Eve of the Dark Tide

"Be more specific, messenger." Terenas sat on his throne, staring at the somewhat nervous Larein. He drew out the word "messenger," his tone heavy with suspicion. Yes, suspicion. Larein was certain that the wise king had begun to suspect him.

"The situation is extremely urgent, Your Majesty." The priest took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm. "The Horde will arrive here by sea the day after tomorrow, but Marshal Lothar has no time to prepare defenses. That is why he sent me through the night to request reinforcements."

"How could the Horde land from the sea? Have they breached General Proudmoore's naval blockade?" Terenas continued questioning him, though his doubts only deepened.

"I... I do not know. General Lothar only said that the situation was urgent and told me to return to Lordaeron at once."

Terenas rose from his throne and paced before it. He found it strange that Lothar would send a priest to deliver news of something so important instead of Uther or someone else he knew. This priest looked very young, and the emblem on his robe belonged to Lordaeron rather than Stormwind City. More importantly, he was a low-ranking priest, likely drafted into the army because of wartime needs. That raised the question—there was an enormous difference in status between him and Lothar, so why would Lothar send him back to Lordaeron to request reinforcements?

"What is your name?"

"Larein, Your Majesty."

"Larein." Terenas sat back down on his throne. "Tell me, why would Lothar send you back? For such an urgent task, I believe it would have been more prudent to send Uther or someone else."

"Marshal Lothar is desperately short of manpower, Your Majesty. The other leaders all have their own duties, and the scouts have all been sent out. Marshal Lothar had no choice but to send me back, because the war has not yet begun, and the priests have no important work at the moment." Larein held his breath. In his panic earlier, he had suddenly thought of how to make Terenas believe him. "I know you doubt my words, but my intelligence is absolutely true..." Nathanos's pleading expression rose in Larein's mind. He believed everything his friend had said. "I am willing to stake my life on it, Your Majesty."

The old king on the throne stroked his chin, carefully considering whether he should trust this messenger. If Larein was lying and he sent troops to reinforce the front while the Horde never arrived, at most they would waste some of the soldiers' rations. But if it was true, then reinforcements dispatched now could reach Lothar in time. No matter what, he had to try. Terenas made up his mind.

"Your words make some sense. Though I find it strange that Lothar has not made the proper response to the coming war, I cannot gamble with the lives of Alliance soldiers. Soldier!" Terenas called out.

"What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

"Which commanders remain in Lordaeron City, and how many men do they command?"

"Your Majesty, you have placed most of the commanders under Marshal Lothar's command. The only Lordaeron commander stationed nearby is Garithos, commander of the Sixth Legion. He commands roughly three thousand soldiers."

"Garithos?" Terenas vaguely remembered the name. He recalled that the man's full name was Osmar Garithos, the only son of a baron somewhere near the Quel'Thalas border. Though his status was not high, he held considerable influence in his own territory and had quite a few soldiers under his command.

"Send a messenger immediately. Larein, you will go as well. Tell Garithos to lead his soldiers to reinforce Marshal Lothar. They must arrive in time. There can be no mistakes."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Larein nodded excitedly.

Terenas sighed. "I leave it to you."

Alliance Camp

The weather grew colder by the day. Many Alliance soldiers had to put down their icy weapons after only a short time training and return to their warm tents for a mouthful of hot soup.

Inside the main command tent, all the leaders were reporting the progress of their work to Lothar.

Khadgar spoke first. "Marshal Lothar, Dalaran's mage forces have arrived. They are waiting for you to assign them to their designated units. They are all fifth-tier mages, powerful and absolutely obedient to your commands."

"I do not doubt the abilities of Dalaran's mages, Khadgar. But how can you ensure they will not suddenly suffer magical exhaustion on the battlefield? You know that is a mage's most fatal weakness." Lothar looked at his old friend.

Khadgar had already prepared his answer. "Do not worry. They are currently converting their magic into sufficient magic water. While doing so will exhaust their magic for a short time, they will recover after a few days. The situation you described will absolutely not occur."

"Very good." Lothar smiled in satisfaction, then looked toward Alleria, signaling that she could speak.

"My Rangers are intensifying their training, and our logistics team is working urgently to produce enough bows and arrows." Alleria smiled, then looked at Turalyon. "We have General Turalyon to thank for these past few days. He has been overseeing the supplies allocated to us by the Alliance, and there have been no delays. I am deeply grateful."

"No need to thank me. It is only what I should do." Turalyon's face reddened slightly. Being mentioned so suddenly embarrassed him, and he scratched his head.

"You have all done well. I have already written to General Proudmoore, telling him to watch the movements at sea closely. King Greymane has also sent troops to station in southern Gilneas. We still need to strengthen our defenses. Hillsbrad will be our battlefield against the Horde. We still have some time. I intend to reorganize the refugees from Stormwind City. They can also..." Lothar had been about to continue when he saw Uther enter with a conflicted expression. There was helplessness in his eyes, and worry as well.

"What happened, Uther?" Lothar asked.

Uther glanced at the others, lowered his head, and walked to stand across from Lothar. "I know I should not let such a matter disturb this important council, but the Holy Light told me I had to do this. It is Nathanos, Marshal."

"That child?" Amid his endless duties, Lothar recalled the young man and looked at Uther again. "He has not left yet?" Lothar asked in surprise.

Uther said nothing and nodded.

"He is still insisting on his own view?" Khadgar asked.

The paladin's breathing grew heavy, as though he were gathering his strength. "He refused everything."

"What things?"

"Food, water, blankets." Uther's answer suddenly filled him with pain. "In weather this cold, he has remained in that tiny cage for two days, Marshal!"

"What!" Lothar was astonished. "Why would he do that?"

"You should go see how haggard he looks now. While I was away these past few days, he even had to endure the insults of other soldiers." As Uther said this, he shot Alleria a glare, making it clear that her soldiers were among them. "You told him to admit his mistake." Uther's tone toward Lothar suddenly lost its earlier gentleness and became angry. "But he did not. He wanted us to believe him." His voice caught. "Before this, I did not believe him. I also doubted his judgment. But every time I saw him in that cage, I cursed myself from the bottom of my heart for doubting my own apprentice. Yet my believing him is useless, because I am not the Alliance's supreme commander." When Uther finished, he looked at Lothar pleadingly. This warrior, even older than himself, surely knew why he had come.

After hearing him out, Lothar lowered his head and stared gravely at the map before him. "You also know that I am the Alliance's supreme commander, Uther. Do you know the responsibility of this position? Two reports: one from your apprentice, and one from a Ranger of Quel'Thalas. If it were you, which would you choose?"

"I would not let even the slightest possibility pass, Marshal."

"Lord Uther," Turalyon said, "forgive me for interrupting your conversation. Your concerns are reasonable, but if we change the battle plan at the last minute, it will cause unnecessary chaos. Supply allocation and battlefield deployment would all need to be rearranged. Asking us to believe Nathanos means telling us that everything we have done these past few days was in vain."

Uther drew in a cold breath. Turalyon was entirely right, and he calmed down.

"I... you are right. I let my emotions get the better of me."

Lothar walked around the table to Uther's side and patted the plate armor on his shoulder. "I will have him released immediately. Take him home at once."