World of Warcraft®

To those of the Pillars of Honor

I do not know what these words will mean to you. I am sure that there is much rage over the injuries which I inflicted upon your most respected leader, Ehlina Vargas. But this is what I feel I must do. Words first.

I have always had formidable respect for Ehlina. In the past, she has always chosen her battles well. And due respect was given by both whenever we met, in battle or in friendship. But the fight she chose to lead that night was not one I considered wise. It was an unjust decision and as a result, she paid dearly for her crime and betrayal.

I hold myself to a high standard. And perhaps it is foolish of me to expect the same of those I consider my equals as I do with Ehlina. But I was not raised to think like a soldier who simply follows orders or think of others as mere pawns to be moved and used when it is a strategic advantage. I was raised with the ideas that all are the Earthmother’s Children, and to war against them is to kill your brother. When such a thing must be done, it must be done with the utmost respect and with a heavy heart. I was raised to consider and wisely chose between the open hand of friendship and the closed fist of war. I was taught that if I must fight, that the reasons should be personal and just, to protect home and family, and nothing more.

And so, I do not wage outright war without great forethought. I do not kill others unless they threaten my family, my home or myself. I do not fight battles I disagree with. I do not fight against those with whom I sympathize. And so rarely have you ever seen me fighting the wars of the Horde. I am no friend with those orcs who battle along the borders of Ashenvale because I sympathize with the elves. I have not ventured to Arathi to help those who call themselves The Defilers or made any efforts to participate in any of the Horde’s battles in the Eastern Kingdoms because they are not my home. They are the home of others and not for the taking. I have been called a traitor in the past. But as I do not consider myself Horde, those words have meant very little to me.

I tell you all this for two reasons. First, my battles are only against those who chose to enter the Barrens and invade it, not the whole Alliance. These, like Mulgore and parts of Stonetalon are the homeland of the Tauren whose united nation shares it with those who come to them with an open hand. I would share these lands easily with any of the Alliance too, if they come in friendship. But no. Instead they chose to invade. To take what already is claimed by others. And so long as that holds, I will fight any who bring harm to my home and my people. Leave the Barrens or lay down your arms and give me gifts of friendship instead and you will see no more fight from me or the Ishnu Por Ah.

Second, Ehlina, despite her expressed sympathizes about disagreeing with the Alliance presence in the Barrens, chose to fight anyway upon the lands of my birth and defend those invading it. She has done what I would never have chosen to do. In doing so, she has dishonored her name and opened herself to the vicious retribution which I enacted upon her that day.

You are called Pillars of Honor. And so I ask you now, is it an honorable thing to try and take my home away from me? I am not beating down the door of Stormwind trying to kill your children. I am not running through the forests of Ashenvale burning down Astranaar. Why do you, the Pillars of Honor, defend those who have burned down a Tauren hunting camp. Why do you stand behind a leader who would betray the trust of someone who simply wants to roam a dry and desolate plain nowhere near your own homes in the Eastern Kingdom in peace? If you consider this fair and honorable, then should I consider it fair and honorable to seize the boats in Theramore, head to Menethil and start overtaking the land of the Dwarves? No. I will never do that, because I do not consider it so.

Think hard on what the name you carry means. Strongly consider if those that command the Alliance forces in the Barrens are doing the right and honorable thing. And if they are not, do what you can to convince them it is wrong instead of fighting to defend them and in return eliciting an angered response from me and my brethren. Fight the Horde where they are invading, not where they or others would cause you no harm if you had never set foot there to begin with.

Ehlina made her choice and suffered because of it. I hear she will no longer find herself fighting upon the fronts. And perhaps it is for the best. I did what I had to do to protect my home and my heart aches to know that I had to defend it from her. I hope I never have to do so again and that she may continue to live a fruitful and peaceful life.

Earthmother guide you,

Red Earth of the Blackhide
Child of the Barrens
Matriarch of the Ishnu Por Ah

Conveyed by Brennock, a letter arrives to the hands of Red Earth from the newly raised High Guard of Pillar of Honor, Vanressa of the house of Endran.

Matriarch,

The energies which permeate this world, be they elemental forces or passions, can often by unpredictable and can surge in times of great distress. This time is upon us now, whether we wish it or not. The conflict in the Barrens is but one facet of the bloody red diamond which threatens to consume our broken, fragile world. The Horde and the Alliance are at war with one another, and recklessness and brash tactics have been employed by both factions. In this particular instance, the armies of Stormwind march upon your ancestral holdings for several reasons, the greatest of which being to serve as a focus away from a similar attack on the ancient forests of Ashenvale which are currently not only being invaded but destroyed by the agents of the Horde.

All the same, however, what is under discussion is not what atrocities need to be contested regarding the ancient forest or the horrible tragedy that was the destruction of Camp Taurajo.

Ehlina Vargas attacked as a measure of showing the Horde at large that our people will not go quietly into the night. Military targets were chosen and pursued, and military agents showed up to defend these objectives, namely your people as well as some allies of yours. What the high guard did was not outside of the dimensions of honor. No apology is made for her intentions, and this is not the voice of pride speaking, but that of truth, for there is nothing to apologize for. The high guard herself said that even her own debilitating injuries are the consequences of war and the heat of battle, pain disliked but freely chosen by both sides.

The dust has now settled, even while some minor skirmishes continue on. Much has been lost here, and wounds run very deep and have seemingly been bled dry for many. Deep silence has followed the great noises of chaos and the surges of passion have begun to ebb peaceably. Some still cry out for retaliation and vengeance. Cooler heads prevail elsewhere.

Words are more powerful than swords and spells. Words are what started this conflict. Words can be shared again. I was not present at this conflict, and I have shared with you in this letter the recollections and sentiments of others who were there. If we shall share words with one another, it shall be in a new day and with a new child of the Earthmother, a child you have no reason to trust or distrust. Neither of us shall sit high or bear our most powerful weapons. We shall simply stand before one another and meet eye to eye.

For the time, I have withdrawn my own warriors and permission to engage in military action in your plains. Let us meet. What say you?

Light be upon you,

Lady Vanressa Endran
High Guard
Pillar of Honor

Vanressa Endran,

There is no apology expected from Ehlina or any of the Pillar of Honor. But the fact does remain, she has shown support for invaders and so deserved to be treated like one. And I am not so naive that I do not understand the reasons why the armies of Stormwind marched upon our seemingly barren wasteland of a home. They see it as the weakened backside of the Horde. What I do not think they counted on, however, is the others outside the Horde who would also rise up to fight for these lands.

As always, I am open to meet with any who will speak with me. You may choose the day, time and place, and I will leave it to you to bring the translators. You will understand my caution given recent circumstances and understand my request that you limit the number of people who will attend this conversation. I will bring no more than three. I expect the same, outside the translators brought. And the location will be one I consider satisfactorily neutral. I will not suggest coming lightly armored as we all know there are some of us who have more than a simple axe or dagger at our disposal.

Earthmother guide you
Red Earth of the Blackhide

After giving Brennock a look, interested that he was the deliverer of the message, Red Earth sends him with her reply, trusting that it will be received by its intended safely and without being intercepted by prying eyes.

((In other words, this has been a privately delivered message and unless Red or Vanressa speak about it to you, you did not hear of the meeting. :P ))

Vanressa,

I do hope things find you well since we last saw each other. Much has happened since then and I have found myself in need to be more communicative. I hope you have recently been in communication with your brother and he has made you aware of my wish to use the two of you as liaisons of communication between myself and the Alliance. If this is acceptable to you, then I have enclosed a letter which I would like sent to the one named, Gentyl of the Pia Presidium.

But a selfish errand is not the only reason for me to write to you this day. I had mentioned to you that I had met a gnome by the name of Timeus, a historian with the Pillar of Honor. He had said that if I were to ever have any questions about the people of the Alliance, that I should seek him out. There is something I would wish to learn and so I would like to take advantage of his offer. Also, when he came to me he had a little device that truly intrigued me and I wish to know more about it. In fact, I was thinking that if things prove congenial between your people and mine that perhaps we might work together to possibly improve upon this device of his.

Let me know as you can if my letter to Gentyl has been delivered. If not, I will find other means. Thank you.

Earthmother guide you
Red Earth of the Blackhide

*attached to the letter sent to Vanressa is the following letter for Gentyl*

Gentyl,

I wished to write you to thank you most wholeheartedly for having an understanding heart. I am open to admitting that we have made a grievous mistake in taking hold of Faithe and in turn losing her and glad that you have not thought our failure a malicious deception or manipulation. It weighs heavily upon my heart and I know that should any harm come to her I will never forgive myself. We will do everything we can to find her.

Your faith in us allows me to remove one less worry in my mind and I can better focus on the necessary tasks. There are many these days, some of which I myself have been fool enough to add onto as my burden. It almost makes me long for the days when I was more innocent. Those days when the world’s people weren’t torn apart by so much war. When we gathered under the trees of Ashenvale-Elf, Human, Troll, Shu’halo-in peaceful commune, hoping we could be a seed to spread the unity which had made all our people strong and able to defeat even the greatest of dangers to our world. I hope for those days to come once again. But the threats to my people will not allow such to occur just now. And I digress, most likely with a bit too much color painted upon the past.

In retrospect, while the bonds between you and I are sound, and while I had hoped there might be some openness from some others in attendance, it became obvious as the night progressed that my hopes were wishful thinking. The rising voices behind you gave me a better idea of what we have created in our attempts to have a homeland free of Alliance threat. I am cautiously awaiting to see what becomes of it. I admit that I do not envy your position. I am sure they do not see you in the best light, accepting the word of the ‘enemy’. Our years of familiarity mean nothing to strangers with angry hearts.

Since I have broached the subject, I feel the need to ask. You have participated in battles in the Barrens against us. I have to ask why? Why is it that you defend this army that tries to take my home away from me? It is the one thing I do not understand about your actions. If you engaged the orc forces in Ashenvale, again, I would understand. If we were attacking the farmlands of Elwynn Forest, I would understand why you would fight against us to defend your homes. But we, the Ishnu Por Ah and those who fight with us, would never do such a thing. Our focus is only those who have trespassed on our lands and we have no ambition of treading upon yours. So why have you defended these invaders? I personally believe that it would be best for both of us if neither of us attacked each other’s homes, yes?

One last thing. I’m seeking some information. There was a certain one among those I had asked you to bring with you, a Draenei. He was one of the more belligerent ones there. I remember seeing his face in the Barrens at one time and he was pointed out to me by my brethren. I was wondering if you could tell me his name.

I await your reply, and upon considering things, think we should spend more time writing such letters to each other. It has never been my forte or favorite form of communication, but I am beginning to see the benefits. In the meantime, may you remain safe. And rest assured that we are eagerly seeking to find your friend as much as you.

Earthmother guide you
Red Earth of the Blackhide

Red Earth was disappointed that her connection to Vanressa had not worked to send a letter to Gentyl reliably. She would have to find another way to send her private correspondence Alliance side. She expressed her concerns to Brother Mishkwaki as she quickly composed a new letter to send to the leader of the Pia Presidium. She could send it through the AAMS. The anger had subsided over the disrespectful actions concerning Camp Taurajo. She knew she would be lifting the boycott of them soon. More than once they had been available in other ways for different reasons since then to ease some of the heartache. At least by her standards. But at the same time, she felt like the AAMS had been dealt too much of a rough deal the past few attempts at communication, and did not wish to make their lives any more difficult. At least not just yet. Other than them, however, was there another secure way for her to get her messages across to the other side reliably and confidentially?

“I will take care of it,” Mishkwaki said to her, as if he had heard her musings. He took the message from Red Earth once it was completed and neatly folded.

“You have someone you trust to get it to her?” Red Earth inquired, a little doubt in her voice. She had come to learn slowly over the years that as Mishkwaki had spent much of his time sitting about Thunder Bluff, he had acquired great number of contacts while doing it. He claimed it was much easier to make connections when you were easy to find.

“Yes. And someone to take care of the translation. Consider your message delivered.”

((Huh... I never noticed this))