World of Warcraft®

The Alliance troops in the Barrens were a little on edge. After months of being at a standstill, waiting for reinforcements and supplies and staring at the Horde forces across ravines and hills waiting for something to happen, something finally did. In the past week the Horde had sent small parties to raid their camps and their forts. Small skirmishes between Horde and Alliance on these gods forsaken plains wasn’t unusual. But these particular attacks seemed to have a very specific pattern. Cause a little havoc, steal a few supplies and do what they could to hinder the building of their defenses. In and out, quick as could be. They did not stay long to put up too much of a fight or be captured. They didn’t know when and where they would strike next. But all the camps had been victims of the activity and there was definitely a specific pattern emerging.

The guards at Fort Triumph had been put on double shifts and been told to keep a keen eye out for any suspicious movement. But they were worn. And so they did not see anything as the night wore on into the wee hours of morning. That is until a light abruptly arose atop a nearby hill. A tall flaming torch easily the height of two men. And under this flame washed by its surrounding glow the silhouette of a female Tauren.

The alarms were sounded and troops gathered at the gate. The shadow of the Tauren just stood there watching them gather. She stood just that much too far to shoot from the wall. Her still figure broke as she stomped the ground three times, and then fast as that flame came to life the Tauren disappeared, running off into the night.

They stood at the gate and gathered on the walls waiting for an attack, but none came. When morning broke a scouting party was sent out to look at the torch left behind. Atop the beam, its pitch covered top still smoldering, hung a brittle, blackened skull, and tied to the beam a sash of softened hide, painted with markings in red and black. The effigy was pulled from its place and brought back to the fort where a dwarf, one of the few survivors of the destruction of Bael Modan, took one look at it and knew what its symbolism meant.

“Tha’ there’s Tauren. Some tribe means war.”

Word slowly came from the other Alliance strongholds across the southern Barrens. They had given the same message that night.

<<posted in all major alliance locations in the barrens, in a large looping hand, as if the writer was too big for the paper>>

This here's a warnin y'all.

You earthen folk, dwarves and suchlike, and mah gnomish friends, y'all best be gittin' gone. Same ta you elfs. Ah ain't got no notion to be causin a ruckus with you what unnerstands about the holiness of the lands.

But the humans what done what they ought notta, and them wolfs-in-skin-clothing, y'all best be gettin' yaself ready for a war. There's a storm a comin, an it're red and black and filled with woe.

This here's the barrens. This here's sacred land. Reckon y'all might not know wut that means ta us, but yer about ta find out. It don't belong ta nobody but itself, and you puttin up ya walls, and ya roads and mucking about where y'ought notta be, well, it're endin.

With respect
Archdruid Plainswander

Nyzii stopped along the path to rest under a nearby tree. He doesn't make it to the Barrens very often and is certainly looking forward to getting back to the dusty sands of Durotar. That is when he noticed the letter, firmly attached to the shady tree.

After deciphering the large loopy letters, he quickly produces a sheet of his own paper and copies down the text, though his writing looks more like chicken scratch compared to that of the Tauren's.

"I ssshall sssee about making sssome sssilver or gold off thisss bull by offering my ssservices to their caussse. If they really want to get the attention of the Allianssse then this letter ssshould be posted in their sssities, not on a lonely tree. The AAMS can sssertainly deliver the message for them!"

And with that, Nyzii skittered back down the path he was once following.

"Ms. Aeldgyth, do I really have to do this?" said the somewhat perplexed Draenei. All Aeldgyth did was nod.

"Surely the twins would be more suited for this kind of job? I have a load of paperwork to get caught up on and if the response is going to be what I think it will be, that means we have got to be ready for an influx of letters." Vasilia said, trying to plead her case.

"Vasilia, the twins are on assignment in the North right now and wont be be back for a few days. The letter is marked urgent so I need you to look after it. I will do the paperwork, just get that letter out to all the major cities first, then start with the townships and then the small villages. A letter such as this, from the Horde, needs to be distributed to all the Alliance." replied Aeldgyth, underlining how much work needed to be done.

"Yes Ma'am" was all Vasilia could say as she picked up the stack of letters, fresh off the printing press, and left Aeldgyth's newly painted office.

The tall, blue Draenei gathered the supplies she would need to post a copy of the letter in every alliance city, starting with the capitals. "It is going to be a long week" she mumbled to herself.

As she left the office she had the strange sensation she was being followed, again. Looking to the shadows of a nearby try, she called out "I have a lot of traveling to do so if you are still planning on following me around I suggest you make sure you have enough supplies. I have a lot of distance to travel this week."

There was no reply from the shadows, but Vasilia was sure the rogue that had been tailing her for the last few days was still on the job. Shaking her head, she left to get the job started.

--------------------------------

((OOC, the Alliance Branch of the AAMS has received a copy of Plainswander's letter marked as "URGENT: General Delivery, Alliance" from the AAMS Horde office. As such, the Alliance AAMS couriers will be reading the letter out in the public channels of all the Alliance major cities and a selection of smaller cities over the next few evenings, all ICly. In addition, the letter will be read over the hearthstone channel periodically. The goal is to ensure that as many members of the Alliance receive a copy of the letter.... Just one of the many services provided by the AAMS!!!!))

The warrior kicked at the loose rubble at his feet. He nodded slightly eying the ruins of what had once been Camp Taurajo. An unfortunate causality of the growing war between the Horde and the Alliance.

"Come on man!! Don't do this! You're one of us!"

Jericho turned his gaze to the side and looked at the man he had captured, a looter who had taken the Camp's destruction as a chance to get rich quickly. The looter was squirming against his bindings.

"Look! It's war right. They're monsters! Come on let me go. I-i'll make it worth your while. I got money. A lot of it. Okay okay how about women. . I have them too!"

The warrior didn't respond to the man's remarks he instead reached down and picked up a sizable rock that had once been part of the camps foundation and griped it into his right hand and slowly made his way to the looter.

"No! NO! Traitor! Don't do this you sonofa*%$#!"

There was a slight noise as stone met skull.

Jericho tossed the rock aside and set about doing what he came here for. He had been making the rounds to assess the damage that the war was incurring. He has seen the looters in Auberdine, the orc razing of Ashenvale, the forsaken devastation in Hillsbrad and now the Theramore Marines has established a very strong and destructive foothold in The Barrens.

It was all out conflict. Peace was no longer any form of option and Jericho couldn't be more ready for it. This is what he lived for, the kind of environment that he thrived in and more importantly and enemy he could actually respect. He understood their reasoning for wanting to defend their homelands and could sympathize. Only he was on the other side of the fence in the matter.

Jericho has come to the Camp to leave his own declaration of war and when he found the camp being looted it enraged him to see the dead being tarnished, The heritage of a proud people being reduced to mere trinkets and baubles to line the purse of honor-less thieves. He has offered the group a chance to surrender. Of course they didn't.

He looked down at his unconscious prisoner, the only one of the group remaining alive. The warrior smiled.


About an hour later, anyone at The Great Gate would see an unconscious man tied to a pole with an Alliance flag hanging from hit. On the man's shirt was pinned a note.

The note reads in orcish

"Dear honorable and noble people of the Tauren,

The man you see attached to the banner is a looter found at Camp Taurajo. Feel free to do with him as you wish. It is your right.

As is your right to declare war on my people for what they have done to your lands. Of course it is the right of my people to assault any that have allied themselves with those that have defiled Hillsbrad and Ashenvale. But I do not write this to condone or excuse any actions that will be taken or the reasonings behind them. In my mind both our sides are correct to take the actions we have.

I wish to say that your declaration of war has been met, accepted and will be responded to in kind and that it will be an honor to meet blade to blade and steel to steel. Let battle decide the victor in this war. As always this will come down to those of strong heart and of stout backbone who are willing to do what is needed to ensure the welfare of those they protect. Looking forward letting Strength and Honor decide the fate of our peoples.

-Jericho D.

It was late in the evening, or perhaps early in the morning, when Vasilia returned to the AAMS office in Stormwind. The door was secured and the lights were all off, the staff having gone home for the evening. Using her key, Vasilia slipped into the office and locked the door behind her.

Stumbling to her desk, she lite the small lamp and sat herself down, letting her legs and hooves rest. She had had a busy weekend; visiting Ironforge, Darnassus, Exodar and so many other smaller towns along the way, posting a copy of the Horde letter or reading it out to the crowd.

She wasn't sure what to think of the reaction to the letter. Many people in many cities and towns were ready to form an army and march to the Barrens at that exact moment. Others had called for calmer nerves to prevail and hoped that a peaceful solution could be obtained. She had listened to all the debates. Seen the men, women, elves, dwarves and fellow Draenei sign up to join the Barren's defensive forces and others denounce them as Warmongers.

She took a clean sheet of paper from the drawer and wrote a quick note:

Ms. Aeldgyth,

Copies of the Horde letter have been delivered and posted in all the Alliance Cities and townships as instructed. Left over letters have been returned to the supply room for future use. I will be a little late coming into the office in the morning. I am afraid that after so many roads and paths my warm bed has been calling for me!

Vasilia.

Walking across the room, she placed the letter into Aeldgyth's In Box. That is when she noticed her own In Box, now overflowing with letters in reply to the Horde one she had just finished delivering. NINE letters, ALL marked urgent, all going Horde side.

Vasilia crumpled up the note and tossed it into the paper basket next to the In Boxes. With that many letters to deliver she knew she was going to have to come in early to get started on them. She checked the morning's schedule for the first boat to Ratchet and connecting flights to Thousand Needles. So much for enjoying that warm, soft bed of hers....

Her form twisted serenly in the air above what was once Camp Taurajo. Her birds eye view, for lack of a better word, gave her a clear assessment of the damage that had been done. It saddened her, seeing that the encampment had been brutally destroyed and was now being pillaged. It saddened her even more that such things had been done by the people her kind called comrades. She knew not all humans were to blame, and she was sure that her kind were at fault as well. Slowly, she glided on the updrafts nearby, simply circling the area. What little could she do though? She understood from what little knowledge she had gleamed that a fellow Druid had sent the letters, some Plainswalker. After her meeting upon these lands with the human Surabar and his comrades, it had become clear that a meeting of peace must be initiated. She had been chosen as well, to represent her side, the side of the Night Elves, the children of Cenarius, and that of the entirety of the Alliance itself. Spotting a few looters, she landed and felt her form twist and contort. Rushing, she raised her hands, roots entangling the looters and stopping them.

"When will you people stop? Too do this is..."

She sighed, releasing them as they scrambled away. She had been watching the Barrens for days, and the looting hadn't stopped. No, this would never stop with people acting like this, unless both sides took amicable actions. Now she waited, with the great patience she had learned from her people. She waited to make peace, make amends, and make right what her and her comrades were just as much to blame for...