Chapter 10: Emotional Explanation

Kelrian stopped in front of the house, sighing out in relief as he noticed that everything seemed to be normal. There were no undead creatures around, no screams could be heard and the surroundings were not devastated. Everything was alright. Nevertheless, he had to hurry. The sooner he would have brought Sylvanas' relatives to safety, the earlier he could get to Suncrown Village to evacuate his relatives.

Kelrian took deep breaths and waited until he felt less exhausted before he walked over to the entrance and opened it with his key. He came into the entrance hall but he didn't take off his shoes. He rushed through the bordering corridor and came into the living room where his children and Lyndia were sitting.

He got immediately reminded of Sylvanas when he saw his children because they looked so similar to her. He stopped for a moment as grief started to overwhelm him. He closed his eyes and banished these thoughts out of his mind. It was not easy but he still managed to order his thoughts and keep a cool head. He had not the time to grief yet. He had to bring his family to safety and then he could think about Sylvanas. Also, he didn't know if she was dead. It was very likely but there was still a small chance that she had made it out alive. He had to hope for the best.

He walked over to the teenagers who were regarding him in surprise. They hadn't expected him to return so soon, especially not alone. They had expected that he would return with his wife by his side. Their eyes widened as they saw the dried blood that stuck on his uniform and skin. They got up and rushed over to him, worry and fear were reflected by their eyes.

"Father...Are you okay?" asked Raesh.

"What happened, father?" asked Sylvera.

"Where is aunt Sylvanas? Is she with you?" asked Lyndia.

Kelrian signalized the teenagers to calm down and allow him to speak. "We don't have time for questions now. I will answer your questions later, but for now, you have to pack your things together and make yourself ready for departure."

Confusion was reflected by their faces. "Why should we pack our things? Where are we going? And why?" Sylvera asked.

"We are going to Quel'Danas. I will make a portal so we can get there quickly."

"What is going on, father?" asked Raesh. "Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"

Kelrian took a deep breath. "The undead are coming and I have no idea how long they will need to arrive at our house. You have to trust me and do as I say. Only take the most necessary things with you and go to the backyard as soon as you can."

"But..."

"No buts. Do as I say," Kelrian responded much louder than he had intended to. He was sorry that he had become so loud. He hadn't intended to do that. He had wanted to remain calm but that was not easy at all because he was stressed. Sylvanas was probably dead already and imagining that pained felt his heart aching whenever he thought about her very likely fate.

He was frustrated and emotionally hurt. It was hard for him to think clearly. He couldn't stop thinking about what he had seen. He had seen his comrades dying, had even seen how the undead creatures had torn some of them apart. He had seen how Arthas had raised the fallen high elves and turned them against their people. He had seen so many horrible things he couldn't handle.

The teenagers were shocked about Kelrian's outburst but they didn't dare to contradict him again, fearing that he would become much louder. They had never seen him behaving like this. They had never seen him becoming angry or loud. They assumed that something really bad had happened that was responsible for his distressed condition. They knew the best was to obey him, so they nodded to him and rushed to their rooms.

Kelrian stared at the opposite wall for a few moments before he left the room and followed the bordering corridor. He met Lireesa in the middle. She was wearing a blue dress and was holding a book in her hand. She stopped in front of him, her widened eyes regarded him from head to toe. She assumed that something must have happened, otherwise, he wouldn't be there and look like this. She feared the worst.

"What happened?"

"The undead broke through the first gate and they will break through the second. Maybe they have already passed it and are on their way to us. We need to leave this place and take shelter on Quel'Danas."

Lireesa's eyes reflected shock. "They broke through the gates?" she asked doubtingly. "That's impossible. No one ever managed to do that. Ban'dinoriel protects the inner gate for thousands of years. There is no way an army, no matter how large it is, could pass it."

"We have been betrayed. Dar'Khan Drathir handed Arthas the mooncrystals and allowed him to open the gate. The undead are coming for us. It's only a matter of time until they arrive. We need to leave and go to Quel'Danas and hope the undead don't find a way to cross the sea."

Kelrian noticed that Lireesa had troubles assimilating what he had just told her. He couldn't hold that against her. What he said wouldn't make sense for outsiders who hadn't seen what he had seen. He wouldn't believe it either if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He would have never believed that the first elfgate would fall. It had never fallen since the foundation of Quel'Thalas. The gate had denied entry for intruders for thousands of years. Nevertheless, it had fallen within a few hours. It was unbelievable for an outsider but Lireesa had to believe him.

And she was believing him. The longer she stared into his determined face, the more she got convinced that he was speaking the truth. "Is Sylvanas with you? And Alleria? Are they here? Please don't tell me they stayed."

Kelrian was silent for a few moments, then he shook his head and began to speak. Sadness was reflected by his quiet voice. "Sylvanas and Alleria are buying us as much time as possible. I'm sorry to tell you that they may not come back."

Lireesa's eyes were widened, tears formed in the corners. She covered her wide-open mouth with her hands but she was unable to hide her shocked expression. "No... Please don't tell me that this is true. How can they stay? Why didn't they come back with you?"

A sad sigh escaped Kelrian's lips, he wiped the tears out of the corners of his eyes and approached his mother-in-law, pulling her in a comforting hug. "They are not dead for sure. There is still a chance that they may return alive."

"But..."

Kelrian interrupted her. "We don't have time to talk now. We have to leave this place as soon as possible. I will explain everything once we arrive on Quel'Danas. Please do me a favour and inform everyone else. Tell Zendarin to create a portal to Quel'Danas. You have to make sure that everyone who is living and working here goes through the portal. Can you do that for me?"

Lireesa nodded. "What will you do in the meantime?"

"I will take your horse and ride to Windrunner Village and evacuate it. Then I will go to Suncrown Village and organise the evacuation. You could send out ravens to inform the nearest villages. They need to be evacuated as well."

Lireesa nodded again, sadness was still reflected in her eyes. "Let's hope for the best. I don't want to lose any of my daughters. I already lost Lirath... I can't lose another child..."

Kelrian put his hands on her cheeks, staring into her eyes as he caressed them. "I don't want to lose them either. But their fate is not in our hands. We can only hope for the best. It pains me to imagine losing Sylvanas or Alleria. But there is nothing we can do for them at the moment. All we can do is to go to Quel'Danas and pray to the Sunwell. We should pray for their safety."

"I will go to the Sunwell and pray in front of it once we reach the island."

"Do that, Lireesa. But for now, you have to bring our family to Quel'Danas. Can you do that for me?"

Lireesa nodded. "I will. You can count on me."

Kelrian gave her a small smile and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you. I will see you on Quel'Danas."

"Be careful," replied his mother-in-law.

"I will," Kelrian responded and hurried away.

---

Kelrian entered the room and walked over to the table where his children were sitting. He sat down on a chair next to them and regarded them without saying anything. They looked worried. They had no idea what was going on. They had no idea that their mother was dead. Not even Kelrian knew that. He only knew that the chance that Sylvanas wouldn't return alive was high. He had no idea that Sylvanas had been raised and was forced to serve her murderer. She was technically not alive but not dead either. She was undead. She was forced to remain in the mortal world and serve Arthas Menethil for all eternity.

Kelrian didn't know about her sad fate, so he could only tell his children that their mother may not come back. He wished he wouldn't have to tell them that but he had no other choice. They deserved to know the truth, so he had decided to tell them everything. He had no idea how he should approach that difficult topic. He had no idea how he should tell his children that their mother was most likely dead. He hadn't accepted yet that she may be dead, so he had no idea how he should break it gently to them.

Thinking of Sylvanas made him sad. Very sad. He was not a sensitive person, nevertheless, he got very emotional whenever he thought about his wife who may not return to him and their children. He tried to hide how he was feeling as best as possible. He hadn't cried yet but it was clearly visible in his eyes that he was grieving.

His children were looking at him, frowning as they stared into his eyes. "What's wrong, dad?" Sylvera asked carefully. "You told us to pack our things and go to Quel'Danas. We did as you said but now we want to know why we had to go. What do you know? What is going on?"

Kelrian was silent at first and looked at his fingers but then he lifted his head and looked at the twins. He saw nothing but worry in their eyes. Kelrian exhaled loudly and put his hands in front of him, intertwining his fingers. "The newest rumours turned out to be true. Arthas Menethil led a gigantic army of undead to our borders and managed to pass the first gate."

The eyes of both teenagers widened. "He did what?" asked Raesh, hoping he had misheard. His eyes become even wider when Kelrian repeated it again,assuring that it was true.

"How could he do that? I thought the elfgates are impassable. You told me that no enemy ever managed to pass them since they had been built." Sylvera sounded shocked. She couldn't believe what her father had told her and her brother. She had read a lot about the history of the high elves, so she knew a lot about the elfgates and the ancient barrier Ban'dinoriel. She didn't want to believe it but the serious expression on her father's face made her realize that what he had said was true. The first elfgate had fallen.

"His army was a lot larger than we have expected. Well, a lot is an understatement. I have never seen such a huge army before. Not even the Horde had that many soldiers during the Second War. Orcs and trolls are vulnerable. We can kill them by shooting them in the head or we can slow them down by shooting them in the knees or feet. We could hurt them and weaken them but we couldn't do that with the undead. We could cut off limbs but that didn't stop them. They still would continue fighting no matter how often we hit them. They feel no pain and losing limbs didn't bother them. They even kept moving without legs. They are mindless and just follow their master's commands, not caring if they would be killed in the process." Kelrian made a small pause in which he considered what he should say next.

"The undead army overran the gate. Most of our soldiers that died were brought back to life by Arthas. He let our fallen men fight against us. We had to fight our former comrades who had once wanted to defend the gates with us. They had tried to kill us and all we could do was to give up the gate and flee. We ran away and retreated to the second gate where we met up with reinforcements," he told.

"Mother wants to defend the second gate, doesn't she?" Raesh asked. His voice was quiet and sounded weak. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes. He had a presumption of what his father was would say next, so he was hoping that his father wouldn't say what he thought he would say. He could only hope that his father's answer wouldn't confirm his presumption.

A sad sigh escaped the ranger's lips. He wished he could say that everything would be alright. He wished he wouldn't have to tell his children that their mother may die or be already dead. He wished he could tell them good news but he would lie if he would do that.

He knew he had to tell them before they would find it out through other ways. He was their father, so he had to be the one who should tell them the bad news. There was no way of avoiding this conversation, no matter how hard he was wishing it.

"Your mother and your aunt decided to stay and defend the second gate as long as possible. I don't know how to explain this to you, so I will just say what I know. We have been betrayed. Arthas has the keys to deactivate the barrier, which means that the second gate is unprotected. Your mother only has little more than two thousand men to defend the gate until reinforcements arrive. Arthas' army is too big, so I doubt our soldiers will hold out long enough. Sadly, I have to tell you that the chance is pretty high that... your mother..." Kelrian stopped suddenly, buried his hands in his palms and started to sob quietly. His emotions had overwhelmed him. Everything was too much for him.

Seeing their father like that was enough for the twins to know what he had wanted to tell them. Their mother was most likely dead. They were shocked by the bad news. Their mother had told them often enough that the possibility that she wouldn't return from a battle one day existed. She had prepared them for the case that she or Kelrian would die and she had told them what they should do if that would be the case.

They had known that they could lose their parents when they travelled to the south to find out if the rumours about the fallen prince were true. They had known from the beginning that there was a chance that they wouldn't return from that mission. Nevertheless, the twins were shocked and speechless. Sadness was reflected in their eyes. They didn't cry nor did they sob but they were grieving even though they didn't know if their mother was already dead or still alive.

The twins had a bad feeling about everything and they were expecting the worst outcome. They were hoping that their mother would return to them. They didn't want to lose her. They loved her. They loved their parents more than anyone else, so imagining losing one of them pained them deeply. They didn't want to imagine a life without their mother at their sides. They didn't want her to be gone. They wanted to have her for all eternity.

Sylvera got up from her chair and squatted down next to her father, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Kelrian was leaning forward, his back was bent and he still buried his face in his palms. Tears were running down his cheeks. They dripped from his chin onto his trousers and the carpet. Raesh appeared on the other side and put his hand on his father's shoulder, signalizing him that he was there for him. The twins took turns and spoke to their father quietly, comforting him as best as they could. Kelrian stopped sobbing and crying eventually and removed his hands.

His eyes were wet from crying, grief was reflected by his face. He had never expected that he would break out in tears. He had always managed to keep himself under control but then he had looked at Sylvanas' ring on his wedding finger and the memories of the past days had come back in his mind.

The latest nightmare had really plagued him and gave him a hard time. He had dreamed of Arthas killing Sylvanas. He had dreamed of Arthas raising Sylvanas and turning her into a mindless undead creature. He had dreamed that Sylvanas would come to them, kill him and then their children and the other members of their families. It had been horrible. It had been the worst nightmare he had ever witnessed.

Kelrian was at his limit. He had thought he couldn't take it anymore but the presence of his children comforted him. They looked shocked, they were grieving like him but they were there for him. They comforted him and made him feel a little better. Kelrian had expected that it would be the other way around. He had expected that they would break out in tears and he would comfort them.

He had never expected that he wouldn't be able to control his emotions. Nobody would hold that against him. He had seen his comrades and many of his friends die in front of his eyes. He had fought against the undead army that showed no mercy and killed everyone that came in their way. He had had horrible dreams. He was an emotional wreck but at least he had his children who would do anything to make him feel better.

Sylvanas may be gone but he still had them and it was his task to protect them. He may have lost Sylvanas but he didn't lose the rest of his family. He had to make sure he won't lose Raesh and Sylvera. He had promised Sylvanas to bring them to safety. He had to protect their family. He had to protect them by any means but first,he had to calm down.

"I'm sorry," whispered the ranger. "I didn't want to cry in front of you but... the events of the past days have really affected me. I didn't expect that I would get so emotional. I'm sorry. I am a bad role model. I should be strong for you and give you hope but instead, I cried like a little child. I'm a bad father."

Raesh shook his head and patted his father's shoulder. "Don't say that, dad. You are a great father. It's normal to have feelings and it's okay to show them. You care about the ones who are important to you. You care about mother and you want nothing more than her returning alive in one piece. We want the same and we won't judge you for shedding a few tears. Getting emotional is just normal. You don't have to worry about us. We are shocked but I think we can handle everything. We just need some time to assimilate everything."

"There is still hope that mother survives and returns to us. The chance may be small but I will never give up. Hope always dies last and I won't stop hoping that she will return to us," replied Sylvera.

Kelrian took a deep breath, wiped the dried tears away and cleared his throat after he regained his composure. "You are right. We shouldn't grief as long as we are not one hundred percent sure that she is dead. She wouldn't like to see us grieving. She wants us to stay strong and hope for the best. She wants us to survive. The undead may come to Silvermoon. They may conquer the capital city but they will never reach Quel'Danas. Our mages prevent that Arthas' mages can create portals to Quel'Danas. We are safe on this island. We will wait until Arthas Menethil and his undead army will leave our lands, then we will return to the capital city and see what we can do. You don't have to worry, little ones. Everything will be fine."

Raesh and Sylvera nodded but didn't respond to him. They just stared at their father, smiling as they noticed that he was feeling much better than before. Kelrian got up and walked to the fridge, opened it and regarded what was inside. "We should make dinner. Camillia and Lyndia should return soon, so it would be nice if you help me with the preparation."

Raesh and Sylvera nodded. "We will, father," they said in unison.

---

"I thought you would never show up," the night elf said impatiently and looked at the demon who had just entered the room.

"The preparation took more time than I expected. I'm sorry for arriving so late, Lady Felspeaker," the demon responded and bowed to her, showing her respect.

Alyssa crossed one leg over the other, taking a sip from the wine glass she was holding in her hand. She made a gesture, signalizing that she was forgiving him. "As long as you did what I requested, you're forgiven."

"I completed the task successfully," responded the demon.

Alyssa smirked. "Good. I hope everything will go according to plan this time."

The demon tilted his head a little, giving his mistress a curious look. "I thought everything was already going well. You ordered Mal'Ganis to weaken the kingdoms of the Alliance so that we may once again invade Azeroth. Lordaeron already fell and Quel'Thalas will fall soon. That's all Mal'Ganis had to achieve, right?"

Alyssa emptied her glass and put it aside. "Well, not exactly. Arthas Menethil is doing what I want him to do. It was Mal'Ganis' idea to corrupt the human prince and it's working but that doesn't mean that everything went right. Mal'Ganis was not supposed to die. I had more tasks for him but he got killed by Arthas. He will need some time until he is powerful enough to return from the Twisting Nether. Until his return, I need you to do what he was supposed to do."

"You want me to watch over Arthas Menethil and the Scourge?"

The night elf shook her head. "No. I ordered Tichondrius to do that."

The demon's curiosity grew. "What do you want me to do?"

"Tichondrius will make sure that this human prince will still work for us after he has left Quel'Thalas in ruins. He will serve us well but he won't be the only mortal who will work for us."

"You want me to corrupt another mortal, right?"

"You got that right, Exadius."

"Who shall I corrupt? Who shall join our crusade?" Exadius asked.

Alyssa sniped with her fingers, letting a file appear on her lap. She handed it to the tall demon who flicked through it quickly. He raised an eyebrow as his gaze fell back on his mistress. "An elf?"

Alyssa chuckled and put a strand of dark green hair behind her long ear. "He has a lot of potential. Just make sure he joins us, then I will give you another task."

Exadius nodded. "As you wish, Lady Felspeaker."

"You can go now, Exadius. I hope you won't fail me. Not like Mal'Ganis who had gotten himself killed by that human."

"Don't worry, I'm not weak. I'm much older and stronger than Mal'Ganis. I won't be killed by stupid and weak mortals. Not like that fool Mal'Ganis."

"I hope that for you. You know what will happen if you disappoint me," responded the night elf and made a gesture, signalizing the taller demon that he was dismissed. Exadius lowered his head in respect and walked over to the exit, leaving the room.