Chapter 8: A Heartbreaking Farewell

Sylvanas stood on the top of the gate as she looked over the reinforcements which had just arrived. Two thousand men were standing behind the second gate and were ready to defend their home. Two thousand men were not enough for Sylvanas' liking but they were better than nothing. They would pose a larger threat to Arthas' undead army than the two hundred men she had for the defence of the first gate.

Sylvanas was wondering if she would have been able to hold the first gate with these two thousand men. She was not sure of that but she assumed they would have taken out more undead creatures. Among the reinforcements were nearly one hundred mages from Silvermoon. Most of these soldiers were Farstriders. There were also a few dozens of paladins and priests which would be pretty useful against the walking corpses. Sylvanas knew that she needed every soldier she could get so she even allowed citizens, who wanted to defend their homeland, to join the battle. Those who couldn't fight were told to flee to Quel'Danas and take shelter there.

Sylvanas couldn't deny that she was concerned even though she and her men had arrived at the second gate which was protected by an ancient and powerful barrier. She should feel safe behind it but for some reason, she didn't. She was still worried about the gigantic army that would arrive sooner or later. Days had passed since the fall of the first gate. She hadn't been able to get much sleep in the past days. She had been constantly on the move with the survivors of the battle. They had done only little rests and barely slept more than a few hours every day. She had had nightmares that had woken her up every night and she had been unable to get back to sleep once she had woken up.

Sylvanas didn't feel good at all but she didn't show it to others. She gave the others the impression that she was still the strong and fearless woman, even though she was no longer fearless. What she had seen had left marks on her. She couldn't forget what she had seen. She couldn't forget the deaths of her friends and comrades nor could she forget the way the fallen had looked like after this butcher had raised them. Lots of her former friends and comrades were now fighting in the ranks of the death knight who wanted to attack Silvermoon for a reason Sylvanas didn't know.

She could only hope that everything will turn out well. She had more men now and the ancient barrier Ban'dinoriel protected the second gate and her people. Arthas wouldn't be able to pass it, no matter how hard he would try. He didn't know that he would need three hidden keys to deactivate the barrier. But he would never find out about these keys because no high elf would be dumb enough to tell him about them and the places where he could find them. Sylvanas knew only one person who might do that but that person was rotting in a cell in the prison of Silvermoon.

Sylvanas turned her head as she was brought out of her thoughts by a hand that was put on her shoulder. Next to her stood her best friend and looked at her with a neutral expression on her face. Normally, Verena was a very vivid and happy person but she had no reason to be happy during this crisis.

Like Sylvanas, she had witnessed the disaster at the first gate. She had witnessed how easily Arthas Menethil and his undead army had surpassed their defence. The worst was that it didn't cost him anything while Sylvanas had lost lots of her rangers, mages and wielders of the light.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said the redhead as she stared at the horizon. Sylvanas put her hands on her best friend's shoulders, turned her around and forced her to look at her. She stared into her eyes. "Everything will be fine. I promise."

Verena didn't respond verbally. She just stared into Sylvanas' beautiful eyes, the corners of her lips formed a weak smile. Verena stared back at the horizon once Sylvanas had released her. She did that for a while and then turned around, regarding the rangers that were climbing the stairs to the top of the walls. Her gaze wandered to the tower where Sylvanas' best men were stationed. On top of the tower stood a dozen rangers and inside the tower were two dozen rangers who would shoot out of the windows at any attacker who would dare to approach the gate.

"Ban'dinoriel will protect us," Sylvanas said quietly. Verena just nodded but didn't say anything. Her gaze wandered to Kelrian who looked out of one of the many windows. It seemed that he was staring at the horizon while thinking about something.

Verena turned back to the Ranger-General. "How are you feeling?"

Sylvanas turned her head and looked at her. "I'm not sure how I'm feeling at the moment, to be honest. I'm worried. I'm scared, really scared for the first time of my life. These creatures... I have seen a lot during my over one hundred and forty years as a ranger but I have never seen something horrible like that. This army... These creatures... are so horrible. The way they look and the way they behave... They are mindless and just follow the orders of Arthas no matter what he wants from them." Sylvanas made a small pause and took a deep breath. "But I believe we can hold the second gate. We have lost the first one but we won't lose the second."

"You are right. Nobody ever managed to surpass the inner gate. The trolls and orcs invaded our lands through different ways but this arrogant prince decided to take the hardest way. It seems he wants to break through the second gate to demonstrate his power. But he will fail. His arrogance will be his undoing," responded the Ranger-Captain.

Sylvanas nodded hesitantly. "I hope so." Doubt and grief were reflected by her eyes as she thought about her fallen man which she had failed. They were dead because she had underestimated the enemy. It was all her fault. She was a terrible leader.

Verena put her hands on Sylvanas' cheeks and forced her to stare in her eyes. "Hey, Sylvie, don't be so hard on yourself. We tried our best but we couldn't defend the gate with only two hundred men. It was not your fault. Nobody would have been able to defend the first gate with only two hundred men against such a gigantic army. You didn't fail our fallen comrades. It was not your fault. You gave your best. Don't be so hard on yourself, would you do me that favour?"

Sylvanas nodded. Verena kissed her cheek softly, giving her a small and comforting smile. Verena regarded her for a few moments before she turned around and looked at the horizon again. "Now we can only wait until this bastard shows up. We will avenge our fallen and burn every single of these mindless, miserable creatures. I'm looking forward to seeing the surprised face he would make when he finds out that he and his army can't pass the barrier."

Sylvanas just nodded and didn't say anything in response. Like her best friend, she was staring at the horizon. She assumed that Arthas and his army would need a few hours to arrive. She was hoping that he would need much longer. The longer he would take, the more time her people would have to evacuate the villages and flee to Quel'Danas.

Normally, Sylvanas wouldn't evacuate the villages and towns because she didn't expect that Arthas would break through the second gate. But after she had witnessed the disaster at the first gate, she thought that everything was possible. She had never thought that he would get through the first gate. She should expect that he wouldn't get through the second gate but for some reason, she had a bad feeling about everything. That was the reason why she had told a few groups of rangers to evacuate everyone outside Silvermoon City. The citizens of Quel'Thalas will be brought to the capital city and then go through portals that will teleport them to Quel'Danas, the isle where the Sunwell stood.

Sylvanas raised an eyebrow as someone appeared on the horizon. The person was riding on a horse and followed by four other persons who were also riding on horses. Sylvanas didn't know who it was at first but then she recognized that person eventually. It was her sister Alleria and four of her rangers. They surpassed the barrier and rode through the gate that had been opened in the meantime. Sylvanas hurried down the staircase and nearly threw herself at her older sister who had just jumped off her exhausted horse.

The surprised Ranger-Captain caught her sister and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in a tight hug. Sylvanas kissed Alleria's left cheek and put her head on her shoulder. "I thought I lost you," whispered Sylvanas. She inhaled her sister's scent and pulled away eventually, wiping tears of joy from her cheeks.

Alleria gave her a small smile. "I would never leave you, dear sister. Especially not in these difficult times." Her gaze wandered from her sister to Kelrian who had just walked out of the tower and approached them.

"Where have you been, sis?" Sylvanas asked, linking arms with her lover who greeted Alleria and then pressed a kiss on Sylvanas' temple.

"I scouted Arthas and his army as you requested but he noticed me and sent several of these bat-like creatures after us. We tried to shake them off but they kept following us so we lured them away. They stopped following us when we came to the east coast, we hid for a few hours before we decided to return to the nearest base to mobilize the evacuation of the nearest villages. We heard about the fall of the first gate so we decided to go to the second. But then we spotted Arthas Menethil talking to one of the archmages from Silvermoon. We dismounted, hid in the near and listened to the conversation."

Sylvanas noticed the worry in Alleria's eyes. She knew something, Sylvanas was sure of that. "I assume that there is something you want to tell me. What did they talk about? Who was that archmage?"

Alleria exhaled loudly and shook her head in disappointment. "It was Dar'Khan Drathir."

Sylvanas frowned as she heard that name. She knew that man pretty well. He was a true asshole who had taken advantage of the feelings of her younger sister to gain material benefits and influence. He had dumped her later like a hot potato after he had gotten what he wanted. He was not a good person. He only cared about himself and never gave a shit about the others. Sylvanas had a bad feeling about what Alleria might say next.

Alleria put her hands on Sylvanas' shoulders, staring into her grey-blue eyes. She signalized her that she was dead serious about what she had to tell her. "Arthas knows about the keys. Dar'Khan told him everything about the moon crystals."

Sylvanas' eyes widened in shock but she was not the only one who reacted that way. The other elven rangers around her were as shocked as she was. Nobody had expected that any high elf would betray their people and tell this butcher about the moon crystals."

"Why did he do that? Did Arthas torture him and force him to give him the information?"

Alleria shook her head slowly. "Dar'Khan did it voluntarily."

Sylvanas was silent, not knowing what to say. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. It sounded like a joke to her. A very bad joke. But the look on her sister's face told her that she was not joking. Alleria was dead serious about this.

"I can't believe this," Sylvanas said quietly and averted her gaze, looking away from her sister, her best friend and her lover. She looked into the bright sky, a thoughtful look could be seen on her beautiful face. Kelrian stepped closer to her, took one of her hands and intertwined their fingers. "Are you okay, honey?"

Sylvanas waited a few moments before she gave him an answer. "I guess I'm fine but... I don't know. I'm shocked, disappointed and mad at the same time. I can't believe that this bastard told the other bastard how to surpass our defence. We can't defend the gate for long if Arthas manages to break Ban'dinoriel."

Kelrian stepped in front of his lover and tried to look in her eyes but she averted her gaze. Kelrian put a hand under her chin but he didn't lift it yet. "Look at me, honey. Please." Sylvanas hesitated but then she lifted her head and stared into his beautiful sky-blue eyes, noticing that she calmed down and her heartbeat became slower until it was normal again. She had calmed down and relaxed just by looking at him. "Everything will be alright, my love," Kelrian added when he noticed that he had her attention.

Sylvanas nodded and returned the kiss Kelrian had just initiated. The kiss was very short and not passionate enough for Sylvanas' liking but it was enough for her for the moment.

"We have to do something, Sylvanas," said Alleria. She waited until her sister had turned around and looked at her before she continued. "You are right that we can't hold the gate forever. But we can buy as much time as possible. Someone needs to go to Silvermoon and bring more reinforcements."

"I sent one of my recruits to Silvermoon when the first gate fell. I assume he has already arrived."

"We need to send another. We need more reinforcements. The Silvermoon Guards should help to evacuate the towns and villages while we hold off the undead," Alleria said insistently.

"The guards will take too long to reach the villages which hadn't been evacuated yet. I will send out a few groups of recruits which will be led by Ranger-Lieutenants. They will make sure our people reach Silvermoon before the undead do."

"Am I the only one who has the impression that our Ranger-General doesn't believe we can defeat that army?" asked a familiar voice. Everyone turned their heads and looked at the muscular high elf who had listened to the conversation the entire time.

"I'm just realistic Zetai. You have seen with your own eyes how easily the undead had overwhelmed the first gate. We can't stop them without the magical barrier. If Arthas has the keys, he will deactivate it and there will be nothing left that will protect us. We might have more men now but you noticed that we only made his army stronger when we tried to defend the gate. Things won't be different this time. All we can do is fight and buy as much time as possible, so our people can flee and get to safety," Sylvanas explained.

"Flee and then what? Nothing will stop the fallen prince from attacking the capital city if Ban'dinoriel is deactivated. I see no point in fleeing. All we can do is killing that bastard. The undead army will be nothing without their leader. If we kill Arthas, we can stop the invasion."

Kelrian sighed loudly, turned his head and looked at his best friend. "This won't be easy at all. He split the Ranger-General's arrow with his sword. The arrow was so incredibly fast but he still saw it coming. He will be difficult to kill because of his thick armour and his sword. Also, I doubt he will join the siege. He will wait and let his mindless undead army fight for him."

"I see things like Kelrian," said Verena.

"So do I," Alleria and Sylvanas sat at the same time. Nathanos was standing next to Sylvanas and gave Kelrian an agreeing nod. Zetai's eyes were narrowed but he didn't say anything at first.

"How does our plan look like? Does this mean that we already admitted our defeat? Does this mean we already accepted that we can't win against the undead?" the muscular ranger asked after a while.

Sylvanas looked at Zetai, sadness was reflected in her eyes. "I'm afraid to have to answer it in the affirmative. As bad as this sounds, I don't think we can stop them. We have far too few mages to get rid of the massive amount of undead. Each soldier his army slay will join their ranks. We will lose too many soldiers while he will gain more in total. We might burn lots of them but it won't make a difference. All we can do is buy as much time as possible. That's our duty. It's my responsibility as Ranger-General to protect the civilians. We have to evacuate them and buy as much time as possible. Even if we have to sacrifice our lives to buy them enough time. Is that clear to anyone?"

Everyone but Kelrian nodded their heads. Worry and sadness were reflected by his face. He put a hand on Sylvanas' cheek and stared into her eyes. "Does that mean we will die today?"

Sylvanas' eyes became watery when she saw him like that but she managed to hold her tears back. "I'm afraid but it's inevitable. Maybe we can survive a few days but I doubt we will make it out alive. But we can't just flee and let the undead kill innocent people. We have to fight them and keep them busy as long as possible. I doubt that the undead can swim so if the people arrive in Quel'Danas, they should be safe."

Kelrian was silent and averted his gaze, staring at his feet. The others seemed to have already accepted the sad truth but he didn't accept it yet. He still couldn't believe everything that was happening. Everything seemed like a bad nightmare to him but the sad truth was that everything that was happening was real. Arthas Menethil and his undead army were coming for them and there was no way to run. All they could do was to fight until their last breaths and buy as much time as possible for the civilians.

He wished it wouldn't be real but it was real, unfortunately. There was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't prevent the inevitable. He could only admit that Sylvanas was right. They had to delay the invasion of the undead army as long as possible, so the population of Quel'Thalas could be evacuated. Kelrian thought about his and Sylvanas' children. He had to buy enough time so they could be saved as well. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if the undead creatures would reach Windrunner Spire before it could be evacuated. He had to protect them even if that would mean losing his life.

Kelrian felt a hand under his chin which lifted it up and forced him to look at Sylvanas. Her facial expression reflected determination. She didn't look insecure or clueless. She knew what she had to do even though she knew how it would end. She didn't like to do it but she had to.

"I have a special order for you."

Kelrian raised an eyebrow and gave her an irritated look. "Special order?" His voice reflected confusion. Sylvanas turned her head and looked at Alleria, Nathanos, Zetai and Verena. They nodded, knowing what she wanted from them. They walked away so Kelrian and Sylvanas could talk in private.

Sylvanas made sure they were far away from her before she turned back to look at Kelrian who was still visibly confused and wondering what was going on. It was not easy for Sylvanas to say what she had to say. "I want you to go to Windrunner Spire and make sure our children and my family will reach Quel'Danas as soon as possible."

Kelrian's facial features derailed as he realized what that would mean. He would have to leave Sylvanas if he would carry out that order. "No, I won't leave you alone."

Quiet, sad laughter escaped her lips. "You are not leaving me alone, because Alleria and our friends are still here. But what you have to do is saving the future of our family. It's our task to protect our children. They are only fourteen years old, so they need to be protected. We have to make sure that our family survives and can produce future generations if we die."

"I get your point, but can't you just order one of your other rangers to do it? Why do I have to go? I don't want to go. I want to stay by your side."

Sylvanas swallowed hard, tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she imagined the worst-case scenario. "Because I don't want our children to lose both of their parents."

"Who said you are going to die? There is still a chance that you can retreat at the last moment and get to safety."

"I doubt it, Kel. I have to fight as long as I can stand to make sure that as many of our people as possible can survive. I already accepted my death when Arthas killed most rangers in my elite squad at the first gate. His army killed our best rangers with ease. They had no chance against his army. We can't win this battle, all we can do is to save our loved ones," she said.

Her voice didn't sound determined all the time. It trembled and sounded weak from time to time. She was unable to control her emotions the entire time. She tried to appear strong but shedid not quite succeed. It had not been easy for Sylvanas to make that decision but she had made it nevertheless.

Kelrian was not happy about the order she had given him. Happy was an understatement. He was mad but not at her. He was mad and sad at the same time because she wanted to send him away. He didn't want to accept that she would probably die. He didn't want to accept that he had to leave her and couldn't spend the last hours, maybe even days of her life with her. He didn't want to accept the truth but he had to. At least, Sylvanas wanted him to accept the truth. But at the moment, he was still refusing to accept it.

"You belong to the most important persons of my life. I love you with all my heart and I don't want to lose you," he said, still staring into her eyes. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes and some of them even rolled down his cheeks but he didn't care. He didn't avert his gaze and stared into the eyes of the love of his life.

Sylvanas also had tears in her eyes but she managed to hold them back. She took his left hand and kissed it. She ran her thumb over his knuckles and over the ring on his wedding finger. She regarded the blue crystal for a short moment before she looked up at him again. "I know, my love. I love you the same way you love me. You and our children are the most important persons in my life. I don't want to lose you but I don't want to lose them either.

I want you to be safe that's why you have to go to Windrunner Spire and make sure the little ones arrive on Quel'Danas alive and in one piece. I hope you will feel strong enough to make a portal to Quel'Danas once you arrive in Windrunner Spire. Maybe Zendarin will be there and help you with the portal. You have to evacuate our family. Our children are our legacy and I want them to stay alive and continue our bloodline. Don't you want the same?"

Kelrian nodded hesitantly. "Of course I want that but..." Sylvanas pressed her index finger on his lips, silencing him that way. She pulled her finger away eventually, noticing that Kelrian was trying to say something. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes while deepening the kiss. Tears ran down her cheeks while they held the kiss. Sylvanas pulled away eventually, noticing that Kelrian was also crying. He wanted to say something but he didn't find the right words. Nothing but unintelligible sounds escaped his lips.

Sylvanas silenced him again with a kiss which didn't last as long as the first one. "You have to promise me that you move on if I don't make it. It's not impossible that I survive but the chance is pretty low. You have to promise me that you will take care of our children and make sure they survive. You have to go with them to Quel'Danas and be there for them. Tell them that I will always love them and that I'm doing this for them and for our people. Tell them that I will always love them no matter what they do and I will always watch over them. You have to promise me that you will stay alive as well. I want you to survive."

Sylvanas wiped Kelrian's tears away. Her heart was aching while she was regarding him. She didn't want to send him away but she had to. There was nothing she wished more than her family to survive. Vereesa was safe in Dalaran but the rest of her family was still out there. Kelrian must bring them to safety. If she and Alleria wouldn't survive the upcoming battle then at least the rest of her family must. She wanted to have Alleria safe too but she knew that her older sister would never leave her alone. Not even if she would order her to go away. She would always stay by her side and die with her on the battlefield if necessary.

Kelrian, on the other hand, would listen to her. He was not as stubborn as her older sister. He would do whatever she would demand from him and she knew that. That was the reason why she was forcing him to go. She knew he didn't want to leave her but he had no other choice. The safety of her family was very important to her. Sacrifices must be made. She wouldn't hesitate to give her own life to save the lives of her family members and her people. She was a mother and a mother wanted nothing more than protecting her children.

She hated so see Kelrian crying but there was no way she could comfort him at the moment, no matter how hard she tried. "Always remember the good moments we shared. Remember that I will always love you. I don't want you to die so you have to save yourself and our children."

"I don't want you to die either," was all Kelrian could say.

Sylvanas gave him a sad look. "I know but my fate is inevitable. The chance that I survive is pretty low, so you have to promise me to keep going if I die. Will you promise me that?"

The tears in his eyes blurred out his vision, so he wiped them away to be able to see her clearly again. It was hard for him to speak the following words. "I will, I promise." He was sobbing and put his hands on her cheeks, caressing them. Sylvanas stared into his eyes and allowed him to wipe her tears away, doing the same with his.

Sylvanas removed her hands from his face and looked at her right hand. She regarded the ring on her wedding finger. It was a silver ring with a purple crystal that was shining brightly. She regarded the beautiful object, she had received five years ago, for nearly a minute before she removed it and handed it to her lover. "Take my wedding ring and promise me to keep it in case I make it out alive, which I doubt. Return it to me if I survive."

Kelrian just nodded hesitatingly because he was unable to say anything. His voice was too weak and his emotions didn't allow him to produce any intelligible noise except for sobs. He hesitated for nearly a minute but then he took the ring, regarding it for another minute before he put it in his leather pouch that hung on his belt.

"Then promise me to bring back mine," he said and removed his ring, handing it to Sylvanas. The Ranger-General's eyes widened, she shook her head and wanted to protest but Kelrian silenced her by putting his hand on her mouth. He removed it eventually. "I know that you don't believe you will survive but if you do, I want you to return it to me. I won't need it anyway if you die but if you live you have a reason to seek me."

More tears ran down her cheeks. "I already have enough reason to meet you again in case I survive this madness. I love you and that will never change."

"I will always love you, Sylvanas," he responded and pulled her in a tight hug, feeling her soft touch. This might be the last time he will able to see and touch her so he hugged her for nearly five minutes, caressed her back and ran his fingers through her hair. He inhaled her scent and kissed all spots of her face, even her ears and her nose.

"Pray to the Sunwell for the best outcome," Sylvanas said as they pulled away.

"I will."

They shared another kiss. The kiss was the most passionate kiss they ever shared. It might be their last one so they extended it as long as possible. They pulled away eventually, staring at each other in silence while holding hands. They turned their heads as they heard the loud horn which a ranger was blowing.

They looked at the horizon, spotting the outlines of numerous creatures. Small creatures, big creatures and even flying creatures. Sylvanas lifted her gaze and looked at the dragonhawks above her. It hurt her heart to send these beautiful winged creatures into battle but the emotional pain was nothing compared to the pain she felt when imagining Kelrian and their children getting killed by the undead.

Kelrian didn't want to leave but he had no other choice. He didn't want to admit that Sylvanas was right but he had to. He was the father of two beautiful children and it was his duty to keep them safe. He had to leave Sylvanas, even though he didn't want to, and make sure that his son and daughter would survive.

Sylvanas and Kelrian told each other how much they loved the other, they kissed again but then they parted. Kelrian hurried away and Sylvanas' watery eyes rested on him until he was out of her sight. She turned her head as she felt warm hands on her shoulders and looked at the owners of these hands. Alleria and Verena were standing next to her.

Alleria was not crying but the scene she had watched the entire time had touched her heart. She pulled her sister in a tight hug, telling her that she was ready to join her in battle and sacrifice her life for the greater good. Sylvanas didn't try to convince her to go as well nor did she try to convince her best friend. They would stay by her side until the bitter end.

"The end has come," Alleria said quietly as she stared at the horizon.

"We won't survive this battle," added Verena. Her voice reflected sadness.

"No, we won't," said Sylvanas eventually and regarded her husband's wedding ring for a few moments before she put it on her wedding finger.