Children

Quel'Thalas

The beautiful land is now ravaged, and a light rain has fallen from the once bright and sunny sky. Every surviving Elf is heartbroken, including Vareesa. If this is the heavens weeping for the Elf's homeland, then their tears have come far too late.

A month has passed, and the situation in Eversong Forest is deteriorating day by day. The Elf, who used to only think about how to enjoy life every day, are now forced to act on how to survive.

Vareesa sighed, pulled down her cloak, and saw that the blue cape was wet with rain stains.

"Alleria?" she called her sister's name. The sister lay weakly on the wooden bed, only her eyes moving, focusing on her approaching younger sister.

"Sister?" Vareesa said again, kneeling by the bed with a smile on her face. She didn't want to look gloomy in front of Alleria, but hoped that the same smile would appear on her sister's face.

Alleria Windrunner's eyes gazed at Vareesa's silvery-white hair, as bright and gentle as the moon.

"Sister." Vareesa took her hand and began to speak to her as usual. She knew that only news from Nathanos could cheer Alleria up, and it had to be good news.

"Sylvanas has gone to find Nathanos," Vareesa said, watching Alleria's reaction. Sure enough, Alleria's blank eyes trembled upon hearing the name. Seeing this, Vareesa continued, "She found a clue."

Alleria's head suddenly turned towards her, surprising and delighting Vareesa; this was the biggest reaction her sister had shown in so many days.

"Nathanos has gone to Kalimdor, Sylvanas has gone to find him."

"Really?" Alleria sat bolt upright in bed, gripping Vareesa tightly. The three words she uttered sounded weak, yet were filled with strength. She stared wide-eyed at Vareesa, her pale lips trembling. Sweat beaded on her forehead. She didn't feel she was grasping Vareesa, but rather hope, the hope she craved.

Vareesa felt a throbbing pain in her arm, sensing Alleria's power. No matter what, her sister was always so strong in her eyes. "It's true, Alleria, it's true. Sylvanas promised before she left."

Finally, having received the answer, Alleria's strength vanished from her hands. She cried, but no tears came—her eyes were already dry; she only sobbed silently, then buried her face in Vareesa's arms.

"Thank you, thank you..." Alleria didn't know who she was thanking. To Vareesa, she was telling herself the news; to Sylvanas, she was trying to find that human; and even to Nathanos, he hadn't completely disappeared.

"Everything will be alright, everything will be alright," Vareesa reassured the agitated Alleria. Aurelia finally calmed down. "You haven't been eating properly lately, so I've found you some fresh food."

She handed Alleria the freshly picked berries and cheese, watching her devour them. Vareesa laughed, a mixture of joy and sadness in her expression—she had lied to Alleria.

Sylvanas did indeed go looking for Nathanos, but she had a major argument with Vareesa before leaving. When Arthas launched his all-out attack, Sylvanas, unable to find Vareesa, inquired everywhere about her whereabouts. Ultimately, Nathanos informed the second mistress of the Windrunner family about her sister's location. This was part of Nathanos and Vareesa's pre-arranged plan—to lure Sylvanas away from the battlefield and then temporarily imprison her. Vareesa initially succeeded in this task, successfully isolating Sylvanas from the war. However, she didn't expect her sister to eventually break free of her magical shackles, find her, and confront her. Left with no other choice, Vareesa had to tell the truth. By then, Alleria had already been teleported back, but Nathanos was nowhere to be seen.

Sylvanas still vividly remembers Vareesa's angry and desperate expression. Her impulsive second sister immediately decided to bring Nathanos back, and has been missing ever since.

Vareesa resolved that she couldn't tell Alleria these things for the time being, and that she would wait until Alleria had fully recovered before revealing the truth, as her sister's condition had only just begun to improve.

"Alleria, absorb this after you finish eating." She placed a piece of emerald green magic crystal beside Alleria. It was a "good medicine" used to alleviate the Fel Addiction symptoms of Elf; only by absorbing magic could the mental pain be suppressed. During this time, Vareesa would secretly use the magic crystal on Alleria only after she had fallen asleep.

After swallowing a mouthful of cheese, the Ranger-General, panting, stared at the glowing crystal and asked, "Where did this come from?"

"It was distributed to us by Prince Kael'thas; it's very precious and must be used with care," Vareesa explained, telling yet another lie. This crystal wasn't allocated; it was collected by twenty elite Ranger from the Windrunner family before Arthas breached Silvermoon City. And there were many more, a plentiful reserve. Up until now, Vareesa had been full of praise for Nathanos's foresight. It was he who had instructed the Ranger to do this; clearly, he had foreseen the Elf's plight after losing the Sunwell and taken preventative measures. This human hadn't chosen to save all the Elf; he only wanted to save the one he cared Elf most.

"Prince Kael'thas?" Alleria smiled bitterly, accepting the lie, and asked weakly, "Will the people of Quel'Thalas still care about me?"

"Don't say that, Alleria," Vareesa quickly denied her sister's doubts. "They trust you, sister. They still remember you as the Ranger-General. You know what? The people are so glad you're still alive. Prince Kael'thas has also extended an invitation, hoping you can continue to serve as the Ranger's commander and participate in restoring order to Quel'Thalas."

These words made Alleria smile. She closed her eyes, nodded gently, and felt redeemed, enveloped in light and hope.

"You agree?" Vareesa asked. She had expected Alleria to nod again, but her sister's answer surprised her.

"The Windrunner family should indeed continue to protect the people of Quel'Thalas, Vareesa. But I hope that you will temporarily assume this responsibility, and you must take over the duties of Ranger-General from me."

"Why?" Vareesa exclaimed in bewilderment. She had only been Ranger for a few years and had never held any official position. Now, she was suddenly being asked to take over the position of Ranger-General, Vareesa felt extremely apprehensive and nervous.

"Because Sylvanas isn't here, only you are."

"But you're still here."

"No, not now." She said, placing her hand on her lower abdomen, her face showing a tenderness and affection that Vareesa had never seen before.

The youngest sister of the Windrunner family covered her mouth and nose in surprise, staring wide-eyed at Alleria in disbelief.

It took her a long time to accept all of this.

"When...? How old is he?" Vareesa was so happy she was almost incoherent, and she could only share her joy with her sister through her eyes.

Alleria lowered her head and murmured softly, "I just hope... that he will come back and give this child a name."

Happy New Year to everyone!