Obedience

As night fell, the Horde's red Dragon Knight began their return journey, needing to let their mounts rest. But the devastation they left behind had already filled many with despair.

A group of Elf arrived at the Alliance's base.

Sylvanas pounced on the newcomer as soon as she saw him.

"Elder sister!"

Alleria caught her, and the two Female Elf embraced. "I'm relieved to see you're alright."

"My parents, and Vareesa?" Sylvanas asked hurriedly. Alleria sighed and shook her head. "I haven't heard from them yet." Only then did Sylvanas notice the tear tracks on Alleria's face.

Turalyon was overjoyed to see Alleria return and was about to approach her when a sharp cry from above stopped him. A pair of wings flapped down, and he and Khadgar quickly ducked. The descending creature was clearly much smaller than a dragon and was covered in feathers.

"Sorry, young man," said Kurdran Wildhammer, as he and Skare landed in front of them, the horses stamping their hooves in fright. "We did our best; the Gryphon Rider have never fought a dragon before."

"No need to apologize, Kurdran," Turalyon said. "Without you, we would have lost even more."

Kurdran stroked his beard. Turalyon's words reassured him slightly, but the sense of defeat lingered. From this day forward, he dared not call the Gryphon Rider the masters of the skies anymore.

"Alleria, are you alright?" Turalyon asked with concern.

The Female Elf managed a weak smile; she couldn't possibly be unharmed, especially not emotionally. The Red Dragon's flames filled her with immense pain and self-reproach.

An Elf strode toward them. He was clad in stained armor, clearly having traversed the flames, and a longsword hung at his side, his dark green cloak billowing behind him. His brown eyes were fixed on Turalyon.

"Lor'themar Theron!" Alleria introduced the new Elf, avoiding Turalyon's question. "He's one of our finest Ranger." She then looked at Sylvanas, whom Turalyon probably didn't recognize. "This is my sister, Sylvanas Windrunner. This is General Turalyon of the Order of the Silver Hand, Marshal Lothar's lieutenant. And this is Archmage Khadgar Dalaran." Alleria introduced them. Turalyon nodded, and Lor'themar returned the gesture in kind, showing equal respect.

"Most of our Warrior survived this inferno," Lor'themar told them bluntly, "But we couldn't stop the fire. Although we escaped, our families are still trapped inside." His hand gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"But we don't have time to think about that now," he said. "We must do everything we can to rescue our people as quickly as possible. That also means destroying the forces threatening this forest first."

"King Terenas of Lordaeron had previously conveyed a message to us, hoping we would join the Alliance," Sylvanas said, looking up at Turalyon. "But our King has decided to offer only a token response." A hint of disappointment flickered in her eyes. "Although Alleria volunteered to aid you," she added, her expression turning serious again, "Our elders realized their mistake when these Troll and Orcs invaded our homeland; Quel'Thalas was no longer safe. They ordered their forces to be assembled and joined with you, offering you all the assistance they could." She bowed to Turalyon. "We are honored to join your Alliance, General Turalyon. I hope our future actions will make up for the losses caused by our lateness."

Turalyon nodded, once again wishing Lothar were there. Lothar knew how to phrase things in this situation, but he himself didn't, so he hoped to get away with it as quickly as possible. "Thank you and your people," he finally said. "Welcome to the Alliance. Together we will drive the Horde from this continent, from your homeland and ours. May we then live in peace and cooperate once more."

He glanced around: Khadgar, Alleria, Sylvanas, Lor'themar Theron, and Kurdran Wildhammer —all trustworthy comrades. He suddenly felt a sense of self he'd never known before. With these people by his side, perhaps he could become a leader, at least until Lothar returned. Turalyon was pleased, almost smiling, but the smile abruptly vanished. "Where's Nathanos? Where has he gone?"

Sylvanas turned around and found that the human who had stopped her was truly gone.

"Nathanos? He's here?" Alleria was somewhat surprised. But seeing her sister's reaction, she was certain that the human from before was indeed here, and that the two of them had already met.

"Me." Kurdran raised a hand, successfully drawing everyone's attention. "I think I saw him. Although I don't know him, I saw a human running in that direction when I landed. I thought he was crazy." Kurdran pointed in a direction.

Khadgar was shocked when he saw it. "Damn it, that's the direction a Red Dragon landed. What is Nathanos doing there?"

"Red Dragon?" Kurdran thought carefully for a moment. "I remember now, you're right. It was that Red Dragon that came from behind."

"I'll go and bring him back," Sylvanas said, but Alleria grabbed her. The latter looked at her sister with confusion.

"You must rest well, let me go." She nodded to Sylvanas, then gestured to Turalyon, and ran off in that direction without waiting for his consent.

The smell of burning and the intense heat filled the air, and Nathanos tried to avoid them as much as possible. The thick smoke made visibility very low.

ChristaSA was shot down from the sky by a Red Dragon nearly the same size as her. Nathanos hoped to find her. After an hour of searching, Nathanos finally heard movement. There was a faint panting sound ahead.

"ChristaSA." Nathanos emerged from the forest into a clearing where the Red Dragon lay. Only then did the human realize that this clearing had been formed when she fell, surrounded by fallen trees and a trail of blood on the ground.

The Red Dragon heard someone calling its name, and it slightly opened its eyes to see Nathanos approaching.

"Is that you?" Her voice was faint, but Nathanos could still hear it clearly.

"You are badly injured." He knelt down and stroked the Red Dragon's head, as if he were sharing her pain.

"I was no match for Talanis Tatz, the Queen's oldest consort. I never expected him to come here. But I also severely wounded him." At this point, ChristaSA coughed violently.

Nathanos sensed the blood in her voice. "Stop talking. Can you still transform? Turn back into your former Elf form, and I'll take you away from here."

The Red Dragon didn't answer, but she continued trying, forcing herself to use magic despite the pain. Finally, a dazzling light emanated from her body, and Nathanos's eyes flickered. ChristaSA's mortal form appeared before him. She was covered in bloody wounds, her robes torn, and she had fainted. Nathanos picked her up, preparing to return. A tall figure leaped out.

"Alleria?" Nathanos was a little frightened when he saw the Elf suddenly appear. He hoped that Alleria hadn't seen what had just happened.

"What are you doing here?" Alleria looked at him, then noticed the weak-breathing Female Elf in his arms. "A survivor?" Alleria ran to his side, her heart aching at the condition of her "comrade" before her.

"We must get out of here." Nathanos breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed she hadn't noticed. "She needs treatment."

Alterac

"You summoned us, sir?" It was General Hasse, the commander of the Alterac army, who spoke, standing in the half-open doorway. Perenolde saw other army officers standing behind him.

"Yes. Come in, General," Perenolde said, trying to calm his voice. "I have just received a report on the Horde's next move, which I need to inform you of."

He saw Hass and several other generals exchange quick glances, but they said nothing and followed him toward the impressive, massive map that covered the entire wall. It depicted the whole of Alterac, with towns and fortresses marked in silver, while Alterac Castle itself was marked in gold.

"I have received a true report," Perenolde began, " that the Horde is marching on us." Several generals gasped in surprise. "They have clearly chosen to cross these mountains to invade the Kingdom of Lordaeron. This way, they will be able to approach the capital of Lordaeron from the north."

"How far away are they?" Colonel Kaifdan asked anxiously. "How many of them are there? What kind of weapons did they bring?" the other officers whispered behind him.

Perenolde raised a hand, and the officers fell silent. "I don't know how far they are from us," he replied, "A day or two, or three days, no more. I don't know how many there are, but it must be a terrible number." He smiled, though he knew it was a weak laugh. "However, that's no longer a question for us to consider."

General Hasse Has straightened up. "That's not something for us to consider, sir?" he asked, his breath causing his thick gray beard to flutter. "But we are part of the Alliance, and we have sworn to fight the Horde alongside other nations."

"No more." Perenolde reminded him, noticing he was sweating, a fact his generals also noticed. "I've reconsidered and decided to relinquish our role in this war. Effective immediately, Alterac is no longer part of the Alliance." He took a deep breath.

The generals were all taken aback. "My lord, what do you mean?" Colonel Kaifdan asked.

"I have made an agreement with the Horde," Perenolde replied. "We will not interfere with their march through the mountains, and they guarantee the Kingdom of Alterac will be unharmed."

His generals looked bewildered, some even showing anger or grief. "You're asking us to conspire with the Orcs, sir?" Hass asked softly, his voice clearly filled with disgust.

"Yes, conspiring with the Orcs!" Perenolde lost his composure, shouting furiously. "Because I want us all to live!" He let his anger and fear erupt in his words. "Do you know what we're facing? The Horde, the entire Horde, is planning to sweep across this mountain range! Through our homeland! Do you know how many there are? Thousands! Tens of thousands!" Hass and the others nodded reluctantly. "Do you know what these Orcs look like? I once encountered an Orcs at this distance, right now. They were enormous! They were as tall as Troll, but twice as Troll! They were muscular, with sharp fangs—the Orcs I saw had a warhammer that took three men to lift, yet he swung it effortlessly like a child's toy! No one could stop them! Don't you understand? They will kill us all! They've already destroyed Stormwind City, Alterac will be their next target!"

"But the Alliance ..." Hass began. Perenolde smiled resentfully.

"What can the Alliance do?" he demanded. "Has the Alliance ever achieved a real victory? Where are they now? Not here! We formed the Alliance to protect our kingdoms in situations like this, but now the Horde is right under our noses, and where is the Alliance? They have abandoned us, don't you understand?" He knew his voice was bordering on hysteria and tried to calm himself. "Now is the time for each kingdom to think for itself," he told his generals as calmly as possible. "I must consider the interests of Alterac first."

"Yes, but those beasts..." another general, Tarand, began to speak.

"Very dangerous! Yes," Perenolde interrupted him. "But not barbaric. I have met their leader. He speaks a human language! He listened to me and agreed not to attack us in exchange for us not resisting them."

"Can we...can we trust them?" asked a low-ranking officer, Vald. Seeing several people nod, Perenolde breathed a sigh of relief. If they asked this, it meant they had already accepted the decision, only doubting whether the Horde would keep its promise.

"We have no choice," he answered slowly. "They can crush us if they want to. If they betray their promise, we are finished. But if they keep their promise, Alterac will live. Whatever the cost."

"I still don't want to do this," Hass said stubbornly. "It's tantamount to handing our fate over to the Horde, and we've already sworn an oath to other nations." Yet he seemed hesitant. Perenolde knew the general was considering the situation; this might be their only chance of survival.

Perenolde said sternly, "You only need to obey orders. I am the King, and I have made my decision. You swear to obey me."