Chapter 36: Delivery

"What is this Scourge whore doing here?" shouted a voice.

"What are you waiting for? Kill her!" hissed another voice.

"But she carries a white flag," protested a third voice.

"This is a trick. I assume that more of them are somewhere out there and waiting for her signal to attack us. We should kill her as long as we have the chance," responded the first voice.

"But that wouldn't be right. It's wrong to attack anyone with a white flag."

"She may have a white flag but look at this sack. It's soaked in blood. I'm sure that a separated head is in there," said the second voice.

"It's the head of the betrayer Xenarion Sunsinger, you idiot," Lyndia responded and opened the sack, showing them the head. The eyes of the three Silvermoon Guards widened. The head had been preserved by magic so that it wouldn't rot and decay. That way, the sin'dorei were still able to recognize it even though Lyndia had needed several weeks to reach Silvermoon City.

"I slew him myself. I am Lyndia Windrunner, daughter of Lirath Windrunner and Camillia Cambers. Alleria Windrunner is my aunt and I demand to see her. I have a letter from the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner. I have to hand this letter over to the king or any other high-ranked member."

The first guard, a male with long auburn hair, regarded the envelope in her hands, noticing the unfamiliar seal. "We can't allow you to enter Silvermoon. Not after what happened over a year ago."

"I understand that. That's why I want you to take this letter to the king."

"The King is not in Quel'Thalas."

"Then to my aunt. I heard she is in charge of Quel'Thalas in the king's absence."

The guards looked at each other, questioning expressions could be seen on their faces. They had no idea what they should do in this situation. None of them had expected that to happen. Each of them was silent and just stared at the others, hoping they would say something. None of them said a word.

Lyndia tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you doing something or are you just hoping that I vanish after some time if you keep standing there and do nothing? I'm not an illusion. I am a real person. I may be undead but I'm still real. And I'm not your enemy nor are the Forsaken. We want to defeat the Scourge too. Just so you know."

The third guard was about to say something as someone came in his sight. A familiar person. He made a few steps backwards and lowered his head in respect. The two other guards did the same. "Greetings, Regent-Lady."

"Greetings soldiers," Alleria said and came to them. Her gaze fell on the undead creature in front of the gate. Her blue eyes widened as she recognized the familiar facial features. Alleria had been told by Kelrian that Lyndia had been killed and raised by Xenarion. She knew about her fate but she was still shocked when she saw her. She couldn't believe she was real, even though she knew she was. Alleria was stunned for a few moments and said nothing.

Lyndia regarded her from head to toe in the meantime. Despite being the Regent-Lady of Quel'Thalas, Alleria didn't wear any traditional armour. Instead, she wore a golden and red version of her uniform. Her golden hair was mostly hidden beneath her red hood. "It has been a long time, aunt."

"Lyndia... Is it really you?"

The half-elf nodded. "I was raised by the Scourge but I broke free like thousands of others. I am a Forsaken now, an undead creature with a free will who serves the Banshee Queen voluntarily."

"You serve Sylvanas."

"Exactly."

Alleria's eyes were still widened. "I heard rumours about her but I didn't believe them to be true until I received a letter from the king in which he told me that the rumours about my dear sister are true. Is she... Is she alright?"

"Well... She is undead and it's impossible to imagine how she must feel. She wants Arthas dead more than anything else but she has not enough men to pose a threat to him. That's why she sent me to deliver you a letter along with a gift."

"A gift?" Alleria asked carefully.

Lyndia pointed at the head. "That's the head of Xenarion Sunsinger, one of the two traitors who betrayed our people. I slew him myself and took vengeance for my father's death. And my death."

Lyndia could see in Alleria's eyes that she was happy that the traitor was dead. Lyndia's and her father's death had hit Alleria hard. It comforted her to know that their murderer was dead. Xenarion's death wouldn't undo the events of the past but it was enough to make Alleria believe that justice still existed in this cruel world. Xenarion received his just punishment. He got what he deserved.

"Only Dar'Khan Drathir remains. And Arthas of course. Lady Sylvanas told me to hand over his head to you to prove you that we are no longer a part of the Scourge. We wiped out the Scourge base near Agamand Mills and slew Xenarion who was in charge of the base. We killed and burnt every Scourge minion we found.

We are on the same side, aunt. We want to destroy the Scourge as badly as you do. There are so many of them still in Quel'Thalas and Lordaeron. Lady Sylvanas wants to work together with the sin'dorei to get rid of them."

Alleria was silent, thinking about what the half-breed had just said. "King Kael'thas Sunstrider wrote to me that he doesn't see Sylvanas as an enemy. He met her in the dungeon of Dalaran and talked to her. He wrote that she came to save him and those who followed him after she found out that the human Garithos wanted to execute them. The king is convinced that she is on our side. What concerns me is that she allows a demon to serve her. How can I be sure that this demon is not controlling her?"

"The demon wants to destroy the Scourge too. Also, I doubt he controls her. Lady Sylvanas is way too powerful. The demon's power is nothing compared to hers. There is no way that he can control or influence her."

Alleria was silent again, a thoughtful look appeared on her beautiful face. "I need to meet her. I need to see her with my own eyes and speak to her. I need to get known to her before I form an alliance with her and her Forsaken. I need to speak to Vereesa and then I will make a decision. I will send a messenger to Lordaeron as soon as I made a decision."

Lyndia handed the envelope and the head to her aunt. "I will tell Lady Sylvanas what you just said."

"Do that."

Lyndia turned around and was about to walk away as Alleria grabbed her wrist and stopped her. Her skin was cold as ice but Alleria didn't let her go. She held her wrist until Lyndia turned her head and gave her a curious look. "Don't go. Not yet," the older woman said.

Lyndia raised an eyebrow. "What do you want, aunt? There is nothing else I have to say. I delivered the message so I will no longer be needed here."

"I wanted to talk to you a little longer," said Alleria and looked at the guards who nodded at her and walked away quickly.

Lyndia gave her an irritated look. "Talk? I don't have time for that. The Scourge needs to be destroyed and there is so much to do to achieve that goal."

Alleria sighed. "I know but we won't destroy the Scourge in days, weeks or months. The Scourge won't be defeated so easily and forcing victory is not a good idea. We have to keep our heads cool. Rushing things won't make our situation better. Staying a bit longer won't change much."

"Fine, I'm listening. What do you have to say?"

"How...How are you doing? After everything that happened to you..."

"It's hard to say. Most of the times, I feel angry. I often want to take out my anger on someone. At the best on a member of the Scourge. I let my anger out on Xenarion but even after his death I still feel angry. Angry and lost.

My family... Our family has been split because of that bastard Arthas. Aunt Sylvanas, grand uncle Zelastor and I are in Lordaeron, in Undercity to be exact. You, aunt Vereesa, your children, Rhonin and Raesh are in Quel'Thalas. Sylvera is still a member of the Scourge and forced to serve that bastard. We have no idea where Kelrian and those who accompany your king went. Our once glorious family is split. The bonds have been destroyed..."

"But they can be knotted together again," said Alleria and gave her a small, barely recognizable smile. Kael'thas had written about Sylvera's fate so Alleria was not surprised by what Lyndia had told her about her niece. Nevertheless, she still felt sad when thinking about her niece. She didn't deserve to die. Nobody who died since the invasion deserved their horrible fate. Nobody except for Xenarion.

"Maybe. It's not impossible but do you seriously want to hang out with a corpse?"

"Undead or not, Sylvanas is still my sister and will always be. You are still my niece, nothing can change that."

"Arthas made sure that only a small part of the Sylvanas you have once known remains in the creature she became. She changed and so did I."

"I noticed that. You are a different person but you are not my enemy and I doubt Sylvanas is. She is the enemy of my enemy, so she can be my ally, right?"

"It's possible."

Alleria was silent for nearly two minutes but then she spoke again. "Should I tell your mother about your appearance here in front of the gates of Silvermoon?"

Lyndia shrugged. "You can but I doubt she wants to see me."

"You can't know that."

Lyndia shrugged again. "You can tell her but I don't expect anything."

Alleria sighed. "Can you wait for another hour before you go?"

Lyndia frowned. "Why?"

"I'm not sure if I will see Sylvanas so soon but I want that you give her something that belongs to her... To her husband in this case... She deserves to get it back."

"Fine, I will wait."

Alleria smiled. "I will return as soon as I can."

Lyndia nodded and watched her running away. She waited in front of the gates, thinking about the conversation she just had with her aunt. Alleria returned an hour later with a small black box in her hand. She handed it over to Lyndia who opened it, her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the object in the box.

"We found it on the battlefield where she died. It's very likely that Arthas removed it from her body and threw it to the ground."

"I will give it to her. Promised."

Alleria smiled again. "Thank you. I'm sure she will be grateful."

The half-elf nodded. "I need to go now. May we meet again."

"May we meet again. It's good to know that you are no longer forced to serve the Scourge."

Lyndia didn't respond to her. She stared into Alleria's eyes for a few moments before she walked over to her undead horse and climbed on top of it. She gave her aunt one last look before she spurred the skeletal horse and made it move.

---

The last demon fell. The last demon who had been in the mine. The mine was theirs. There were lots of carts filled with felstones which will provide the blood elves with fel energy for a few months at least. If they needed more, they could mine for more crystals.

They brought the carts to their base, putting the felstones in the provisional warehouse. They returned with more men and materials to the mine. They built a wall and two towers around the entrance, putting archers and mages on top of it. Naga and sin'dorei went in the mine and started mining for these green crystals. Enough men were ordered to stay to defend the mine and protect the miners in case that the orcs or demons would try to reconquer it.

Illidan, Kael'thas, Lady Vashj, Tyrande, Kelrian, Elena and over two hundred naga and sin'dorei moved to the north, arriving at one of the dimensional gates through which lots of orcs were coming every day. It was one of the four gates they had to close by any means. It was heavily guarded by dozens of fel orcs and demons. Wrathguards, felhounds and even infernals were there.

"Stay away from the infernals, I will take care of them. Just keep their mages and warlocks busy. As long as they don't attack me, I can take care of the powerful demons," said Illidan.

"We will do everything in our power to kill them and keep them busy," replied Kelrian.

"As soon as the majority of the orcs and demons are gone, Vashj, Kael'thas and I will close the gate while the rest will hold the demons and orcs away from us. It is possible that more orcs come through the gate while we fight. Be aware of this possibility."

Illidan's followers nodded. The half-demon looked at Tyrande who had a determined expression on her face. She gave him a small smile and he returned it. "Is everyone ready?" he asked.

His followers nodded and even told him verbally that they were ready. Illidan smirked. "Alright, then. Let the battle begin."

The first spells flew throw the air and hit orcs and demons. More than a dozen of them were dead before they were aware of the attackers. Loud battle cries escaped the orcs' lips as they sprinted towards the nearest naga, sin'dorei and kaldorei. They were much larger, more muscular and much faster than the orcs the Alliance had fought in the Second War. Their skin was red and their eyes were blood red. They looked like monsters. Brutal, merciless monsters. They were pretty tough but the magic of the spellcasters was still strong enough to deal with them.

The fel had made the orcs stronger but also the sin'dorei. Their spells were precise and deadlier than ever. Kelrian had set the bodies of eight orcs on fire by hitting them with a pyroblast and he didn't even feel drained. Before he had come to Outland, he would have been exhausted after casting one large pyroblast. But now that the fel had made him more powerful than ever, he could cast more of these devastating spells which had always cost a large amount of his mana in the past. Nowadays, they didn't drain as much of his mana as they used to.

Lots of orcs fell quickly but Illidan's allies were still not underestimating them. They remained careful and didn't get too cocky. The orcs were still pretty dangerous, especially in close combat. Most of them died before they reached a naga or an elf but some survived too long for the attackers' liking and a few of those even managed to kill a few attackers. The fallen naga and elves were avenged quickly. The orcs were inferior in number so were the demons.

Fire, fel, arcane and ice magic killed two-thirds of the orcs and the rest was killed by arrows, throwing spears or sharp blades. Most of the demons were killed, only a few of them were taken captive because Illidan had told his followers to do that. He had told the sin'dorei that they could also draw power from the demons.

Only half a dozen demons and ten orcs remained as Illidan, Kael'thas and Lady Vashj came to the dimensional gate. Illidan told them what to do and together they started channelling the necessary spell to close it.

Kelrian and the other elves and naga were not idle in the meantime. He froze orcs in their movements and used fel fire to ignite two orcs, giving them a quick but painful death. He knocked two demons away with a shock wave and began to cast his next spell.

Tyrande, Elena and other archers shot volleys of arrows at the remaining foes while melee fighters held back the orcs and demons, preventing them from coming too close to the archers and spellcasters. Orcs came out of the dimensional gate but the naga and elves near Illidan and the others took care of them and prevented them from interrupting the spell.

The last orc fell a few moments before Illidan, Kael'thas and Lady Vashj managed to close the gate. The swirling black-greenish vortex vanished, making the gate unusable. "We've done it," shouted Kael'thas happily.

Illidan nodded, an impassive expression was visible on his face. "But there are three more gates out there. We have to close all of them one by one if we want to defeat Magtheridon."

Kelrian's gaze fell on the fallen. "We should bring the fallen to our base first."

"And the demons," added Kael'thas.

Illidan nodded. "Yes, we should."

They went back to the base and put the demons in special prisons which Illidan had ordered to be built. Special spells trapped the demons in their prisons and prevented them from casting spells or breaking out. There was no way out for them. Kelrian spent the rest of the day with his father and Elena. They trained, talked and then he and Elena went to their tent. Kelrian had not planned to have sex with Elena that night but it had happened nevertheless. He had not been able to resist Elena's seduction.

Like the first time they had sex, he had thought of Sylvanas all the time. No matter what he had tried, he hadn't been able to stop imagining Sylvanas' nude gorgeous body. He hadn't been able to stop imagining her perfect body which looked much better than Elena's. Elena's nude form was hot too but she was not as gorgeous as Sylvanas. Nobody was more beautiful than her. Tyrande was the only person who was as beautiful as Sylvanas.

Elena had fallen asleep but Kelrian was still awake, thinking about their love-making. He was sure Elena had loved it. He had seen it in her eyes and the wonderful sounds she had made were proof enough. But he... For some reason, he had not enjoyed it as much as he had the first time. He had felt a little uncomfortable while doing it with her and he had no idea why. Something was wrong with him. Not only with him, with everything. But he couldn't tell what it was. Something was bothering him.

He laid awake for a while and tried to figure out what was wrong but came to no conclusion. He fell asleep eventually and was woken up by Elena the next morning. She was laying on top of him, kissing him and caressing his muscular body.

It was obvious that she wanted more than just kissing. Kelrian knew that but he felt too tired and too weak to resist. He had spent most of the absorbed fel energy in battle, so he felt much weaker than before. He needed more energy. Elena, on the other hand, didn't spend as much energy in battle because she was not a spellcaster. She felt as fresh as a daisy. She felt stronger than ever. She was ready for action, ready to kill more orcs and demons. He, on the other hand, felt exhausted.

"You should absorb more fel, honey," she said after they were done. She handed him a fel crystal and watched him absorb its energy. He felt a lot better than before when he was done. He was no longer tired and exhausted. He felt as fresh as a daisy, just like her.

Elena put on her clothes and walked over to the small wooden desk. She took the tin full of pink pills in her hand and opened it. She regarded it for a few moments and then turned her head to look at Kelrian who had gotten dressed in the meantime. She looked back at the tin and then closed it, putting it away without taking one of these pills.

Kelrian walked over to her and put a hand on her hip, leaving the tent with her. They came to the king's tent, noticing that the entrance was slightly open. Kelrian didn't dare to take a peek in it but Elena did. Her eyes widened as she saw Kael'thas and Lady Vashj share a kiss. She stepped back and put on a poker face, turning to Kelrian. "We should look for Lord Illidan," she said.

Kelrian nodded. "You are right."

They found Illidan together with Tyrande near the training ground. They were standing pretty close to each other so that their bodies were almost touching. Illidan had his arms crossed in front of his chest,his wings were folded behind his back. Tyrande's hands rested on her hips, her blue eyes rested on the naga, sin'dorei and kaldorei who were training together.

"Greetings, Lord Illidan. Greeting, Lady Whisperwind," Kelrian and Elena said in unison. The night elves' gazes fell on them as they greeted them in return. "Are we going to close the second portal today?" Kelrian asked.

"Well, Kael'thas, Tyrande, Lady Vashj and I will go and close the gate. I have a different task for you."

Kelrian raised an eyebrow. "A different task?" he asked curiously.

"Our scouts spotted a village which will be soon attacked by the orcs. Your task is to kill the orcs and rescue the village and its inhabitants. It's not unlikely that these creatures will support us if we save them."

"The more allies we get, the better it is," Kelrian replied.

"I share your opinion, captain," responded Tyrande. "We just need to make sure we can trust those who want to join us."

"I see no reason why we shouldn't allow the inhabitants of the village to join us, if they want. We have a common enemy."

"You are right about that, captain. I was speaking about potential allies in general. I wasn't speaking about the villagers. I'm sure that there is no reason to not trust those who are about to get attacked by the orcs," explained Tyrande.

Kelrian looked at Illidan. "When will we set off?"

"As soon as Tyrande's reinforcements arrive."

Kelrian raised an eyebrow. "Reinforcements?" he asked surprised.

"More of my people are coming to our aid," told Tyrande.

"How many?"

"About two hundred. Velsana and Vissia are among them."

A small smile appeared on Kelrian's lips. "I haven't seen them for a while. How are they doing?"

"They are doing fine. After the events in Dalaran, I ordered them to stay in Darnassus for a few weeks to relax and come to terms with everything that happened. They trained new recruits after their vacation and did other things. Velsana told me that she cannot wait to join me and fight by my side again."

"That sounds like her. She loves a good fight. She loves fighting but only when it's necessary. She doesn't fight for fun, she fights when she has to. She is a very brave warrioress. Her skills are impressive. So are Vissia's."

"They belong to the best warrioresses I have. I'm glad that they join us once again and help us to defeat Magtheridon and his servants."

"When will they arrive?" Elena asked.

"In two hours," replied the priestess. "Feel free to spent the two hours as you wish. Just be back in time, that's all I ask of you."

Kelrian and Elena nodded. "We will," they said in unison. Elena took Kelrian's hand and looked at him, then she pointed at the training ground. Kelrian gave her an understanding nod and walked with her to the other blood elves who were training diligently.

They trained for almost two hours and then went back to Illidan and Tyrande. Familiar night elves were around them. They spotted Velsana, Vissia but also Melysa. Kelrian and Elena went to them and greeted them.

"It's nice to see you again," replied Velsana. She had her arm wrapped around Vissia's shoulder and smiled at him. "It has been a while."

"Indeed, it has. I heard you had two weeks of vacation," Kelrian said.

Vissia and Velsana nodded. "We travelled with the High Priestess for months to find Illidan. The trip was more exhausting than we thought. The High Priestess' offer came in handy so we didn't refuse it," explained the rogue.

"How was it?" asked Elena.

"Relaxing. We needed that so badly," answered Vissia.

"I'm glad we are finally back to fight our foes. I rather charge in battles than remaining at home and train recruits. Don't get me wrong, I rather want to be safe than risking my life but I can't just stay somewhere and train recruits while others fight against a great threat. I need to be in battle as much as I hate it at the same time," told Velsana.

Kelrian nodded. "I understand you. I don't like fighting. I only join a fight when it is necessary. I don't fight for joy or for glory. I only fight if I must But I rather join my brethren in battle than sitting at home and doing nothing."

The night elves and the sin'dorei turned around as they heard Illidan clearing his throat. The half-demon quickly explained who belonged to which group and what the groups were doing. Kelrian already knew that he and Elena would help the villagers. New for him was that Vissia, Velsana and Melysa will join them. But not only them. Fifty sin'dorei, fifty naga and seventy kaldorei will join them too.

"Now that everyone knows to which group they belong, we are ready to set off," announced Illidan. "I wish you good luck, my followers."