The bright moon hung overhead, and the night lay hazy.
Leaning against a wooden post, Rex held a faintly glowing ember between his fingers. Ever since coming to Azeroth, he had stayed away from tobacco entirely. It was not that Azeroth had none; he had simply avoided it without thinking. Now, under the pressure of the Undead army, he had taken it up again to ease the strain in his heart.
The senior officers emerged from the command tent one after another and passed by Rex. Some stopped to chat with him, while others offered a greeting before leaving. He kept a faint smile on his face, but once Kael'thas and Sylvanas had departed, his expression darkened. His first meeting with Sylvanas, the future legendary Queen of the Forsaken, had brought no earthshaking events, nor any love-at-first-sight drama.
It had been utterly uneventful. Since the proud Ranger-General Sylvanas had stepped out of the Portal, Rex had heard her say only a few brief sentences. The divide between High Elves and Humans was displayed in her to its fullest extent. In Rex's opinion, ordinary High Elves were already arrogant enough, but Sylvanas stood out even among them.
Rex had no idea what Gilneas possessed that mattered so much to the Lich King, enough for him to send reinforcements all the way from Northrend to join the army attacking Gilneas. For a moment, Rex even wondered whether the Book of Medivh had somehow returned to his hands. Of course, that was only a figure of speech.
Rex smoked through the Goblin-made cigars one after another. Only when the first ray of sunlight appeared on the distant horizon did he straighten up and stretch his stiff body. In the growing light, the gloom on his face was plain to see.
Rex was in