Thoras full command, then that is what shall happen."

I was disappointed to see that the other kings were warming to the idea. It was a constant reminder that this Alliance had not yet gone through its growing pains. Our success in stopping the Horde was making the humans lax. At this moment, the Horde had only half its foot in the proverbial door, whereas—in another time and place—they might have already been inside, smashing up their belongings. Simply put, the sense of urgency was lacking.

"That is...agreeable," Terenas finally said, and that seemed to settle the issue with the other rulers. I noticed my father and Llane exchanging a look before carefully schooling their expressions. "Then, on behalf of Lordaeron, I shall nominate Uther as my representative."

All eyes turned to the future first Paladin, who nodded contemplatively.

"Then I shall put forth my son, Derek," Daelin said with pride.

"Lord Godfrey here is one of the best men I know," Genn said, glancing at the man beside him. I had to admit I didn't recognize him—probably because the last time I saw him, he was all skin and bones. Literally. He was also the only man who had ever managed to kill the Banshee Queen.

"I have need of General Hath to lead my own army," Perenolde said, looking at the grizzled old man next to him. "Who do you suggest we send in your stead?"

The famous Alterac general contemplated his king's request for a moment before responding. "Lord Jorach Ravenholdt has an agile mind and is a natural leader of men. I would suggest him, my king."

Did he say Ravenholdt?!

Perenolde nodded to his general and then turned to the other kings. "Then Alterac will send Lord Jorach Ravenholdt."

All eyes turned to Thoras, and I half-expected him to put himself forward as a candidate.

"My nephew Danath will represent Stromgarde," Thoras said. "He, too, is a leader of men and a warrior with few equals."

"Archmage Modera shall represent Dalaran," Antonidas said without much preamble. "She may be young, but she is powerful."

"Lor'themar Theron shall represent Silvermoon," the old king of Silvermoon said. "He was a personal student of our Ranger General and is a renowned warrior in our kingdom."

The exceptionally handsome one-eyed elf inclined his head toward the kings. There was a word for people like him back on Earth—oh yes, 'bishie'. As everyone looked toward King Llane, I realized with growing dread that I was about to be volunteered, wasn't I?

"Kardan is one of my best warriors and a superb rider to boot," the Dwarf King said, putting forth his candidate. With that, only one group remained to be heard from.

"Callan will represent Stormwind," my king said with a touch of humor. "You all know his worth."

...yup, I was half-expecting that. I glanced at my father to see if he was okay with me leaving Stormwind so soon. To my surprise, he seemed quite pleased.

"Then it appears the issue is resolved," Terenas said, nodding. "Alexandros is the nominal commander at the Bulwark. I believe removing him or giving him a council at this juncture would be detrimental. He has done a fine job safeguarding our lands thus far."

"I agree. Besides sending trainers for the troops there, I would leave him in command," Llane said first. The other kings took a moment to consider it before agreeing.

"With that settled, Uther, I know you have to return to Stratholme for the formation of your order." Terenas turned to the future first Paladin. "But afterward, you have my permission to recruit whoever you want for the Alliance legions."

"My thanks, Your Majesty." Uther bowed and then looked over at me. "Would you honor us with your presence in Stratholme?"

The thought of witnessing the formation of the Silverhand in person? Hell yes!

"It would be my honor to attend the formation of the Silverhand!" I exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Oh and Callan?" King Llane's voice was louder than normal. In fact I suspected that it was meant for more than just me as many of the kings turned in our direction.

"Your Majesty?" I asked. I was inwardly bracing myself for any more surprises.

"After much deliberation, my generals have agreed to confer upon your shoulders a new rank." If Llane's announcement did not have everyone's attention before, it did now.

My father shot me a look filled with meaning and that was when I realized I was going to be promoted here, right on the spot before everyone. I quickly closed the distance between me and my king and got down on one knee before him with my head bowed.

"My King!" I said for all to hear.

"Terenas, might I borrow a sword?" King Llane asked.

Due to me facing the ground, I only heard some shuffling and a sword being drawn from its scabbard. Then, just as quickly, I felt the flat of a blade pressed down on my shoulder. My eye darted to it and saw that it was quite a fancy blade with an extremely ornate design and intricate molding.

"Callan Lothar!" Llane announced with a kingly tone. "By my authority, I hereby promote you to the rank of Marshall of the Stormwind army. May you continue to serve with honor and distinction as you have up until now."

My eyes widened since I had jumped three frigging ranks! I barely had time to process that staggering leap in promotion when king Llane swiftly tapped both of my shoulders with the blade.

"Now rise, Marshall Callan Lothar, Hierarch of the Templars of the Radiant Star!" King Llane declared loudly.

Before I could even get to my feet, an eruption of applause ripped through the room.

Swamp of Sorrow – Twilight Hammer Stronghold *

Teron'gor was tending to the fire when he suddenly felt a surge of fel energy gathering. The sheer density of it made his skin crawl. He extended his senses and realized it was accumulating where his master had been resting.

"It can't be..." Teron'gor rushed into the tent where his master lay, only to stop short as he saw that his master was already on his feet.

"Teron'gor." Gul'dan growled, his voice heavy with menace. His body still bore the scars from when the Draenei Light had flooded him. "Where is Cho'gall?"

"Doomhammer sent him on a mission," Teron'gor replied, his voice trembling. "M-Much has changed since you have been...away, master."

Gul'dan turned to face him. For a moment, Teron'gor saw his master's eyes flare green briefly before settling back into their familiar red. "Tell me... everything."

And so Teron'gor did. It took the better part of an hour, but he recounted everything that had transpired since Doomhammer had taken command of the fractured Horde. When he finished, he could not meet his master's disturbing gaze.

Suddenly, Gul'dan's laughter filled the tent, and the air became thick with a suffocating surge of fel energy. The power radiating from Gul'dan was overwhelming, stronger than ever before. Teron'gor struggled to breathe. "M-Mercy, master..."

Just as abruptly as it had begun, the power subsided.

"Gather the surviving members of the Shadow Council," Gul'dan commanded. "And send a messenger to Doomhammer. Inform him that I am awake, and that if he needs anything to expedite the construction of his fleet, he should know that I am his to command."

Teron'gor hurriedly left to carry out his orders but not before he heard Gul'dan muttering to himself. It almost sounded as though Gul'dan was speaking to someone unseen. Although Teron'gor wasn't as powerful as Gul'dan, he could sense summoned demons. Yet, there was no such presence nearby. The only conclusion he could draw was unsettling.

Gul'dan's injuries had driven him mad.

TBC…

AN:

First thanks to Icura for editing this as always!

Secondly, a big shout out to my patrons who continued support allowed me continue doing what I love! Thank you so much.

And now, the Second Council of Kings has happened. Yes Callan get promoted again for what he's done. In everyone else mines "he deserve it!" In Callan's mind, he's failing upward. Keep in mind that everything Callan did and planned blew up spectacularly in his face. He propose slamming the door shut on Stromgarde with the Horde, that failed. He proposed to stay behind to defend Stromgarde and it's citizen, had his father not showed up, they would have all been dead. Another fail. Finally, more confident of his skills and abilities he went toe to toe with Grom Hellscream hoping to at least decapitate the Horde leadership. He was subsequently killed. Again, another failed. So while yes, we the audience, and the other people might see Callan as being awesome for what he did. In Callan eyes, he failed hard as nothing he planned worked out at all.

I would also like to address the whole problem with people having him be a fanboy to lore character he likes. Lets me put it another way, for anyone who likes a celebrity, sport athlete or famous person, you are technically on the same planet with them. Some are even in the same country, would you be like "Oh whatever," when you finally get a chance to meet them? No, thats not how most people would react, hence why concretes, performance and movies stars get so much rabid fan interactions. If you can play it cool, then grats to you but most people wouldn't be in the face of their favorite stars. In callan case in regard to wow, well its the heroes from Wow. That my thoughts on that, its a normal human reaction.

Thank you for everyone for reading and leaving feedback! I am glad the order name received good feedback :)
On another note, War Within came out and hopefully thaty shouldn't take too much time away from writing. I did find out what was up with that new "Lothar." Quick info dump: During the height of the Arathor Empire, a rival to the Church of the Light aka Church of the Sacred Flame, wanted to make the Light a state religion, Arathor Emperor said no, so a massive exodus happened, where the branch members of the Imperial familys aka Lothars, set sail else where. They then called themselves the Arathi Empire, different from Empire of Arathor.
Their kingdom religion is the Church of the Sacred Flame. They don't like outsiders, they are all half elf mix breed. As far as they knew Arathor still existed but learning of the human kingdoms, many of them feel that they (Alliance humans) should be subjects of the Arathi Empire. There were some that even spoke of conquest. There is even more stuff but that the cliff notes :D
So Anduin is still the direct line and the two branches while sharing common ancestry don't owe each other shit. And thats that for now!

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

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