Speculation on the matter was widespread for a time. People even made up poems and fanciful tales about it, which circulated among the common folk.
Though she knew things had come to this and that knowing more would make no difference to her, Tiffany still wanted to hear more from Malone.
Perhaps one day... Mr. Malone really would be able to take her away from this nightmarish place. When that day came, this information might prove useful.
That was what Tiffany thought.
"The Orcs... came from a world called Draenor. They aren't native to this world," Malone explained.
"To put it simply, the Orcs are like the people of that world, except they're more savage and bloodthirsty."
Seeing the confusion on Tiffany's face, Malone tried to explain it in slightly simpler terms, but that didn't seem to help.
Malone knew this wasn't easy to understand.
Perhaps people on Earth could easily grasp concepts like other worlds and alternate dimensions, but the natives of Azeroth probably had no such knowledge to draw on. Besides, Tiffany wasn't a mage.
"I don't really understand..." Tiffany said sadly. "But, Mr. Malone, are you saying you know where these Orcs came from?"
"Yes, I do." Malone nodded.
Perhaps the details of how the Orcs crossed the Dark Portal weren't exactly as the novels or games depicted them, or perhaps those accounts didn't cover every detail.
But Malone also had Maicomarlon's memories. As a member of the Shadow Council, the Orc Warlock had taken part in the whole process.
Combining Maicomarlon's memories with the lore established by Blizzard, Malone could almost be called one of the people who knew the most about the Orc invasion.
He said "one of" because the fallen Guardian Medivh and the Orc leader Gul'dan, the two who had planned the invasion, might know even more than he did.
"Then... would you tell me about it?" Tiffany asked.
It wasn't entirely because she was curious. Her position with Malone was far too intimate, and she thought talking about something might ease her embarrassment.
"All right..." Malone hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He didn't want to tell Tiffany why he had ended up in the Orcs' camp.
The truth was, the answer would reveal Malone's greatest secret. He didn't want to tell anyone—not even Teron Gorefiend, who treated him like a brother, or Tiffany, who admired him.
"There was a human mage named Medivh..." Malone wasn't much of a storyteller, but luckily, the story itself was fascinating enough.
He began at the very beginning.
He started with how the Orcs had been lured into this world by Medivh—though, of course, he didn't mention that Medivh had been possessed by Sargeras. Just telling the story of Sargeras would have stretched the timeline back tens of thousands of years.
"So the Orcs came to our kingdom through a portal!" Tiffany exclaimed, suddenly understanding.
"I've heard of those. My father mentioned that the king's garrison had portals like that, which could take you to the north of the continent or somewhere else."
As Tiffany spoke, her eyes suddenly reddened.
"My father, my mother..." Tears streamed down her face. "They're both in Stormwind... W-w when the Orcs captured Stormwind, they were inside..."
Malone stopped telling the story. He looked helplessly at Tiffany, who was sobbing uncontrollably.
"They... they'll be all right."
Malone could only offer Tiffany a stiff reassurance.
"Waaah..." His words did nothing to comfort her. Tiffany kept crying.
"I saw the camp. There are so many Orcs in this camp..." Tiffany sobbed. "There must be tens of thousands of them. With so many, they must have done something terrible to Stormwind..."
Thinking of the horrors that had happened to Richard, Mary, and her other companions, Tiffany trembled with fear. She wasn't afraid that the same thing would happen to her; she was worried about her parents.
Malone didn't know what to say. He racked his brain for something that might comfort Tiffany, and luckily, he thought of something.
"Maybe your parents are all right," Malone said.
"You're lying!" Tiffany didn't believe him.
Tiffany knew Malone was trying to comfort her, and she appreciated the gesture. But only the most foolish girl would believe such an obvious lie.
"I'm not lying," Malone said quickly. "I can't be sure your parents are definitely all right, but I can tell you that a lot of people escaped Stormwind."
Malone spoke firmly.
"Really?" Tiffany stared at him in surprise. The astonishing news made her forget her tears.
"Yes. Your marshal, Anduin Lothar, took your prince, Varian Wrynn, and many of Stormwind's citizens with him. They escaped by ship from the harbor and are heading north by sea—perhaps they've already arrived—to seek refuge in the Kingdom of Lordaeron."
Malone's words made Tiffany's eyes widen.
"Sir Anduin Lothar! I know him!" Tiffany cried. Hearing that name made her begin to believe Malone.
Tiffany had certainly heard of Anduin Lothar. As Malone had said, the outstanding commander was Stormwind's marshal, and he had led the brave soldiers out of Stormwind to meet the invading Orc army.
Tiffany didn't know where Sir Anduin Lothar had been when Stormwind fell, but she believed that the marshal, renowned for his courage and wisdom, wouldn't have been defeated.
Tiffany believed that if Sir Anduin Lothar had been in the city, in charge of its defense, the Orcs could never have captured Stormwind.
"Right? Then do you know about Lordaeron?" Malone continued.
"I do!" Tiffany answered at once.
But soon the girl lowered her head. "I don't know much about Lordaeron. I only know that its royal family is named Menethil, and that it's a large kingdom in the north..."
"That's enough." Malone smiled. "Lordaeron is a powerful kingdom, and King Terenas is an excellent ruler. Under his leadership, humanity will eventually defeat the Orcs, and Stormwind will be rebuilt—more prosperous and magnificent than before."
Malone wasn't saying this merely to comfort Tiffany. These were things that were about to happen in Azeroth.
Though Malone didn't know how Tiffany's parents would fare as the currents of history carried them along, people often didn't need a definite answer. All they needed was a little hope, didn't they?
Before you continue