Dalaran Crater

"We must deploy a protective barrier immediately," Jaina told Khadgar. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her blonde hair was soaked and plastered to her face.

"The problem is that we can't contact other mages in time," Khadgar said gravely.

Their preparations were not as thorough as they had imagined. Jaina tried to warn the others, but her voice couldn't even carry ten meters in the chaotic battlefield.

"Lady Sylvanas is preparing to teleport away from the entire city."

Jaina and Khadgar abruptly turned their heads toward Lansber.

The Silver Covenant lieutenant nodded. "She didn't seek your consent, but I think you won't hesitate any longer now."

How much longer? Jaina clung to this last straw. Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of breaking chains drew her gaze back to the sky.

Everyone watched as the airship unloaded its cargo. What happened next was something Jaina would never forget. Her heart leaped into her throat, but the sorceress didn't realize that her body, like her mind, was undergoing an abnormal process. A chilling sensation, like the cold of death, seeped into her skin.

Everything before her was shrouded in pure white; Jaina couldn't see the bombs falling. A force pulled her away from the battlefield. She saw Arcane Energy engulf the entire Theramore. Confused, strange cries filled her ears. Then, she lost consciousness.

"Victory!" Grommash roared from the highest point far from Theramore, raising Gorehowl high. The Gorehowl gathered Horde stared at his axe. Then the axe pointed forward, towards the void left by the great cataclysm in the distance—the sea had replaced Theramore's former place. "This is our achievement. The glory of the Horde."

The cheers were deafening.

The moment Jaina regained consciousness and sat up, she felt pain. Every nerve, every bone felt like it was being relentlessly seared. The brief numbness left her completely unable to remember what she had experienced. With her eyes tightly closed, she let out a soft groan and tried to touch anything she could reach. She realized that she seemed to be covered with a warm blanket.

This means she was in bed, and she was injured, seriously injured.

Jaina struggled to open her eyes, her vision filled with the familiar beams and ceiling—this was her room. She gritted her teeth and sat up, trying to recall what had happened, and then she remembered something...an indescribable horror.

When she finally realized that Theramore had been through a war, the sorceress's instinctive reaction was to look out the window.

The window was closed, and through the glass, the sky outside looked somewhat hazy, but dawn was just around the corner.

Horde army... terrifying bombs...

Jaina slid off the bed, wobbled to her feet, and nearly fell forward. Luckily, she grabbed a beam to steady herself.

What happened to those who had been with her day and night? That was all she cared about now. She heard what sounded like faint noise. A glimmer of hope appeared in Jaina's heart—someone was still alive. Or was this war just a nightmare all along?

The window was flung open, and she looked around. Sunlight shone through the twilight sky. Below, the ruins of the city walls bore the marks of artillery fire. The lingering smell of gunpowder still hung in the air. The war was real... Jaina was stunned. She stood on the shore of the Sea of Memories, her mind filled with contradictory fragments. The Horde's bombs had fallen; the entire city should have been destroyed.

Until a voice pulled her back to her senses.

"Get that batch of medicine to the emergency medical unit immediately. Are there any other able-bodied fighters? We need them now!"

That was Baine's voice. The Night Elf was giving orders. Jaina followed the sound to find her guards, who were just below her tower.

Baine is still alive, and she hasn't continued fighting, which means the war is over. So why does she still need soldiers? Jaina could vaguely hear the sounds of fighting.

"Baine?" she called out, and though her voice was faint, the guard immediately turned around and saw her standing by the window.

The Night Elf seemed surprised to see Jaina, but said nothing and ran straight to the tower. A few minutes later, she arrived at Jaina's room. Jaina hurriedly tried to greet Baine at the door, but she could no longer support herself and collapsed just as Baine arrived.

"Madam!" Baine caught her in time and helped her up. "You are very weak right now and should rest more." As she spoke, she slowly led Jaina back to the bedside to sit down.

"What exactly happened?" Jaina was filled with questions, hoping that Baine could give her an answer.

"You've been unconscious for two days."

Jaina looked up, staring intently at Baine, her confusion deepening. "Two days?" she murmured. "How could I... Where is the Horde army? Have we won?"

Baine knelt down, grasped Jaina's ankles with both hands, and placed them back on the bed. Just as she was about to pull the blanket over herself, Jaina stopped her.

Tell me what happened!

"It's all over now, ma'am. But we can't call it a victory, we can only say it was a successful retreat."

"Retreat? We're still in Theramore, I can still see the walls, and this is my room..."

"Yes, we are indeed still in Theramore." Baine nodded, the complex expression on her brow seemingly contradicting her own words. The Night Elf sighed, taking off her coat and draping it over Jaina's shoulders. "It's difficult for me to explain; perhaps you should see for yourself."

She pointed to the window where Jaina had been standing. The sorceress seemed to have regained much of her strength this time; she quickly got out of bed and walked back to her spot in a few strides. Before, she had been too preoccupied with her people to observe carefully, but this time...

The traces of the previous battle were still etched in the city she knew so well; some houses were burned to the ground, leaving only half-burnt remains; the ground was riddled with craters; and some cannons and tanks had not been retrieved from the armory. Moreover, the shadows of Kirin Tor mages could still be seen within the city.

"You should look up," Baine reminded her from behind.

Jaina's gaze slowly moved upwards. Everything she had just seen was somewhat familiar to her, existing within her memory. But what she saw now made her eyes widen. Staring directly above Theramore for a few seconds, one could easily spot a pale purple membrane of light stretching from the air above the city, like some kind of barrier. Jaina knew it was magic, but Theramore had never seen anything like it.

She craned her neck to observe, and more and more strange sights disturbed the familiar city in her mind. The sound of the waves was Theramore, and the damp sea breeze was no longer felt. The former harbor no longer lay beneath the ocean, but on land. The ships—including those of the Seventh Legion —were all anchored on land.

This is Theramore! But not in the original location! Jaina immediately understood everything. She turned and reached out to grab Baine tightly, asking, "What happened?"

"It was Lady Sylvanas who saved us," Baine explained. "Her mage transported the entire city here, but you passed out during the teleportation."

"So everyone's still alive." Jaina looked like she was struggling to keep herself from jumping for joy. Baine knew that if her body allowed it, she definitely would.

"That's true for most people. But quite a few still died on the battlefield."

"This is the best possible ending." Jaina hugged Baine tightly, offering each other silent comfort. "At least I didn't lose you."

"The Elune blesses us, madam."

The two released each other. Jaina wiped away the tears that hadn't yet fallen from the corners of her eyes, forced a smile, and asked, "Where is Sylvanas? I think I must thank her in person."

"The Ranger General will be acting on your behalf for the next two days, madam. She should be discussing the current situation in Theramore with the mage Khadgar. She instructed me to make sure you get plenty of rest and wait until you've recovered before discussing anything further."

"I did question her before, Baine," Jaina said with shame. "Without her... I really can't imagine how things would have turned out. It turns out I seriously underestimated Garrosh ..."

"You should eat something now and then lie down in bed," the Night Elf pointed out.

Jaina nodded silently and sat down again by the bed. Baine had prepared some refreshments and placed them on the bedside table within Jaina's reach. The feeling of surviving such an ordeal left Jaina with no other emotions besides joy. She couldn't relax, and even the delicious snacks held no appetite. She wanted to ask more questions: Was everyone else alright? Those she knew, and those who had come to help her—how were they?

Baine's calm expression kept Jaina from speaking; she believed that everyone he cared about and wanted to protect was still alive.

"Baine?"

Just as the Elf guards were about to leave, Jaina called out to them.

"Is there anything else you need, ma'am?"

"You just said that Sylvanas's mages teleported the entire city away?"

"Yes." Baine nodded firmly.

"So where are we now? Is it safe?" Jaina thought she was mentally prepared for the answer the Female Elf was about to give, but she was wrong. The result of the teleportation was beyond her comprehension as a mage.

"We are where you once stood. The land beneath our feet was once a giant crater." Baine watched as Jaina's pupils widened. "We are in the Dalaran Crater, which Theramore filled in."

Baine was a Warrior. His father had passed on the lessons he learned from war to him. Over time, he had witnessed towns, fortresses, and even Thunder Bluff engulfed in flames, and he knew all too well the cruelty of slaughter. As a member of the Horde, he had personally ordered attacks and taken lives with his own hands.

But now...

The news from Theramore only filled him with rage. The city was gone—was it obliterated by bombs? Baine didn't know, but Garrosh's atrocities had deeply shocked the Tauren leader.

He was surrounded by the stars Thunder Bluff, yet he felt no Tranquility. A question plagued and tormented him—what had happened to the Great Chief? Why would the Great Chief had thrown an innocent Druids off a cliff to his death after the Kargath dropped a bomb on him do something similar? Grommash, who once defended honor, now threw himself into slaughter.

"Are there no survivors?" Baine asked Dezco, clinging to a sliver of hope. The chieftain of the Sunstrider Tribe was kneeling before him.

"I don't mean to reopen your wounds, Chief," Dezco replied with his eyes closed, "But the entire city... has vanished, without leaving a single brick or tile."

"Perhaps things are not as we imagine."

Baine was grateful to Hamuul for always comforting him in his moments of despair, but he felt as if his soul was imprisoned in the horrifying sights of Theramore, and the language of the Rune Totem could not heal him.

"I warned Lady Jaina before that they were well aware of Garrosh's plans. I believe they have a way to deal with it; at least they won't just sit here and wait to die."

"Your words have given me some comfort. Thank you, Hamuul," Baine said. "Unfortunately, I can't stay calm, I just can't."

"What else is bothering you?" the Archdruid asked.

"The Horde," Baine growled. "What is the Horde supposed to do? We're still following Grommash. My father was right, he was right. How many more insane foes will Garrosh do? He'll only destroy the Horde. We're already in a very difficult situation." The Tauren chieftain stood up with disgust, his clenched fists opening and closing rapidly. "He sees the Battle of Theramore as a victory, but honestly, did the Horde really win? Those soldiers, including our own, were completely deceived into attacking Theramore. Garrosh clearly had a way to win the war without sacrificing a single soldier. Yet he chose to sacrifice his own men first." Baine's words trailed off as he berated himself for forgetting, in his anger, the dishonorable way the Orcs had won.

"In any case, such a 'victory' will only fuel his ambition, and he will escalate the war instead of ending it. The end of this war is just the beginning of the next bloody conflict."

"So what do you plan to do, Chief?"

"What do we do?" Baine stared at Hamuul. "Send a messenger to Garrosh and tell him that far fewer Tauren warriors have returned than those who answered the call of the Great Chief Horde! He can't question our loyalty. But Mulgore knows what honor is. Tell him not to create a second bomb if he still wants Baine Bloodhoof's support."