After securing victory at Witherbark Village, Galen Trollbane sought out his trusted subordinate, Lieutenant Varokar. "Varokar, take the food these trolls stored in Witherbark Village to the outskirts of Hammerfall, then withdraw immediately. Do not clash with the orcs."
Over more than a decade, the Witherbark trolls of Witherbark Village had built up a modest food reserve. Most of it was salted fish from the lake outside the village. Though hardly appetizing, it would easily meet the needs of Hammerfall's orcs for several months.
"I don't understand, Prince. Why give those orcs food for nothing? Won't that only help them establish a firmer foothold in Hammerfall?" Lieutenant Varokar rarely questioned Prince Galen Trollbane, but his loyalty compelled him to ask why Galen Trollbane would give food to the orcs of Hammerfall.
Galen Trollbane studied his trusted subordinate. His loyalty was beyond question; he had not hesitated even when Galen's former self had murdered the king and seized the throne. Yet his perspective was far too narrow.
"Varokar, the orcs in Hammerfall are running short of food. Once hunger drives a beast mad, it will fight back to the death. They will launch a major assault on Go'Shek Farm. The Scourge is coming, and we cannot afford to waste our strength fighting them here. Nor do I have the forces to keep protecting Go'Shek Farm. We must weigh our options. Giving food to Hammerfall's orcs will ease their immediate worries, and for a while, they won't consider attacking Go'Shek Farm again. Do you understand, Varokar?"
Herders on the grasslands would never deprive wolves of all their food in winter, because starving wolves would attack the herders. Thus, however much the herders disliked the wolves, they had to maintain that fragile coexistence.
Only after understanding the reason did Lieutenant Varokar lead the Stromgarde Cavalry out to carry out Galen Trollbane's orders. Mounted on highland steeds, they dumped the Witherbark trolls' food reserves right under the noses of Hammerfall's orc scouts, then swiftly withdrew.
After their failed attack on Go'Shek Farm, the orcs of Hammerfall were on the verge of running out of food. Just as they were debating whether to stake everything on one desperate fight, their scouts brought back the news.
After repeatedly confirming that this was not a trap set by Stromgarde's humans, the orcs of Hammerfall happily carried the trolls' food reserves back to town. Orcs had much larger appetites than trolls, but the supplies still spared Hammerfall from worrying about food for a while.
Several days later, the Scourge from Andorhal in the Western Plaguelands finally appeared in the Hillsbrad Foothills. Commanding this detachment was Summoner Araj, the future lich of Andorhal.
In life, Summoner Araj had been a mage of the Dalaran Kirin Tor, with the strength of the ninth rank. Yet the limits of his talent and lifespan had left him forever unable to advance beyond it.
To gain greater power and eternal life, Araj had joined the Scourge. The fallen prince, Arthas Menethil, had personally transformed him into a lich. As a lich, Araj had gained the heroic-rank power he desired and become a faithful hound of the Scourge.
To demonstrate his loyalty to the Lich King, Summoner Araj led a Scourge detachment, determined to conquer the Kingdom of Stromgarde for his master and complete the Scourge's conquest of the Eastern Kingdoms' Northern Continent.
Perhaps the Lich King did not consider the Kingdom of Stromgarde important enough. Or perhaps it was because Archimonde had taken part of the Scourge's main force to Kalimdor while the Lich King had hidden the rest away. Whatever the reason, the lich Summoner Araj's detachment consisted mainly of low-ranking undead and ghouls, with only a few abominations, banshees, and gargoyles.
Even as a mere detachment, this Scourge force numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The vast sea of undead surged toward Thoradin's Wall!
Though the recruits of the Stromgarde Militia had fought at Go'Shek Farm, their morale plummeted when they faced the seemingly endless undead Scourge and saw humans raised from the dead among its ranks.
"Kingdom of Stromgarde! Submit to the Lich King's rule! Victory belongs to the Scourge!" Summoner Araj shouted arrogantly. The lich wore the Lich Robes, his body nothing but bare bones and freezing cold, atop a platform carried by acolytes of the Cult of the Damned.
Galen Trollbane slowly walked onto the highest platform on Thoradin's Wall and swept his gaze over the Stromgarde Militia stationed along it.
"I am Galen Trollbane, heir to the Kingdom of Stromgarde and son of Thoradin Trollbane."
"I am your prince. Every one of you knows that."
Galen Trollbane spoke slowly and calmly, but his heroic-rank strength carried his voice across the vast length of Thoradin's Wall.
"Many of you were ordinary citizens of Stromgarde until recently. You have never fought a true battle. Since our victory in the Second War, peace has been with us for many years."
"Over those years, we began to decline amid that peace. But the glory of the Kingdom of Stromgarde has never left us!"
Every member of the Stromgarde Militia, including Marshal Oslett, listened in silence.
At the mention of the Kingdom of Stromgarde's decline, grief and regret appeared on the face of every citizen of Stromgarde.
When he spoke of the Kingdom of Stromgarde's glory, pride and fervor flashed in every pair of eyes.
They tightened their grips on their weapons, remembering the glory their forebears had proudly won for the Kingdom of Stromgarde. Their breathing grew heavy, and their gazes became utterly resolute.
"But the Scourge shattered all of that. The undead plague spread across the Northern Continent. The undead Scourge ravaged our homes and slaughtered our families. Today, they have finally come here."
"They want to turn every one of us into the Lich King's slaves. That is the mission the Lich King gave them: to bring death to this world!"
"What should we do in the face of the Scourge?"
The loudly delivered question set every member of the Stromgarde Militia thinking.
Before the warriors could reach an answer, Galen Trollbane roared again, "We will resist to the death!"
"We stand as one, the proud people of Stromgarde, the Kingdom of Stromgarde's last shield! We will be victorious!" Then he pointed at the Scourge. "And they, and the Lich King behind them, will fall!"
"If we die in battle today, upon Thoradin's Wall, built by our ancestors to resist the trolls, then we will die with honor!"
"If we die in battle today, it will be to protect our children, our parents, our... loved ones."
Finally, Galen Trollbane drew the Troll Slayer, Trol'kalar, once more and cried in a voice that was almost a roar, "For the glory of the Kingdom of Stromgarde!"
The Stromgarde Militia atop Thoradin's Wall fell silent at first, like the stillness before a storm. Then their voices and fervor erupted in a thunderous cry: "For the glory of the Kingdom of Stromgarde!"
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