World of Warcraft®

She stepped out into the open air and let the mountain breeze wash against her face. It was good to have fresh air again even if her visit to the prison cave has been short. Ehlina had received permission from Terra Incognita’s commander to pay a little visit to their guest on the condition that she had an escort with her.
Standing to her left stood Jonathan Harmarth. Ehlina couldn’t have wished for a better guard during her visit to Thelinna.

“So what do you think?” he asked is a gravelly voice. He had once been human until a bad run in with a pack of worgen. His situation had only gotten worse when he was found, captured, and tortured by Modas Il Toralar. If anyone would be okay with what she had planned it was Jon.

Long ago she has decided that Modas was a plague that had no cure and the only option was complete eradication. When she found out that Thelinna has been captured she knew exact what was she wanted to do.

She clapped her hand together and rubbed the remaining gunpowder off her hands letting the remaining particles blow away in the wind. She remembered breaking the flare in half and pouring the powder into her glove while she watched Thelinna lying helpless on the cavern floor. She had fully intended to burn out the elf’s eyes one by one before killing her and then dumping her severed head into the Lordearon throne room.

“She’s going to make really good bait” Ehlina replied.

Ehlina couldn’t go through with it. She hated the elf, she hated her Order but seeing he rendered helpless the only emotion Ehlina could muster was pity. This elf was evil though and though. She had murdered, slaves and done all kinds of atrocities in the name of Modas and it all had led to her alone and abandoned in a damp cavern prison. The fate seemed fitting.

She started to explain her comment but never finished her. He comm stone exploded with activity across all her channels at once.
“We’re at war!”
“Sister Ehlina! Come quick!”
“Knight-Captain!”
“Emergency Recall on all troops!”
“Holy &^%$. It’s Gone!”
One voice stood out more than the rest. Jericho DeMarco, an old hardass and one of the best drill instructors the Alliance had ever seen. Ehlina tapped her comm twice cueing in on DeMarco’s frequency.

“Colonel DeMarco, this is Knight-Captain Vargas. What the hell is going on? Comms are going nuts across the board but no one’s getting specific”
“Captain Vargas, Report to the Stormwind Barracks ASAP. That bit of retirement you’ve been on just got revoked. I’ll explain when you arrive.”
“But sir. . “
“That’s an Order Captain. Now move it”

An hour later Ehlina stood in the officers barracks with her hands clasped behind her back. All around her standing in similar formation were dozens of soldiers and she knew there were a few hundred outside still. They ranged from the old vets of the First War to kids who looked like they barely finished boot camp. They all had the same look of angry resolve. The recall had gone out to every active soldier, every retired vet and every person who had ever been in the Alliance military. The rumors and vague reports had all flooded in and now they were about to get official word.

Colonel DeMarco strode up to the podium and looked across the crowd of people. Ehlina noticed a couple of extra bars on his armor. Field General now.

“As of 1600 hours today our last foothold in Kalimdor is no more. Theramore was wiped out by a join strike of horde forces and a large artifact powered mana-bomb. Many of you are aware that there have been mounting escalations and we ramped up our presence at Theramore by sending many of the 7th and several of our primary units to defend.” DeMarco closed his eyes for a moment before continuing.
“At this time there have been no survivors.”
Murmers rippled through the crowd with many soldiers exchanging angry glances with one another. DeMarco continued

“You all have been summoned back to duty because for the first time in a generation because we are once again at War with the horde. Diplomacy is no longer an option. As of now everyone present has been reinstated to active duty. The King will be meeting with his advisors and the leaders of the other races to determine the war tragedy. Make no mistake. We are in a fight for survival. A fight for our lives and . . .
DeMarco pulled up a piece of cloth that had been laying on the podium. He clenched it between his fist and raised it up. It was tabard with the familiar golden anchor symbol.
“ . . a fight for justice! A FIGHT FOR THERAMORE!”
The crowd roared almost in complete unison
“FOR THERAMORE!”
Ehlina unconsciously gripped the hilt of her sword and smiled. He heart was racing. She was almost giddy. This is what she was born for. After all who knew war better than a warrior.

A blast at the appropriate end of the camp signaled that the others had done their job, now it was time to do hers. The Warden tore up the stairs, her crescent in hand to the top floor of the lumber mill, waiting for her was the terrified goblin foreman. She could hear the sounds of the battle outside - the clanging of steel, the Orcish order to retreat, cut short in a most untimely fashion. As she advanced, the goblin fired a shot into her, only to see it caught in the bearskin cloak that enveloped the enraged Kaldorei. She picked him up and threw him through the window, and he came down with a thud in the middle of the skirmish. The battle was already over, but it was enough to convince the stubborn few Orcs that remained to flee, but it didn't do them much good as they attempted to pass the line of nested archers.

There was no celebration or noise among the victors, merely a return to thick forests from which they came. In all likelihood, they'd be back in a couple of weeks when the Horde reclaimed the camp, but there was no need to spoil a good victory with undue noise.

The Warden quickly surveyed the clearing, noting the subtle growth in the afflicted area since their last assault. The Horde had brought shredders this time, which made the spread slightly worse, but it appeared to have been caught early this time. As she continued to scan the edge of the forest, she caught a glimpse of something she did not anticipate: humans.

Scores of humans, the last of a battered regiment from somewhere. How they got here she wasn't sure, but they did manage to draw her sisters' attention. She meandered down herself and was introduced to a captain Theodore Finley. "We're at war now, Elf." He declared, speaking loudly and slowly, as if he didn't expect her to understand. "The Horde killed everyone in Theramore and routed us from the Barrens. We have wounded here, can you do anything to help?"

"We've been at war, Captain, for several years now." The Warden said bluntly with a tinge of anger in her voice that she didn't even bother to hide. "If you were as blind as you are deaf not to see that then, I guess it's only a blessing that they've made you see it now."

There was a savage guttural cry as the warrior’s sword cleaved the orc from left shoulder to right hip. The orc’s eyes went wide and glazed over as her life force drained for her body. She was dead before her two halves hit the cold ground.

It has been almost a week since Theramore’s destruction. After the General’s little speech back at Stormwind, Ehlina had immediately made arrangements to get to Kalimdor as soon as she could. They had made port about half a day’s travel south of what had been Theramore. The group has spent the next day cautiously traveling to Theramore. Ehlina wanted to see the destruction personally.

Destruction wasn’t close to a suitable word to describe what she saw. A whole section of the once proud stronghold was just gone. Eradicated. It had been worse than a massacre or slaughter. It was honor less and cowardly. The greatest of the Alliance had died without so much as a raised shield or a wielded sword.

She started barking out orders

“Markhas. I want sky recon. Look for any horde stragglers or survivors. Grayven, seed Loyalty into the surrounding forest and see if he can sniff out anything. Calthan, keep scanning for any magical activity. “

It was midnight before Markhas returned and mentioning that he has spotted a campfire in the swamps. Two orcs and goblin.

Looking at the dead orc returned Ehlina’s thoughts to the present. The armor on the orc was a familiar gold and black that marked the orc as an elite guard. Armor the orc no longer needed.
“What now Sister?” asked Markhas as he stepped into the clearing, the campfire throwing the worgen’s shadow against the trees. He had a body of a goblin hanging limp in his massive right claw. Ehlina reached down and started removing the armor from the orc

“Right now I’m taking a trophy. After this we will continue to move north, try and connect with any survivors and get the back to our ship.”
Off to the warrior’s side Grayven was removing an arrow from the throat of the second orc. His heard jerked to the side
“Loyalty has found something. Scents identifies as human and they’re about ten miles from here due west” “Good wolf. He’s getting an extra side of meat for that one” she replied “Lets move”