Chapter 21: Exceptional Encounters

"Things can't get any worse, can they?" the female voice asked. It was quieter than usual and reflected grief and bitterness. The woman's eyes rested on the body on the table in front of her. She couldn't avert her gaze, no matter how hard she tried.

It felt for her as if she was affected by a spell that forced her to look at the body. But she was not. The truth was that she was just too shocked to look away. She had known that her mother's chances of survival had been pretty low but she still had not lost hope. She had hoped for the best outcome but fate had made a different choice. Her mother was dead but she had found peace at least.

Alleria's eyes still rested on the silver-haired woman. It pained her to see her sister like that. To see her grieving. Vereesa had cried for days when Alleria had told her about Sylvanas' death and her tragic fate and now she cried as well. Nobody could hold that against her. Alleria had just shown her the proof that her mother was dead. Really dead.

Vereesa would never be able to speak to her mother again. She would never be able to ask her for advices about educating the twins she will give birth to inabout two months. The twins will never be able to spend time with their grandmother. They will never get known to her.

Vereesa put a hand on her round belly. "They are not even born and have already lost their grandmother and their other grandparents. Their aunt is dead too. Turalyon is still missing. Sylvera is still missing. Kelrian's mother and his younger siblings are still missing. All of them could be dead. How many more family members do we have to lose? When will this madness finally stop? Who will be left of our family when this is all over?"

Alleria bit her bottom lip softly as she considered what she should say in response. Her blue eyes still rested on Vereesa who looked desperate. Her skin was pale, her eyes were wet from crying and tears still ran down her cheeks. Her hands were trembling, so were her lips while she was speaking.

Alleria had no idea what she should say to comfort her little sister. It had taken a lot of effort for her to comfort her when she had told her about Sylvanas' horrible fate. Comforting her this time will be much more difficult. Vereesa had heard about the deaths of Rhonin's parents and most members of his family a few days ago. She was still not over their deaths and her mother's death didn't make things easier.

Vereesa was not sure if her shattered heart would be able to cope with the losses of more beloved persons. She would never be able to handle everything alone. Fortunately for her, she was not alone. Alleria was there for here and would do anything necessary to make her feel better.

She approached her younger sister, wrapped her arms around her shoulders and put Vereesa's head on her chest. Her hands caressed her back softly as she spoke soothing words in the expecting mother's ears. Vereesa relaxed and stopped crying eventually.

"I don't know how long this madness will last," Alleria said after a while. "We can only hope that it will be over soon. Our spies saw Arthas last in Lordaeron, in the capital city. Sylvanas has been with him but I have no idea what they are doing there. I'm still waiting for the newest reports."

"What will we do about her?" Vereesa asked and stared into her big sister's eyes.

"You mean Sylvanas?"

Vereesa nodded.

Alleria sighed. "I have no idea. I don't want her to serve that bastard any longer but I can't just go to Lordaeron and release her. Kelrian and Elena told me that she is pretty powerful. I might not be able to kill her alone, not to mention that I'm not sure if I could kill her. She is still our sister after all... Or what is left of her at least..."

"Didn't she try to kill Kelrian? The Sylvanas we knew would never do that. She would never try to kill him, not even if only a small part of her would be left. What if Arthas made sure that..." Vereesa didn't complete her sentence. It hurt too much to speak out the words she wanted to say.

"That nothing is left of Sylvanas? Is that what you wanted to say?" Alleria asked. Worry was reflected by her eyes.

A sad sigh escaped the younger woman's lips. "Yeah...That's what I wanted to say...I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry."

"I know but still... I should try to stay as positive as the situation allows and hope that a small part of our sister is still left in that creature. But somehow, I have the impression there's nothing left of Sylvanas. At least from what I've heard.

Alleria was silent for a few moments, hesitating to give her younger sister an answer. "You shouldn't always trust what you hear."

Vereesa hesitated, insecurity was reflected in her eyes. "But didn't she go after you too?"

Alleria nodded. "But only because Arthas ordered her. Sylvanas would never want to hurt any of us. Arthas controls her and forces her to do things she doesn't want to do. I can't say for sure that the good Sylvanas still exists in the banshee Arthas created. I can only hope she still exists. I hope we can reach her somehow. Otherwise, we have no other choice than to end her suffering."

Vereesa nodded silently. It pained her to imagine killing Sylvanas, even if they were doing her a favour that way. Alleria sighed and put her hands on Vereesa's cheeks, caressing them softly. "Everything will be alright, Little Moon. We have succeeded in recapturing Silvermoon City and we will recapture more areas of Quel'Thalas over time. Everything will get better from now on.

You and Rhonin will have two beautiful children that will demand most of your time so that you won't have the time to think about sad things. Focus on the good things, on the fact that not everyone you care about died, on your offspring and on our family. Try to look forward and try to come to terms with the past. Always remember that I will help you whenever I can. I will always be there for you. Promised."

"Thank you," whispered Vereesa.

Alleria smiled, laughing softly. "You don't need to thank me, Little Moon. I'm your sister, so it's my duty to be there for you and support you as best as I can. I would be a bad sister if I wouldn't care about you. I will always be there for you if you need me."

Vereesa hugged Alleria and pressed a kiss on her cheek. The older woman closed her eyes and enjoyed the gentle hug, putting her hands on her sister's back. They held the hug for a few minutes, then they pulled away and looked at each other. "

"We should leave this room and prepare for the funeral. Her body has been twisted enough, so I don't want it to start rotting," said Alleria.

"When will we burn her?" Vereesa asked.

"Today, if our remaining relatives have time."

Vereesa nodded, not saying anything in return.

---

There was a foul stench in the air. It was far worse than the stench of the undead creatures Sylvanas had ordered to wait in the cave until her return. They were loyal to her, so they will wait until she would return from the meeting she would attend.

She wondered where that strange stench came from. She had never smelled anything so bad before. Not even her newest followers nor herself smelled so bad. She covered her nose with her hand, noticing that it didn't help at all. At least her nose was slowly getting used to the stench, meaning she would be able to bear it eventually.

Sylvanas walked along the path in front of her. The soil beneath her feet was grey and dead. It was dry and infertile. Arthas Menethil had made sure that no plant would ever grow there again. Sylvanas felt a massive amount of anger whenever she heard that name or thought about him. The anger often threatened to consume her but she always managed to control herself. It was not easy most of the times but there was a person that always helped her to calm down and regain control over herself. She just had to be near her to feel a bit calmer. She was one of the few connections she still had with her former life.

Verena had advised her to not meet with these shady creatures because they couldn't trust them. Sylvanas knew she couldn't trust anyone, not even Verena because she couldn't know what Arthas had done with her. He might have manipulated her to act as if she was her ally to get her trust. She couldn't exclude that Verena may betray her later. She had to be careful and keep an eye on her and on everyone else.

She didn't fully trust her but she proved to be pretty useful, so Sylvanas allowed her to stay by her side and help her to get her revenge. She could only hope Arthas hadn't manipulated her and turned her into a double-agent. She knew that Arthas was not dumb. She hated to admit that he was pretty smart. But he was also very arrogant. It was not unlikely that he hadn't manipulated Verena but Sylvanas couldn't be sure of that. She had decided to keep an eye on Verena until she could be sure that she was no threat to her.

Sylvanas followed the path until she came to the valley she was looking for. She spotted remains of several buildings that had once belonged to a small town in the east of Lordaeron. Except for a few dead trees and grey dead tufts of grass, no form of vegetation could be found in this area. Lots of skulls, bones and other remains of dead creatures were scattered all over the ground in the middle of the valley.

She recognized the three creatures from afar. She knew who they were because she had been around when Arthas had spoken to them about a week ago. She knew their names and what they were. Horned creatures with wide wings and sharp claws. Dreadlords or Nathrezim, as they called themselves. Sylvanas knew it was a risk to meet them alone. It was a risk to meet them in general but she had to take that risk if she wanted to get closer to her goal.

She had no idea how powerful they were. She only assumed that they were pretty powerful and that she wouldn't be able to handle all three of them alone. She knew she had to be careful and choose her words wisely or they may be her last. And she couldn't allow that. She couldn't allow herself to die before she had killed Arthas for what he had done to her and her people.

She had no other choice than to meet the dreadlords and find out what they wanted from her. She was pretty sure they wanted Arthas' demise too. They had been pretty angry after Arthas had announced that the Scourge would no longer serve them and the legion. Sylvanas hoped she would come to an agreement with the dreadlords. She wanted to find out if her enemy's enemy would be friend or foe. She wanted to know if they were on her side.

She went down the hill and arrived in the middle of the ruins where the dreadlords were waiting. One of them was sitting on the remains of a column and ate supplies the humans had left behind. Next to the column laid the skeletons of two dozen goats. The dreadlord had a huge appetite was which clearly visible in his corpulence. Sylvanas realized that the stench came from him. The two other dreadlords were just standing around and doing nothing at all. Nothing but taking a closer look at her.

"Lady Sylvanas. We are pleased that you came," said the one on the left. He was the tallest and most muscular of the three. His wings and his armour were purple and his eyes glowed yellowish.

Sylvanas' gaze rested on him as she answered. "How could I not? For some reason, I no longer hear the Lich King's voice in my head. What a relief. I no longer have to listen to this monster. My will is my own once again." Her voice sounded like a cracking crypt door but none of the dreadlords grimaced. Their expressions remained neutral.

"You dreadlords seem to know why," she added and tilted her head a little, giving them a curious look.

The dreadlord in the middle spoke. "We've discovered that the Lich King is losing his power. As it wanes, so too does his ability to command undead such as you."

That caught her interest. She turned her head and looked at the demon with the red wings and the silly-looking sideburns. She remembered that his name was Varimathras. "And what of King Arthas? What about his powers?" she asked interested. She hoped he got weaker too. That way, her chance to kill him would be much higher. She wanted his death more than anything else, so she hoped that the dreadlord would tell her that Arthas was also losing power.

Balnazzar, the purple demon, answered her this time. "Though his runeblade, Frostmourne, carries powerful enchantments, Arthas' own powers will fade in time. It is inevitable. He will get weaker over time."

"The weaker he gets the easier we can kill him," concluded Sylvanas.

"Exactly," responded Balnazzar, giving her a wide smile.

"That's good to know. You seek to overthrow him and you want my help to do it. Am I right about that?"

The fat Nathrezim gave her a wicked smile. His fat grey belly wobbled as he jumped up and came a few feet closer to Sylvanas. His wings were green and much smaller than the wings of the other nathrezim. Sylvanas doubted they would be able to carry him. It was very likely that he was too fat to fly for too long. "The Legion may be defeated, but we are the Nathrezim. We'll not let some upstart human get the best of us. Arthas must fall!" His voice reflected anger, his green eyes were narrowed.

It was Balnazzar's turn to speak. "The lich Kel'Thuzad is far too loyal to betray his master. But you on the other hand...," he didn't finish his sentence, assuming that the undead womanwould finish it for him.

"Hate him," completed Sylvanas and gave the nathrezim a serious look. "I have my own reasons for seeking vengeance. Arthas murdered my people, forced me to kill my own mother, murdered me and my unborn child and turned me into this...monstrosity. I may take part in your bloody coup, but I will do so in my own way."

She gave the dreadlords one last look, noticing that they didn't look pleased, and then turned around and walked away.

---

Kelrian's gaze fell on the abandoned buildings that were lined up along the road they were taking. The road was plastered by cobblestones, the buildings were mostly well preserved and even the surrounding trees were alive. This place was the entire opposite of the worst places in Quel'Thalas. There were lots of dead forests, destroyed villages and areas where the ground was infertile. Arthas had ravaged Quel'Thalas worse than his own homeland.

Most areas of Lordaeron, Kelrian had seen so far, looked much better than more than half of the areas in Quel'Thalas. The ground of most of the areas in Lordaeron was still fertile and animals were still living in some forests. Half of the villages in Lordaeron were destroyed or possessed by the undead, the other half was abandoned but people could still live there. While most villages in Quel'Thalas were destroyed and had to be rebuilt.

Kelrian knew this would take a while. A few months had passed since Silvermoon City had been reconquered by his people, the former high elves who had been renamed to blood elves by Kael'thas. He had done that to honour the fallen whose lives had been taken by the Scourge. Kael'thas had burned his father's body, accepted the crown and became the first king of the blood elves.

In the last few months, the blood elves have reclaimed almost half of the territory that had once belonged to Quel'Thalas. There were still enough bases, villages and areas under the control of the Scourge. The blood elves may need months or even years to retake them but they were certain they would manage to do that one day. Fortunately for them, survivors of Lordaeron under the command of Grand Marshal Othmar Garithos helped them to retake what belonged to them. In return, the blood elves would help to free Lordaeron from any undead creatures.

The blood elves had formed an alliance with the humans because they had common goals. Kelrian was glad that they received aid in these dark times. He was grateful that Grand Marshal Garithos had allowed them to join the Alliance resistance. At first, he had thought Garithos to be an honourable and just man who wanted nothing more than those who survived the slaughter led by Arthas Menethil.

But the longer his people had worked with him, the more they had gotten known to him and realized who he really was. He was a brave man with lots of battle experience but he was anything but likeable. It was known that he didn't like any other races except the human race. He despised the blood elves. He didn't trust them and only worked with them because they had common goals and he needed every capable fighter he could get. He had insulted Kael'thas from time to time but the freshly crowned king had never said anything in return because he knew he needed Garithos' aid to get rid of the undead in his homeland.

Kelrian didn't like the grand marshal nor did he like that the blood elves were so dependent on him. The king had often told him that he hated working with that arrogant racist but he still did it because he had no other choice. They had not enough men to deal with the undead in Quel'Thalas.

Even if they would free Quel'Thalas from any undead creature, more would come with time. There were still too many members of the Scourge in Lordaeron which could be ordered to move to Quel'Thalas and attack the bases of the blood elves. Kelrian knew that they had to kill the undead in Lordaeron too if they wanted to make sure that the remaining citizens of Quel'Thalas would no longer be in danger.

Kelrian let his gaze wander again once he had seen enough of the beautiful nature to which he still had a close connection. The connection had been much stronger before the fall of Quel'Thalas. Since the destruction of the Sunwell that had provided him with enough arcane energy, he felt nature in a different way. He still loved to regard nature and enjoy its beauty but he was no longer able to sense the well-being of the trees. He was no longer able to feel if a tree was healthy, sick or even dying. But that was not the only thing that had changed since the Sunwell's destruction.

He felt much weaker, his limbs and bones were aching from time to time and he got sick much easier. Wounds needed longer to heal, he got headaches from time to time and he had the impression that his sense of taste had gotten worse. He no longer enjoyed conjured food. He ate it when he had no other choice but he didn't like it anymore.

The worst was that he was not the only one who felt that way. Other blood elves felt the same way. They could not function properly without a constant supply of arcane energy. Their hunger for arcane energy was insatiable. They needed these energies so badly and their conditions got worse with each passing day. They were disharmonious, got aggressive pretty quickly and were restless from time to time.

They needed a source which could provide them with arcane energy constantly but Kael'thas had no idea where he should find such a source. All he could do was to search for other sources which could provide them with arcane energy for a limited amount of time. But he was not sure if he would find enough of these sources. He had to find a better solution. A permanent solution.

The caravan Kael'thas and his men were escorting would provide them with arcane energy but it would be just enough to satisfy the hunger of all survivors for a week at most. It was not the permanent solution he was looking for but it was better than nothing. It was just a small drop in the ocean. A temporary solution.

He had to find a permanent solution somehow but he had no idea if he would ever find one. He had no idea if there was another endless source of power such as the Sunwell. He could only hope that he would find a solution, otherwise... He didn't want to imagine what would happen to his people then, so he banished these thoughts out of his head and tried to think about something else.

He noticed his secret son coming closer to him. "What is it, Kelrian?"

Kelrian regarded the king for a few moments. He still hadn't gotten used to the green glowing spheres that were rotating around the king's head. He only knew that these spheres were the three mooncrystals that had endured the Sunwell's explosion. He had no idea what they did or what they were good for. They had a strange aura and seemed to be bound to the prince. They followed him wherever he went. That was everything he knew about them.

"We spotted some strangers, my king. They don't appear to be undead but... I don't know what they are."

Kael'thas raised an eyebrow curiously. "Where are they and how many are there?"

"Eight of them are standing near the entrance of the town. One of them rides on a tall beast with white fur and black stripes."

Kael'thas frowned. "Let's get to them and see what they are up to."

"As you wish, my king."

Kael'thas gave his men the signal to stop the caravan. He ordered half of the men, who were escorting the carriages, to remain there while the other half was ordered to follow him. Together with Kelrian, Elena and the men he walked through the town until they reached the entrance.

They spotted eight female humanoid creatures. They looked like taller versions of the blood elves but they had different skin and hair colours. Their skin colour was either purple or light pink while their hair was green, bluish, silvery or even purple. Most of them were even taller than Kelrian who was the tallest of the present blood elves. Only one of them was smaller than him. She was around five feet and nine inches tall while the others were at least a whole foot taller.

Kael'thas' gaze fell on the woman who was sitting on a tall tiger. She had long majestic green hair, beautiful facial features, blue glowing gorgeous eyes and a slim but muscular shape. Her skin was light purple, she wore majestic silver armour that was decorated by a few blue gems. She carried a magnificent bow on her back which limbs looked like feathered wings of a bird.

The woman next to her wore full armour and a long green cape. She carried an umbra crescent in her hands. The weapon looked like a large spiked ring and Kael'thas was certain that it was pretty deadly. She wore a helmet that covered everything but her eyes and the lower half of her face. Her green glowing orbs rested on the king and Kelrian.

Kael'thas had no doubt they were night elves. He had heard a lot about them and even met a few in the past centuries. He knew they lived on Kalimdor and had no bases or strongholds in the Eastern Kingdoms, so he was surprised to see them in Lordaeron.

All present night elves looked pretty powerful. "Ishnu-alah, night elves," Kael'thas said. He hardly spoke darnassian, the language of the night elves, so he switched to common, hoping the night elves spoke it too. "I am Kael'thas Sunstrider, the king of the blood elves. I must admit, I'm surprised to see your kind here. I thought you lived on Kalimdor. What brings you to Lordaeron?" he asked curiously. "But whatever your business is, I fear you will find only death and shadow in this cursed land."

"Ishnu-dal-dieb, Kael'thas," the armoured woman replied in darnassian. For a moment Kael'thas feared that they didn't speak common and hadn't understood him. A quiet sigh of relief escaped his lips as the woman switched to common. "I am Maiev Shadowsong," she pointed at the gorgeous woman on the tiger, "and this is Tyrande Whisperwind. We are hunting a powerful demon that arrived here recently."

Kael'thas' eyes rested on her for several moments before he turned his head and looked at Kelrian, noticing the doubt in his eyes.

"Curious...I don't know about any demon, but something's riled the undead based at the ruins of Dalaran. They've been hounding us day and night. We were about to abandon this post and seek refuge on the other side of the River Arevass," responded the king.

A thoughtful expression could be seen on Tyrande's face. "Hmmm." She turned her head and looked at Maiev who was regarding the blood elves with narrowed eyes. The warden was suspecting them. The priestess looked back at the king and his men, noticing how pale, exhausted and distressed they were.

She assumed that the undead were causing them much trouble. She had heard of the undead invasion, the fall of Quel'Thalas and the destruction of the Sunwell. They didn't look as if they would be able to handle the undead alone, so Tyrande only did what seemed right to her.

She offered them their aid. "Then we shall lend you our aid, young king," she said determinedly. She noticed out of the corner of her eyes that Maiev turned her head and gave her an irritated look. "Wait...," the warden started, paused for a few seconds and then continued, "we have no time for this."

Tyrande looked at her, giving her a small smile. The look on her face told the warden that she should trust her. Maiev knew she could trust the high priestess of Elune but she still didn't like her decision to help the blood elves and the humans. She wanted nothing more than to capture Illidan Stormrage and put him back in his prison.

She didn't care about these descendants of her people that had chosen to travel to the Eastern Kingdoms and had created a new fount of arcane energy almost seven millennia ago, instead of staying on Kalimdor with the other survivors of the War of the Ancients. She had no sympathy for Tyrande's decision. And no sympathy for the blood elves. If it was up to her, she would let them do their own thing while she would follow Illidan's tracks.

But Tyrande knew better than her. She was sure that the blood elves would help her if she would help them. Tyrande's gaze fell back on Kael'thas, the blond ranger to his left and the pink-haired woman to his right. "Perhaps once your people are safe, you will help us hunt the demon we seek?" her reply sounded more like a request than a demand. She was over ten thousand years old and knew how to negotiate. She knew what to do to achieve her goals.

A small smirk appeared on Kael'thas' lips. "It would be an honour, milady."

"I'm glad we have come to an agreement," replied Tyrande and smiled at him.

"So am I," responded the king and returned her smile.