Chapter 11: The Fall Of Silvermoon - Part One

"They are coming."

Kelrian turned his head and looked at his cousin. High Priestess Liadrin was standing next to him on the walls of Silvermoon City and stared at the horizon. She wore a purple and yellow robe. Her auburn hair was made up in a ponytail, her blue eyes rested on the undead army that was coming closer.

"There is nothing that can stop them. The mages tried to reactivate Ban'dinoriel but it turned out to be impossible without the three mooncrystals. We are unprotected," replied Kelrian.

A sad sigh escaped Liadrin's lips. "I still can't believe that Dar'Khan Drathir betrayed us. Not only did he hand Arthas the three mooncrystals, but he also killed many members of the Council."

"It's not the first time that we have been betrayed by someone from our own ranks. Why does this keep happening to us? First Xenarion and now Dar'Khan Drathir. How can someone work for this monster? Many people will die because of this traitorous bastard."

Liadrin closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and opened them again. "Dar'Khan Drathir is a power-hungry bastard. It wouldn't surprise me if Arthas offered him power and a high rank in his army. I can't believe that Arthas only needed to make promises to convince Dar'Khan to betray us."

"I don't know what I can believe these days. I never thought that Arthas and his undead army would break through our gates. I would have never thought that any army would reach Silvermoon. It's only a matter of time until the gate falls. The gate and the walls won't hold out long without a protecting barrier." Kelrian's voice was quiet and reflected perfectly how he was feeling at the moment. He was confused, shocked and sad. He didn't want all of this to happen but there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He couldn't stop the undead army from coming closer. He couldn't stop the inevitable.

He was grieving. He had no proof that Sylvanas was dead but he had the strong assumption that she was. He could only hope that she was still alive but the chances were pretty low. Nevertheless, he didn't lose hope. It was possible that Sylvanas had escaped the butcher and was somewhere out there healthy and alive.

"All we can do is to fight," said Liadrin. "Not all citizens have been evacuated to Quel'Danas yet. The mages are overtaxed. They can't keep so many portals open at the same time. The portals are not very large, so only two persons can step through each of them at the same time. They need more time."

"We also have to hope that Arthas finds no way to cross the sea. We still have no idea what he wants. Some people think he wants to reach the Sunwell but I'm asking myself why would he want to go there. Does he want to use the energies of the Sunwell for something? Or does he want to destroy it to take this essential source of power from us? I also wonder what his goal is. Does he want to conquer Azeroth and turn all living creatures into undead creatures? But why would he want to do that and where did he get this sword?"

Liadrin exhaled loudly, looking at him. "If only I would know that." She put a hand on his shoulder and stared into his eyes. "We can only hope for the best outcome. Make sure you survive. Your children need you, especially after they found out that their mother may be dead."

Kelrian nodded sadly. "Before everything went down the tube, Sylvanas and I decided to have another child. We couldn't know that these horrible events would happen."

"I'm sorry about what happened to Sylvanas. I really am. She was a good person and she always tried to save everyone else before she saved herself. Everyone looked up to her and everyone loved her. She wanted nothing more than protecting the ones she loved. She had sworn to protect our people by every means, so she stayed to defend the second gate as long as possible."

"Sylvanas didn't shrink back from sacrificing her life for the greater good. She sacrificed her life for our people and it's our duty to protect the survivors. She gave her life for nothing if we don't succeed in evacuating the remaining civilians," responded Kelrian. "We owe her that."

Liadrin nodded. "But still remember, save yourself if you can. Sylvanas didn't want you to die, that's why she sent you back. You have to survive. For your children. For our family. For her."

Kelrian stared at the horizon. "I will give my best. I can't promise anything but I will try to survive." He turned his head and looked at his cousin who regarded him worriedly. "Promise me to take care of my children for the case I don't make it. Also, be there for Lyndia, Camillia and my siblings. And for my mother and Varo. Basically, look after everyone who is important to me. To us."

Liadrin took his hand and squeezed it. "I will."

---

"Get in position and wait for new orders," shouted Lireesa. Her voice was loud, strict and determined. She walked along the top of the walls, checking if every archer obeyed her command. She had never expected that she would ever give orders during a battle again. She had retired decades ago because of her disease and given the mantle of the Ranger-General to her middle daughter.

But now that two of her precious daughters were assumed to be dead and the king and prince were not able to command the remaining soldiers, the remaining defenders were lacking an experienced leader. Lireesa had been a ranger for over two hundred years, she had collected many experiences in battles. There was no one else left who was as experienced as her, so the queen had asked her to organise the defence and Lireesa had accepted.

She was not Sylvanas, she knew that and she could see it in the eyes of her people. She wasn't as good in calming down people and giving them hope as her middle daughter. Her men were concerned about the inevitable. They would feel less worried and much safer if Sylvanas would be around. But Sylvanas was not here. At least, Lireesa was able to comfort them a bit with her presence.

She may not have joined a battle for decades but she had not forgotten what she had learned in the past. She had been Ranger-General for over one hundred years and had gained a lot of experience during that time. She knew exactly how to calm down her people, make them focus on the important things and fight courageously.

Lireesa wore her old uniform which had been stored in a glass cabinet since she had stepped down as Ranger-General. The uniform had been adjusted by a tailor because Lireesa had been more muscular back then than these days. The sewed in chain vest had been replaced by a new one and a mage had carved in runes and cast enchantments on the uniform to strengthen it. Her uniform was blue and looked similar to Sylvanas' Ranger-General uniform.

Apart from the fact that she was not as muscular as she once had been, the only difference between her and her former self was that her current self was affected by a disease that slowed her down and didn't allow her to join long-lasting battles. She was not as fast as she once had been and she got exhausted much faster. But she was still able to pose a threat. Also, an alchemist had brewed her a potion that made her much stronger for a few hours. That way she could be as strong as she had once been and kill more of these undead creatures.

She had gifted Alleria her bow when she had stepped down, so she had received a new one from a friend who was one of the most talented bowyers in Quel'Thalas. There were not many decorating elements attached to it but she didn't care about that. She just needed a good bow she could use to kill as many of these undead creatures as possible. She was happy with the one she had. She had already tested it multiple times and had gotten used to it.

Lireesa walked over to her sons-in-law. Kelrian and Turalyon were standing next to each other and regarding the approaching army. Kelrian's bow and quiver leaned against the battlements, his spellblade and several mana potions laid on a small table next to him.

Turalyon wore his golden paladin armour and his two-handed runeblade rested on his back. The sword had once belonged to his mentor Anduin Lothar, the legendary warrior and hero of the Alliance who fell fifteen years ago in the final battle of the Second War. Turalyon had not been in Lordaeron when Arthas doomed it. He was one of the few survivors who didn't follow Jaina Proudmoore to the unknown continent Kalimdor.

He had arrived in Silvermoon a day ago but he didn't come with many reinforcements. Not many soldiers of his unit had survived. Two dozen soldiers had come to Silvermoon with him. They weren't enough to make a difference but Lireesa was happy about every single capable fighter.

Lireesa stepped to them and hugged them. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Lireesa," the paladin said in return.

Lireesa gave them a small smile.

"Do you receive any news from Stormwind?" he asked curiously.

Lireesa shook her head. "Unfortunately, not. We haven't heard anything from Sylvanas or Alleria either. The chances are pretty high that they...," Lireesa stopped speaking, grief was reflected by her eyes as she averted her gaze and looked at her feet. She lifted her head eventually and looked back at Turalyon and Kelrian who weren't happy either. Sadness was reflected by their eyes but she didn't miss the small amount of hope in them. They hadn't given up yet. They hadn't lost hope. They were still hoping that their wives would return alive.

"We can only hope for the best," muttered Kelrian.

"We can hope for a miracle, otherwise, we won't be able to defend the city."

"I doubt we can defend it," said Turalyon. "But we can buy as much time as possible so that the remaining refugees can escape to Quel'Danas."

"That's our duty. Just do me a favour and go to Quel'Danas when the remaining citizens have been evacuated. Go to Quel'Danas before they close the portals," said Lireesa. A serious expression was reflected by her face.

Kelrian nodded. "We will try but you have to try the same."

"I will see what I can do," Lireesa responded and turned around, looking at the undead army that wasn't far away from the city.

"The attack is starting soon," Turalyon said.

"They will bombard the gate with their siege engines and these big things will try to push the double doors open," replied Kelrian.

Lireesa looked to the right where the gate was. "Let's hope the hot oil will be enough to stop these big things. The fire will be our most important ally."

"And the light," added Turalyon.

"And the light," repeated the new Ranger-General.

---

"KEEP FIRING! STOP THESE CREATURES FROM BREAKING THROUGH THE GATE!" shouted Lireesa and shot another fiery arrow down at the creatures that were gathered in front of the gate. There were dozens of these three-armed creatures that tried to push the double doors open. They seemed to be pretty powerful and only the enchantments hindered them from breaking through it. Lireesa knew that the gate wouldn't hold out for long. The siege engines had damaged it and continued flinging stones at it. Sometimes, they even hit one of these abominations or other undead creatures but most of the time they hit the large double doors.

It was only a matter of time until the undead would break through the gate and enter the city. Lireesa had no clue how many citizens had already been evacuated nor did she know how much time they would need. She only knew that she had to buy them as much time as possible.

Her rangers were firing at the creatures in front of the gate but also at every siege engine that was in their range. They had destroyed a few of them but Arthas still had too many. They couldn't stop the siege engines from firing at the gate that was getting more and more damaged with each stone that hit it.

Kelrian was not far away from Lireesa and cast fire spells at the creatures on the ground. Fireballs, flame pillars and flame walls burned many of the undead creatures but there were still enough of them. Ghouls, skeletons, the spider-like things, raised elves and the big things were standing in front of the gate while the gargoyles were flying through the air and fought against dragonhawks or picked up rangers from the top of the walls.

Some mages tried to kill these gargoyles while most mages tried to prevent that the undead would climb up the walls. The Silvermoon Guards and the paladins on the walls gave their best to eliminate those who had managed to reach the top before they could harm anyone. Most of the undead died before they were able to do that but the undead had still managed to kill dozens of defenders.

Lireesa looked at the husband of her middle daughter, noticing that he looked exhausted. Three of his five mana potions were already empty. He gave his best to burn as many undead as possible. He did a great job but they were still too many out there. To the defenders, it seemed that the army of the undead had endless servants. It didn't seem to matter how many they killed and burned. Each fallen creature was replaced by another. The necromancers and Arthas Menethil raised those bodies that hadn't been consumed by the flames.

The fallen defenders were brought back and turned against their former comrades. It was not easy for the soldiers to fight those who had fought by their sides for years. They had to face freshly raised strangers, comrades, friends and even family members. Nevertheless, most of them didn't hesitate to take down the raised elves and burned their bodies if possible. They kept fighting and fighting, becoming more and more exhausted over time but that didn't stop them. Each of them would fight until they would collapse. They would fight until their last breaths to buy the civilians as much time as possible.

Most defenders had already accepted their fate, so it was easier for them to give everything they got. Mages used the last remains of their mana to cast more spells to deal with the undead. Farstriders spent their last arrows before they drew their swords and went into melee combat.

More and more ghouls climbed up the walls. Gargoyles clashed with dragonhawks and their riders or picked up defenders from the walls and dropped them elsewhere. Arthas and his necromancers continued to raise those creatures who weren't burned, making up for their losses.

Hours passed in which more and more defenders died. Most of them became undead because not enough mages were left to burn the corpses of their fallen comrades. The defenders were busy with the creatures on the walls, so they didn't have the time to ignite the bodies of their fallen comrades, friends and family members. More and more fallen rangers were raised and turned against their former allies.

The gate fell eventually. A horde of abominations had managed to push the heavily damaged double doors open, allowing the undead army to enter Silvermoon City. They rushed through the streets of Silvermoon, which were empty because the citizens had been brought to Sunstrider Spire before the begin of the siege. The portals to Quel'Danas had been created in the cellar.

Lireesa knew that the inhabitants had barricaded themselves in Sunstrider Spire but it was only a matter of time until the undead will enter the spire. There was no point in defending the gate any longer but the defenders could still try to buy as much time as possible. They had to go to Sunstrider Spire and prevent the undead from entering it. They had to keep them busy as long as possible.

Lireesa chopped off the head of a ghoul and ran over to Kelrian who was also fighting the undead in close combat. He did pretty well with his sword and his spellblade, killing lots of these disgusting creatures within a short amount of time. He was hurt, a ghoul had bitten him in the left shoulder but that didn't stop him from fighting and moving fast enough so that the undead creatures didn't manage to touch or harm him. Not far away from him was Turalyon who was using the light to decimate the undead that approached him. The corpses of several of his friends and comrades laid in his near.

The undead were taking control over the walls, they even climbed them down and entered the city. The walls were lost like the gate. Lireesa saw no other option than guiding the survivors to Sunstrider Spire. "We have to fall back," she shouted to Kelrian and Turalyon. "We have to go to Sunstrider Spire and fight the undead there. They will get in the spire sooner or later but we have to hold them off as long as possible. We have to buy the civilians as much time as possible."

Kelrian and Turalyon nodded to her and rushed over to her, killing each undead creature that got in their way. There were four other persons who followed Lireesa. A Farstrider, one of Turalyon's paladin friends, a warrior and Liadrin, who squashed the heads of undead creatures with a heavy mace, were ready to follow the Ranger-General.

The shock was written all over their faces. None of them could believe what was happening. None of them would have ever thought that any army could break through the main gate of their beloved capital city. They had believed to the last moment that the main gate would withstand. Their world had been turned upside down when the gate fell and the undead entered their beautiful city.

They knew the undead would only leave death and devastation behind. They didn't expect that they would survive this battle. All they were hoping for was that they could buy enough time for the civilians. They were hoping that as many people as possible could escape to Quel'Danas. They were convinced that they were safe on the island.

"We have to go through the side streets if we want to reach the spire. The main streets are overrun by the undead. We won't get there alive if we walk through the main streets," Lireesa said.

The group fought their way through the approaching ghouls, skeletons and raised elves and entered the nearest side street eventually. The street was not free from foes. There were several undead creatures but fortunately for the group, no abominations were in their way. They dealt with the undead, igniting their bodies with the torch Turalyon's comrade was carrying.

It took a while for them to fight their way through the side streets but they arrived at the Court of the Sun eventually. They hadn't lost a single member of their group and Liadrin and the paladins had been able to heal the wounds the undead had caused.

At this very moment, the seven persons were hiding behind an upturned cart that had once transported goods like food or clothes. The members of the group hadn't eaten for days, their stomachs were growling but none of them had the appetite to eat any of the food that laid on the ground. The sight of these horrible creatures had spoiled their appetite.

Fortunately for them, they had potion which satisfied their hunger for a while. They could consume them faster and they also restored a portion of their strength and powers, allowing them to fight much longer.

Lireesa took one of these potions from her belt and drank it, signalizing her comrades to do the same. They obeyed her and put the empty glass bottles aside. Lireesa signalized them to remain behind the cart and do nothing until she would give them new orders.

She crawled to the left and leaned a bit to the side so she could take a peek to get an overview of the situation on the Court of the Sun. She spotted dozens of undead who were fighting against the remaining Silvermoon Guardians. And more undead were coming. Lireesa counted twenty guardians in total.

Nineteen. A big abomination had picked up one of the brave guards and had thrown him against the nearest wall. The guard had landed on the ground, blood was running down the wall. The guard didn't move. He was dead.

Lireesa noticed quickly that there were too many undead and too few guards. They wouldn't be able to hold off the undead for long. They were fighting bravely and tried to take out as many undead as possible. Half of these guards were paladins which could deal with the undead pretty well but it was only a matter of time until they would fall. They had no chance of winning in the long run.

Lireesa crawled back to her men. "There are less than twenty guards out there fighting against dozens of undead," she reported.

Kelrian drank a mana potion. "What's the plan? Do we have a plan?"

Lireesa's face showed determination. "Our plan is to fight the undead until our last breaths. We have to keep the undead away from the building as long as we can."

"That means we will die probably," concluded Liadrin, sadness was reflected by her eyes for a short moment.

"Most likely," responded the Ranger-General.

"We will follow you and fight with you until our last breaths," responded Kelrian.

"It was an honour for me to fight with you," said Turalyon and offered Lireesa a handshake. Lireesa clasped his forearm, smiling as Turalyon did the same. The others did the same, telling Lireesa that they would follow her to the very end.

"Can you create more arrows for us, Kelrian?" Lireesa asked.

Kelrian nodded. "Give me a few moments." His left hand clasped the hilt of his spellblade as he muttered a few sentences. He didn't need long to complete the spell, filling the quivers until each of them contained twenty-four arrows.

"Kelrian you will use fire spells against the undead and slow the massive things down if they come closer to us. Use a shock wave if too many of the smaller ones come too close to us. Don't spend all of your mana immediately."

Kelrian nodded.

Lireesa looked at the two paladins. "The holy light will be pretty helpful against the undead. Consecrate the ground beneath your feet and lure the undead into it. Keep them there but be careful that not too many of them approach you."

Turalyon and his friend nodded.

Lireesa's gaze landed on Liadrin. "When we reach the guards, try to heal them and put your blessings on them and on us. Maybe you have enough mana left to cast barriers and shields. We need to protect the remaining guards."

"I will give my best," responded the high priestess.

Lireesa took a deep breath. "Is everyone ready?" The six members of her group nodded. "Good, let's go and hope for the best," she said, got up and walked around the cart. She pulled an arrow from her quiver, aimed and fired, hitting a ghoul right between the eyes. The ghoul stopped walking and collapsed, the skeleton behind it fell over it and broke apart. Its bones were scattered all over the ground, the other undead creatures trampled over them and crushed them beneath their feet.

The mindless undead creatures ignored the group at first, so they were able to kill over a dozen creatures before one of the undead necromancers ordered a group of ghouls to attack them. Fifteen ghouls were walking towards them. Five were hit by a fireball, five were killed by arrows and the remaining five were taken down by the four melee fighters.

The necromancer ordered more undead creatures to attack the group. More than thirty undead were coming for them this time. Kelrian created a layer of ice over the ground, slowing them down. He even managed to freeze the feet of half of these creatures to the ground so that they couldn't move any further.

The group managed to kill all of them and burn their corpses without losing any member but Kelrian had already spent a large portion of his mana and there were still too many creatures out there. At least, Lireesa managed to take out the necromancer who was commanding the horde of undead.

Without him, the army was lacking a leader who could give them orders. The undead were on their own. Most undead ignored the group and continued to walk towards the Silvermoon Guardians who had lost five men in the meantime. Nevertheless, several undeadleft the formation from time to time and walked towards the group.

They came one by one so the group was able to take them out easily. Turalyon and his comrade consecrated the ground while the warrior ran to the marching undead army and turned the attention of several dozen on him. The creatures followed him and entered the holy field which hurt and weakened them so that the living could kill them pretty quickly.

The group and the guards fought hard but the number of undead didn't shrink. More and more undead creatures were coming and more and more Silvermoon Guardians fell. Lireesa's group didn't lose any member yet but only because the undead weren't focusing them. Most of these mindless creatures were walking towards Sunstrider Spire while only smaller groups ran to Lireesa's group and prevented that they could get any closer to the barricaded entrance of the spire.

"This is not good," hissed Lireesa. "We can't go to the guards. We would have to walk straight through the army of undead which would be suicide."

"But what do we do instead? Do we have another option?" Kelrian asked worriedly.

"We have to kill as many of these rotting corpses as possible. We can't stop them from entering the spire but we can reduce their numbers. The fewer creatures get in there, the more time the remaining civilians have. I'm sure that there are lots of guards inside the Spire. We won't help anyone if we rush through the mass of undead and die quickly. I don't mind losing my life but I want to kill as many creatures as possible before my demise. If we rush to the guards now, we may take out maybe a few dozen creatures before we die. If we remain here, we can kill and burn more of them."

"You are right," responded Liadrin.

"We have to watch out for necromancers. We can't burn all of their corpses so we have to make sure that no one raises them. We have to kill everyone who tries to raise the fallen," said Turalyon's friend.

"Behead the creatures and squash their heads if possible. If they don't have heads, they can't see us if they will be raised again. Let's hope they can't be raised without heads. Destroy as many parts of their bodies as you can. Behead them, cut off their legs and arms or burn them. Do what you can," commanded Lireesa.

The group carried out Lireesa's orders, lured more undead in the consecrated fields and killed them from afar. But more came with time. Three ghouls pounced on the human warrior, ripping his head apart before his comrades could come to his aid. Blood was spread all over the ground. The ghouls started to feed on his corpse but Kelrian sat it and these miserable creatures on fire. The ghouls ran towards Kelrian, collided with other undead and ignited them as well in the process. All of the burning undead turned to ashes before they could reach the ranger-mage but one of them jumped on Turalyon's friend before its body was consumed by the flames.

The human caught fire, Kelrian tried to extinguish the flames but another undead killed the paladin before Kelrian was able to save his comrade. A freshly raised hunter had thrown his spear at the paladin which had pierced through his damaged armour and his chest.

Turalyon was shocked by his friend's death but that didn't make him stop fighting. He became angry and felt grief. He used his anger and fought more fiercely than before, slaughtering many of these mindless wretches within a short amount of time. But it didn't matter how many they killed, burned or cut in little pieces because more creatures were coming. The swarm of undead creatures seemed to be endless.

But not only mindless creatures arrived. A certain person arrived at this very moment. Shivers ran down the spines of the living when the person came closer to them. They hadn't seen the person yet but they sensed a cold and uncomfortable aura. They were certain that a powerful creature had arrived. They checked their surroundings, wondering who that creature was. Their hearts stopped beating for a few seconds, their eyes widened and their jaws dropped as they recognized the person.

"Sylvanas?" Turalyon, Kelrian, Liadrin and Lireesa said at the same time when they recognized the facial features of the fallen Ranger-General. Their voices and faces reflected shock and doubt. They couldn't take their eyes off the creature that was flying above the ground. Her crimson red eyes were narrowed and rested on her family. She was gritting her teeth, anger was reflected by her face.

Another familiar person appeared. He was sitting on his undead horse, his cursed runeblade rested on his back. His pale lips formed an evil smile. "What are you waiting for, Sylvanas? Kill them all!"

The loud shriek that escaped the banshee's lips hurt the ears of the living, stunning them for a few seconds. She didn't hesitate to fly towards them, her arms were stretched out and her gloved hands were ready to grab the living and kill them.