Chapter 52: Secrets

Screams, shouts and war cries echoed through the air. Spells were cast, arrows flew and steel jangled. Blood flowed, limps were separated, soldiers from both sides were badly wounded or died. The floor was covered by blood, body parts, corpses, weapons and armour pieces. But the battle was far from over.

Kelrian was standing in the middle of the carnage. Humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes, demons and Forsaken were fighting against the fanatic humans who wanted to purge the undead by any means. Hundreds of soldiers from both sides had already fallen and more will die before the end of the battle.

For Kelrian, the battle and the losses both sides were suffering were totally unnecessary. If it was up to him, he wouldn't fight the Scarlet Crusade. He would live with them at peace but the Scarlet Crusade saw things differently. They wanted to extinguish all Forsaken and they would kill everyone who would get in their way.

They had to be stopped and Kelrian would do anything in his power to do that. He would do anything necessary to protect Sylvanas and her people. He couldn't allow the Scarlet Crusade to be victorious. He didn't want to kill them because they were also fighting the Scourge but he had no other choice. As long as the Scarlet Crusade wouldn't stop their campaign in Tirisfal Glades, he would have to kill more and more soldiers.

He felt no joy in killing these fanatic humans but he did it nevertheless, knowing that it was necessary. Dozens of humans had fallen by his hand since the beginning of the battle. Men and women of different ages. Some had been younger, some had been older. Their age or gender didn't matter to him. Anyone who would want to kill the Forsaken had to die.

Some of those he had killed had not been older than twenty. He assumed that lots of soldiers had lost family members or even their entire families in the Third War. He assumed that more than half of them still had relatives. He didn't want to imagine how their relatives would feel when they would hear about the deaths of their sons and daughters, of their brothers and sisters or of their fathers and mothers.

Kelrian had lost his older brother in the Second War, his mother and his younger siblings were declared dead. They had not been seen again since the fall of Silvermoon. He was certain that they were either truly dead or had been turned to servants of the Scourge.

He could imagine how the families of the soldiers of the Scarlet Crusade would feel when they would hear about the outcome of the battle. They would be devasted but there was nothing he could do for them. He had not chosen to fight the Scarlet Crusade. The leadership of the Scarlet Crusade were the ones who had started this unnecessary conflict. High Inquisitor Whitemane and Grand Crusader Dathrothan were the ones who were responsible for hundreds of wasted lives. The soldiers of the Scarlet Crusade will die in vain due to their leadership.

Kelrian struck down another male soldier who was too young to die. He guessed he had been nothing more than a recruit, judging by his fighting skills. He had not been very fast and agile and the way he had swung his sword had signalized Kelrian that he had not had much experience with the sword. The Scarlet Crusade was sending inexperienced recruits into battle. He was wondering if the leadership had done that because of desperation or because they were insane.

It wouldn't surprise him if the leadership was indeed insane. They were sacrificing the lives of their followers for nothing. The Scarlet Crusade couldn't win this battle and they couldn't win this conflict. There was no way they would be able to defeat the Alliance. All they would achieve would be weakening the Alliance and themselves. No one except for the Scourge would profit because of this unnecessary conflict. The more soldiers of the Alliance and soldiers of the Scarlet Crusade fell, the better the chances of victory for the Scourge became.

Another human fell by Kelrian's sword. An older paladin who had approached him alone. Kelrian's gaze rested on the man's corpse before it wandered to his runeblade.

Dratk'tar, the Sword of the Abyss.

That was its name.

It was a runeblade that had been forged by Exadius millennia ago. After Exadius' sword, it was the strongest runeblade that had been created by the nathrezim. For the first time, Kelrian noticed that the sixth runic symbol, which had stopped glowing when he had erased the three abominations in Deatholme, was glowing again.

It seemed that killing nearly a hundred human soldiers and lots undead had charged the sword. He could draw power from the sword for another powerful technique. He could cast six spells which would be as powerful as the spell he used in Deatholme.

He could cast the certain spell at this very moment but he didn't. Too many of his allies were around him, so he didn't plan to use that technique. There were enough other techniques Exadius' children had taught him but he knew he wouldn't need them in this battle. They were superior in number and the fighting spirit of the Scarlet Crusade was getting weaker and weaker. It was only a matter of time until they will realize that they can't win and the first soldiers will try to flee.

Kelrian had no idea how long the battle had lasted. It felt as if he had fought for years for him but he was sure that they had only fought for a few days at maximum. The battle was finally over. As expected, they had been victorious. Most soldiers of the Scarlet Crusade had fallen, a few dozen had fled and eight soldiers had been taken captive.

Everywhere he looked, he saw corpses and separated body parts. The battle had been bloody and brutal, many soldiers of the Alliance had fallen. Too many for his liking. He had to make sure that the still recognizable corpses will be brought to their relatives. Their families deserved to see the bodies.

Kelrian remained in the middle of the battlefield for half an hour before he helped to pick up the corpses and put them on wooden wagons. Collecting the dead took a few hours and the journey to Brill was not short either. He arrived at the base after a few hours, noticing that the priests and doctors were already taking care of the wounded. Necromancers reattached severed limbs to the bodies of their owners.

Executor Zygand, a Forsaken with very pale skin and messy black hair came to him. He wore solid armour and a blue tabard on which the crest of the Forsaken was sewn. He stopped in front of Kelrian and looked at him for a few moments before he regarded the corpses on the various wooden wagons. "Seems you were victorious," he said in a husky voice.

"We were. We killed most of the soldiers they sent, a few dozen managed to flee but we took eight of them captive."

"Let me guess, it will be my task to get as many useful pieces of information out of them as possible."

"Yes."

The executor's voice became much quieter. "Am I allowed to torture them if necessary?"

Kelrian turned his head, checking his surroundings. He realized that no creature was close enough to be able to hear them. "I doubt they will give us any information voluntarily. We need to know what they are planning next. Do anything necessary to get the information but don't cripple them. Not like the last one you 'interrogated'."

Zygand gave him a small nod. "As you wish, Commander." He walked away quickly.

Kelrian walked to the middle of the base, spotting familiar creatures he had seen during the battle. Velsana and Vissia were sitting on crates while two sin'dorei priestesses were treating their wounds. Unlike other soldiers, they were not heavily injured. They had only suffered cuts and grazes. Marcus, on the other hand, had a broken arm and a bruise on the back of his head. A kaldorei druid was taking care of him.

Kelrian saw Exandros and Danara, who was still disguised, talking. He was too far away from them to hear them but he had the impression that they seemed to know each other. They seem to be pretty close. Kelrian regarded them for a few moments before he looked at the statue in the middle of the square. It was a statue of Sylvanas which was ten times as tall as her. It was pretty accurate and reflected Sylvanas' beauty perfectly.

Kelrian's heart ached for a moment as he regarded the statue. He missed Sylvanas. He missed her so badly. He had no idea when he would see her again. He assumed he would see her as soon as they dealt with the Scarlet Crusade. But he had no idea how long they would need to take care of them.

On the other hand, it was not unlikely that he would have to go to Dalaran for another meeting sooner or later. He would be able to see her again that way. He hoped that such a meeting will occur. Otherwise, he would have to wait in Brill for further instructions and could only see her if he could be sure that the Scarlet Crusade wouldn't invade Sylvanas' territory again.

Alleria and Sylvanas had requested him to take care of Brill and he wouldn't go anywhere else as long as he didn't receive the order to do so. He would have to wait and see how things would turn out.

Kelrian walked to the largest building in Brill and entered it. Like all the other buildings in Brill, the interior design looked dreary. Faded paintings hung on the walls which were as grey as the hard stone floor. The place radiated sadness and hopelessness. A normal humanoid creature would go crazy if they would have to live in this place for a long time. But Kelrian was not a normal humanoid creature. The dull furnishing didn't bother him at all. He knew he wouldn't be there forever and even if he would, he wouldn't mind. The awful look of the interior design didn't matter to him.

Kelrian nodded at the innkeeper, a female Forsaken with the name Renee, as he crossed her. She nodded in return but said nothing to him. He met more Forsaken before he climbed the wooden staircase and arrived on the second floor. He didn't need long to come to his office in front of which two dreadguards were standing. They greeted him and opened the door for him. Kelrian greeted them in return and then entered his office which interior design didn't look any different from any other room in the building.

Kelrian walked over to his desk and sat down on the chair, opening the highest drawer. He took paper, quill and ink out of the drawer and dipped the tip of the quill into the inkpot. He wrote about the course and the outcome of the battle, mentioned how many soldiers they had lost and how many they had killed. Of course, he wrote about those who had escaped and those who had been captured. He waited until the ink was dry, then he put the report in an envelope and sealed it. He called for one of the Forsaken that guarded his office.

A bald Forsaken entered his office and lowered his head in respect. "What can I do for you, Commander?"

"I want you to give this letter to one of our messengers and tell him to bring it to Lady Sylvanas. Would you do that for me, Cedrick?"

The guard nodded. "I will, Commander."

Kelrian gave him a small smile. "Good. Dark Lady watches over you."

Cedrik nodded and took the envelope out of Kelrian's hand, leaving the room a few moments later.

The following days had been uneventful. Kelrian had remained in Brill in case that the Scarlet Crusade would attack again. Fortunately, they didn't. Kelrian was glad that they didn't because he didn't want to kill more humans. The more soldiers they would kill, the fewer soldiers the Scarlet Crusade would have against the Scourge.

He hoped that the leadership would realize that they couldn't win against the Alliance. He hoped that they would realize that the Forsaken were neither evil nor their enemies. The longer the conflict with the Scarlet Crusade would endure, the more time, lives and resources would be wasted.

Kelrian stood in front of the window of his office and stared out of it. The sun had already set and it was dark outside but Kelrian was still able to see more than others. His eyes were better than the eyes of the average mortal creature, especially his golden eye, which was able to see much more than others could. He had no problem to recognize what was going on in Brill at this late hour. Forsaken guards were patrolling through Brill, others stood in front of the buildings or in other areas of the town. Nothing extraordinary was going on.

Kelrian was about to turn away from the window as he noticed five creatures coming in his sight. One of them was Zygand who looked very angry. Kelrian couldn't recognize the other Forsaken but he recognized the small creatures they were dragging with them. Two children. One of them was a human boy and the other was a sin'dorei girl. Both of them didn't look older than eight years and it was safe to say that they were scared.

Kelrian was wondering where these children came from, what they were doing in Brill and why they were so scared. He was wondering why the executor was so angry and why the other Forsaken were pulling on the children's arms and dragging them through the town.

Kelrian left his office and rushed through the corridor and down the stairs, leaving the building quickly. He hurried through the courtyard and caught up to the three Forsaken before they reached the alchemy laboratory.

"What's going on?" Kelrian shouted.

The Forsaken stopped immediately and turned around, looking at their commander. None of them said anything. The only sounds which were hearable were the sobs of the children. Their faces were pale, their eyes were widened in terror and wet from crying. They were so scared that it was not unlikely that they had soiled their pants. Kelrian noticed that the children's gazes rested on him. He assumed they were hoping he would help them. They were too scared to speak but the begging looks on their faces were unmistakable.

Kelrian averted his gaze and looked at Zygand who looked annoyed. "Why are you dragging these children through the town and why do you bring them to the laboratory?"

The executor turned his head to check his surroundings. Kelrian did the same and noticed that there were no other creatures outside except the Forsaken. Besides him, the children were the only living creatures that were outside at this late hour. Even though Zygand was surrounded by his own kind, his voice was much quieter as if he feared that someone could hear him.

"These children saw too much..."

Kelrian raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Too much? What do you mean?" His voice reflected irritation.

"They saw things they shouldn't have seen," said one of the two Forsaken Kelrian didn't know. It was a female with short grey hair.

"Could you be more specific?"

The other Forsaken, a female who wore a dark robe and had long black hair responded to him. "They saw me raising corpses."

Kelrian's eyes widened. "Corpses? Which corpses?"

The necromancer looked at Zygand nervously and the other female looked at the ground. Zygand's expression was neutral. He returned Kelrian's staring but said nothing.

"Which corpses?" Kelrian repeated, sounding louder this time.

"The corpses of the fallen Scarlet Crusade soldiers," responded Zygand quietly.

Irritation was reflected by Kelrian's face. "But I ordered you to burn them."

Zygand nodded but said nothing else.

Anger appeared in Kelrian's eyes as he tilted his head. "So you are trying to tell me that you disobeyed my orders, do I understand that correctly?"

"Well, it's not like this...," replied the necromancer.

"What is it then?" Kelrian asked slightly upset.

The necromancer looked at Zygand and gave him a signal. The executor hesitated for a few moments but then he gave Kelrian an answer. "The Dark Lady ordered us to not burn these corpses despite your orders. She told us to let it look like we burned them after we brought them away. She told us to wait a few days until their faces could no longer be recognized and then raise them."

"I was in the middle of the ritual as these brats showed up and saw what I was doing," explained the necromancer.

Kelrian looked at the children, noticing that they looked more scared than before. They were shaking with fear. They were afraid what the Forsaken would do to them.

"And Sylvanas ordered this? Are you sure about that?"

The necromancer nodded. "I wouldn't lie to you. I wouldn't do that on my own. Raising them is wrong but I do everything the Dark Lady wants from me."

"I told the Dark Lady often enough that we need more soldiers. The Scarlet Crusade killed many of our brothers and sisters. Too many of us died in the past years. That way, we can make up for the losses," said the other female.

"If it's Sylvanas' order then I won't judge you but that doesn't mean that you can treat these children like this and do whatever you planned to do with them," said Kelrian strictly.

Zygand tilted his head a little. "They saw too much. We cannot allow them to tell their families what they saw. It's very likely that the word spreads quickly and the other leaders of the Alliance will hear of that. We can't allow that. Lady Sylvanas' orders were clear. No one should find out about what we do."

"Well, now I know about it."

Zygand's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't tell the other leaders, would you?"

Kelrian shook his head. "Of course not. I wouldn't do anything that would cause problems for Sylvanas or foil her plans."

Zygand looked less troubled than before. "At least that."

"What have you planned to do with the kids?"

Zygand pointed at the laboratory. "The alchemist of the Royal Apothecary Society created a prototype of a potion that makes you forget things."

"Does it work?"

"You have to ask the alchemists but I assume that they didn't test it often enough."

"So it's not unlikely that it doesn't work properly?" Kelrian asked.

"Well... You could say that...," replied Zygand quietly.

"And what would you do if it doesn't work?"

Zygand was silent for a few moments but then he made an unambiguous gesture. Kelrian could not allow them to kill the children if the portion wouldn't work.

"That's not an option, Executor. I know you like to kill people but they are too young to die. They are just children...Think about it."

"We can't allow them to tell anyone what they have seen," Zygand said insistently.

"I know. I will take care of them. Let them be my problem."

Zygand raised the only eyebrow he had left and gave Kelrian an irritated look. He regarded him for a few moments, noticing the seriousness and determination in his eyes. He nodded eventually and gave the females a signal. They let go of the children who were too stunned by fear to run away.

Kelrian made a gesture, signalizing the Forsaken to go away and do what they had been ordered to do. The females nodded and walked away quickly, only Zygand stayed a few moments longer. He said nothing while he regarded Kelrian and the children. Kelrian's gaze fell on the executor, noticing the grim look on his face. Zygand turned around eventually and walked away.

Kelrian looked at the children, noticing that they were still scared but they were not in a panic. Kelrian squatted down and wiped the hair out of his face, revealing his golden eye. The children's gazes fell on the eye. The golden eye started to glow much brighter but not bright enough to dazzle them. They started into the eye and relaxed, not saying anything. They were no longer scared but curious.

"You will forget what you have seen. You will forget the Forsaken who were performing a ritual. You will forget the corpses you have seen. You will forget that you have been here as soon as we leave this place." Kelrian's voice was barely louder than a whisper but the children were still able to understand him. Kelrian realized that his spell had worked as they nodded at him.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Tom. Tom Brown," said the black-haired boy.

"I'm Vanas Cinderheart," replied the blonde sin'dorei girl.

Kelrian smiled at her. "Vanas, that's an interesting name."

"My mother named me after the famous Ranger-General."

"How old are you, Vanas?"

"Six."

"Six. So you were born a few months before the Third War."

Vanas nodded.

"And your parents live in this area?"

She nodded again. "My mother, Tom's father and we live in a small house near Brightwater Lake."

"So you are one of the few families which didn't leave this cursed land. That's very brave of your parents."

The children didn't say anything in return.

"Alright, I think it's time to bring you to your parents," Kelrian said and covered his eye with his hair. He knew he didn't have to do it because lots of people already knew about it. There was no point in hiding it but he did it nevertheless. It was like an old habit which he couldn't get rid of.

Tom and Vanas nodded at him. Kelrian got up and offered them his hands. They took them and found themselves in a new location a few seconds later. They stood near a wide lake which surrounded a small island. Tall isolated trees were scattered all over the area.

Kelrian looked at the children. "This is Brightwater Lake. Now you have to show me the way to your house. You will tell your parents that I found you here. Is that clear?"

Tom and Vanas nodded.

"Good, guide me to your house."

After nearly an hour, they came to a small wooden house. It was made out of solid wood and looked very stable. Kelrian was sure that the door and the walls would withstand for a while if someone would try to get into the house. The windows, on the other hand, wouldn't stop any stranger for long. The glasses appeared to be pretty thin. Any intruder would be able to break them with little effort.

The area was not very safe. Scourge minions, bats and wolves were roaming around the lake. They were not numerous but they were still there and pretty dangerous. He could only hope that the children's parents knew how to defend themselves.

Kelrian and the children set foot on the veranda and stepped to the door. Kelrian let go of their hands and knocked at the door, regarding it expectantly. The door was opened a few moments later by a sin'dorei woman who looked very worried. Her hair was as red as fire, her green eyes were wet from crying and her skin was very pale.

Her eyes rested on Kelrian for a few seconds and then fell on the little ones. Her eyes widened in surprise. The sadness that was reflected by them was replaced by happiness. She went to her knees and hugged her child and then her stepchild. Kelrian's gaze fell on the middle-aged muscular man behind the woman who was as surprised and happy as her. He wrapped his arms around the woman and the children, tears of joy ran down his cheeks.

Kelrian regarded them silently, not minding they were sitting there and hugging each other for nearly half an hour. The parents got up eventually and thanked him.

Kelrian smiled at them. "It was nothing really. I saw them wandering around at this late hour, so I went to them and brought them to you. I didn't want anything to happen to them."

"That's very kind of you, Commander. We are grateful that you brought them back. We are sorry that our children bothered you and wasted your time. We told them to not go too far away from the house but it seemed that they had other plans... We will make sure that they will be punished."

"Make them understand what they did wrong but don't punish them too hard. As a kid, I was very curious and left my parent's house often to explore the woods. They were not happy about it, and I was grounded very often. Make them understand how dangerous the woods are. How dangerous Tirisfal Glades is."

The woman nodded. "We will." She introduced herself as Lillia Cinderheart.

"It surprises me that you live in this dangerous place. Is there a certain reason why you live here?"

"We don't have enough money to get a house in a human or sin'dorei village. We are very poor and we had no idea where to go after the end of the Third War. We found this hut and decided to stay there. There are enough animals to hunt in the nearest forests. We have been living here for four years and have had no problems so far,"said the man who had introduced himself as Viktor Brown.

"I kill every creature that comes too close to us. My fire proves very useful against wild animals and the undead," told Lillia.

"I have no doubt that you know how to defend yourselves," Kelrian replied.

"Do you want to come in and eat and drink something? You can warm up in front of the fire I made. The nights are pretty cold in Tirisfal Glades. Especially in this area, it's very cold at night," said the mage.

Kelrian thought about her offer for a few moments. "Why not. But I won't stay for too long."

----

It was still dark outside when Kelrian left the hut. He had had a nice talk with Viktor and Lillia. They had talked about casual things before they had talked about the events of the past, the Alliance and the present. Kelrian had offered them to get them a small house in Quel'Thalas or any kingdom they wanted. He wanted them to leave this dangerous place to guarantee the safety of their children.

They had told Kelrian that they will think about it and inform him when they made a decision. Kelrian hoped they would accept his offer. He didn't want anything to happen to the children. He knew their parents were strong enough to defend them but there was still nothing which spoke for living in this dull area. It was best for the small stepfamily if they would move to an area which was much safer than Tirisfal Glades.

Kelrian was about to teleport back to Brill as he sensed auras. He turned his head and checked his surroundings but he couldn't see anyone. He had no idea to who the auras belonged but he realized that two powerful creatures were in his near.

"Show yourself. I noticed you, so there is no point in hiding," he shouted.

Two familiar creatures appeared next to the nearest tree. He recognized Danara and Exandros. Kelrian raised an eyebrow and frowned, giving them an irritated look. "Why did you follow me?"

"We wanted to talk to you about something but you weren't in your office, so we used a location spell and found you here," explained Exandros.

"We?" Kelrian asked irritated. "You are not even a mage."

The human chuckled. "I might not be a mage but I'm still able to cast a very powerful spell.

"You are?"

"I am. I'm not a normal soldier, in fact, I'm not a soldier at all. I'm not the man I claim to be."

"You are speaking in riddles."

"This form is just one of many I took to hide from Kil'jaeden's agents. But I no longer need to hide that's why I told you who I am, at least indirectly. I thought you would find out sooner that I'm not Al-EXAndros DIUS Woodpricker."

"Alexandros Dius... Alexandros Dius... Exandros Dius..." A thoughtful look could be seen on Kelrian's face as he muttered the name a few times while he started at the young man. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he realized what the human was trying to tell him. "EXAndros DIUS... Exadius..."

The human's lips formed a wide grin. "Exactly, partner. You finally realized who I am but I cannot hold that against you. The fact that you didn't realize who I am confirms that my disguise served its purpose. The ability to take on new identities is one of the biggest advantages of being a nathrezim. We can be anyone and can be anywhere without someone noticing. At least if we are careful enough," Exadius explained.

"I have to admit that I'm impressed. You even changed your aura. I would have never expected that you are not Exandros," praised Kelrian.

"I'm pretty good at being someone else, so are my children. None of your allies found out that they are demons. They still think that they are sin'dorei."

"Alright. You wanted to talk to me about something," Kelrian reminded.

Exadius nodded. "My daughter discovered that one of my former subjects, who still serves the Legion until this day, still plies his dreadful trade on Azeroth."

"A nathrezim on Azeroth, are you sure?" Kelrian asked surprised.

Exadius nodded. "It's Varimathras' brother Balnazzar."

The irritation could not only be clearly seen in Kelrian's face but also clearly heard in his voice. "Balnazzar? Are you sure? I thought Varimathras killed him on Sylvanas' order."

Exadius chuckled. His voice started to sound more and more demonic over time. "Demons can only truly die in the Twisting Nether. Every demon who dies outside the Twisting Nether returns to it and comes back after some time. Some faster than others. It depends on how powerful the demon is."

"You want to tell me that every nathrezim who died on Azeroth is not truly dead?" Kelrian asked shocked.

Exadius nodded. The skin of his human form had become much paler and the eye colour had started to change. It slowly changed from green to yellow. "You are right about that. Balnazzar, Detheroc, Tichondrius and even Mal'Ganis are still alive. They are somewhere in the universe and still work for the Legion. I have no idea where Detheroc, Tichondrius and Mal'Ganis are but I know where Balnazzar is."

"Where?" Kelrian asked insistently.

"He is in the Scarlet Monastery."

Kelrian's eyes widened. "WHAT?"

Exadius chuckled. His eyes became golden and his shape started to twist. He grew in size, horns and wings came out of his body and his skin became much paler. He looked like his true self when his transformation was complete. "You heard me correctly, partner."

"What is he doing there?"

"I have no idea but I'm sure that we will find that out soon."

"What do you mean with soon?"

Exadius smirked. "We will sneak into the monastery and confront Balnazzar. He still serves Kil'jaeden which makes him to our enemy. Either he pledges his loyalty to me or he will die. Truly die. I will teleport him in the Twisting Nether and kill him there if I have to."

"Aren't there enough soldiers of the Scarlet Crusade in the monastery? Do you think it's a good idea to go in there?" Kelrian asked worriedly.

Exadius was very self-confident. "I do. With the help of a spell, the members of the Scarlet Crusade won't see us when we sneak through the corridors. We will have dealt with Balnazzar before these fanatics will notice our presence."

"Will more of your children join us or will it just be the three of us?"

"Just the three of us. My other children have other tasks to do," explained the former king of the nathrezim.

"When will we go?" Kelrian asked.

"Now."

"I'm ready."

Exadius and Danara began to cast a spell together, creating a portal within a few minutes. Exadius pointed at it. "After you."

Kelrian didn't hesitate to step through the portal.