Chapter 4: Report

Silvermoon had not changed much since the last time Sylvanas had visited it. Every single building looked magnificent, there was not a single one that didn't. Even the small houses and shops. The sin'dorei attached great importance to beauty, just like every other elven race.

The buildings were made of marble or white stones, their roofs were covered by red tiles. Citizens but also visitors and traders were walking over the red-paved crowded road. Most creatures that looked in her direction recognized her immediately. A large portion of them regarded her as she followed the course of the main road, lots of them greeted her. There were some who were not happy to see her or even disgusted to see her. Most of them were humans.

Most of the sin'dorei were polite and smiled at her. They had not forgotten Sylvanas' sacrifice. They had not forgotten what Sylvanas had done for their people, how many of them she had saved when she had bought as much time as possible. Without her sacrifice, a lot more sin'dorei would have fallen to the Scourge. Nevertheless, there were some who didn't seem happy about Sylvanas' presence. Some had a different opinion of her. They didn't like the undead, not even those who were with the Alliance.

Sylvanas recognized some of them. Few of them had once served under her before the fall of Silvermoon, some of them hadn't known her personally but once admired her because of her power, her status and her beauty. These people no longer admired her these days, they despised her. Nevertheless, they didn't dare to say anything to her. They knew that they will be punished for insulting a leader of the Alliance. Especially when that leader was the sister of the Regent Lady of Quel'Thalas.

Sylvanas followed the course of the main road until she came to Sunfury Spire that had been once known as Sunstrider Spire before the Third War. Sylvanas had visited this place often when Anasterian Sunstrider had ruled the quel'dorei. He had often demanded her presence and asked her for military advices. When she had been Ranger-General she had often attended such meetings. During the First and Second War but also during the war against the forest trolls.

Since the fall of Silvermoon, she had not been here often. She had only come to this place to visit Alleria, just like she was doing right now. She was very busy with ruling Undercity, so she couldn't visit Alleria and Vereesa as often as she wanted to. Alleria was as busy as her, that was the reason her visits to Undercity were very rare. Nevertheless, they managed to meet from time to time and spend some time together.

Sylvanas had not seen Alleria for six weeks, so she was much more excited about this meeting than usual. She was visiting Alleria because of a political reason but that didn't mean they couldn't spend some time together once they had discussed everything.

Sylvanas walked over the long red carpet that began at the bridge, which led over the moat, and didn't even end at the gate of the tall magnificent building from where Alleria ruled Quel'Thalas. She nodded to Heren Lightpresser as she walked past the group of guards that stood in front of the entrance. Heren had been the leader of the Silvermoon guard before the Third War and he still was these days. He had not changed much over the years. His physique was still muscular, his blond hair was long and his handsome face was free of any facial hair.

He greeted her but said nothing else to her as she entered the spire. Sylvanas didn't get further than a few steps as a familiar voice called her name. She turned her head to the right, catching sight of her successor. She had to admit that the blue Ranger-General uniform suited Lor'themar. He looked magnificent. She was sure that many men and women admired him and laid to his feet.

"Greetings, old friend," Sylvanas said as she approached him.

The smile on Lor'themar's lips was wide. "It has been a while since the last time we have seen each other, Sylvanas."

"I would love to visit Silvermoon more often but I have been very busy in the past years. I usually spend the free time I have with Kelrian. When I have any free time."

"I understand you. I also have a lot to do these days."

"The Ranger-General has great responsibilities and many tasks they have to accomplish."

"Everything looked so easy when you were general."

"It might have looked that way but it was not. Life as the Ranger General is hard and stressful. You are the hope of your people, the defender of Silvermoon.A heavy weight rests on your shoulders, a lot of pressure. To be afraid of failing your people is normal in the first few years," Sylvanas told.

"I know what you mean. The first few years have not been easy but I have gotten used to everything with time. I feel very self-confident about myself and the responsibilities that come with my rank."

Sylvanas smiled. "Self-confidence and keeping a cool head are essential for this position. You must not let anyone known that you are scared, worried or troubled. You must always keep your poker face. It will not always be easy but you must always give your best."

"I always do and I think I'm doing a very good job as Ranger-General."

"I don't doubt that for a second, Lor'themar. You were one of my best rangers for a reason."

Lor'themar smiled. "I'm glad you still believe in me."

"Why shouldn't I? The events of the past might have changed you a little but you are still the same brave and helpful man I have trained."

"I wish I could say the same about you but we cannot deny that death changed you. Some might disagree but I don't think death changed you for the worse. It's true that your views on certain things have changed but that doesn't make you a bad person, Sylvanas. Not to mention that Kelrian makes sure you don't lose your sanity and your moral principles. He is good for you."

Sylvanas gave him a small smile. "Even without Kelrian, I still have my family. My sisters were there for me when Kelrian disappeared and was presumed to be dead. They supported me and helped me keep my sanity. Without them, I would have drowned in grief. Who knows what I would have done then?"

"I don't want to imagine that, to be honest."

"Neither do I."

Lor'themar cleared his throat after neither of them had said anything for several minutes. "Anyway, may I ask why you visit us or did you just come to spend some time with your sister?"

"I need to talk to my sister about something."

"About what? If I may ask."

"The Scourge found a way into Undercity and went rampage. They killed dozens of citizens and devastated some areas. We killed all of their minions but the commander who led the attack escaped, unfortunately." Sylvanas quickly explained to him what had happened and how she thought the Scourge had managed to reach Undercity without getting noticed.

"The Scourge proved once again that it cannot be taken lightly."

Sylvanas nodded. "They are a dangerous threat that we can only defeat if we work together."

"Shall I join you or do you want to speak to your sister alone?"

"I don't mind if you come with me."

"Alright."

They made their way to Alleria's office, knocking at the door once they reached it.

"You can come in," Alleria shouted from inside. Sylvanas didn't need to be told twice. She opened the door, allowing Lor'themar to get in first. She closed the door behind her, her gaze immediately fell on her older sister who sat behind her desk. The expecting look on Alleria's face was replaced by one of delight. She didn't hesitate to get up and walk around her desk, making her way to Sylvanas who came towards her.

They met in the middle, the first thing they did was to wrap their arms around each other. Alleria put a kiss on Sylvanas' cheek and ran her hand over the back of her head. "It has been a while, Sylvanas. I missed you."

Sylvanas smiled. "I missed you too."

They pulled away but didn't stop looking at each other for quite a while. "The reason for your visit must be important, otherwise, Lor'themar wouldn't have come with you."

Sylvanas quickly explained to her sister what had happened. She told her the same things she had told Lor'themar.

A worried expression could be seen on Alleria's face once her sister was done explaining. "That is not a good sign."

"You can say that."

"They could have done much more damage if they wanted. So, either they did this to send you a warning or they wanted to test their limits. They tested how far they could go," assumed Alleria.

"Probably both. All we know for sure is that the Scourge is the biggest threat we have faced so far."

"A threat that is beatable if we work together and pull on the same string."

"Silvermoon wasn't attacked, was it?"

Alleria shook her head. "No, it wasn't. And no other areas have been attacked, at least none that I know of."

"If I were you, I would send messages to your most important defensive posts and ask them to check the surrounding areas for Scourge activity. It doesn't hurt to be extremely careful," said Sylvanas.

"We should do that indeed."

"If you allow, I will send these messages, Regent Lady," Lor'themar said to Alleria.

"That would be great. Thank you, Lor'themar."

"We should also contact the other leaders of the Alliance. They need to be warned. It's not unlikely that the Scourge will attack them too if they didn't attack them already," added Sylvanas.

"I'll send my ambassadors to all capital cities. Depending on which cities have been attacked as well, we might have to call a meeting."

"We have to do a meeting anyway because of the situation in the Plaguelands," commented the Ranger-General. "The Scourge has become more active and our scouts have spotted a powerful necromancer that is plying their dreadful trade in the Western Plaguelands."

Sylvanas sounded worried. "That's not good indeed."

"The necromancer is a threat that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible."

"I have no doubt that Kelrian will volunteer to take care of this threat," said Sylvanas.

"We will send our best rangers and mages to assist him," her sister responded. "The best weapon against a necromancer is fire."

"I will send my best dark rangers. Priest and paladins could also be useful against the undead."

"You are not wrong. I will ask Liadrin if she can spare a few of her subordinates," Alleria said as she sat back on her chair. Sylvanas sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk, Lor'themar sat down right next to her.

"That would be great."

"I cannot believe that this bitch Elena is back. I didn't know her at all but from what Kelrian and you have told me, she is not a very nice person," Alleria said to her sister.

"She was not nice in life and death didn't make it any better. On the contrary, she is much worse as an undead."

"All we can do is to give her a quick, clean and painless death."

"I agree on that."

"Doesn't she deserve a second chance once we freed her from the Lich King's control?" asked Lor'themar.

"She sexually assaulted Kelrian and even tried to rape him if he wouldn't have stopped her. She was a bad person, or at least the fel made her a bad person. Someone like her doesn't deserve a second chance."

A thoughtful look could be seen on Lor'themar's face. He didn't agree with Sylvanas on that point but he said nothing about it, knowing a discussion was pointless. He knew Sylvanas for decades, so he knew very well how stubborn she could be sometimes. Especially when it came to other women who were interested in the same man as her.

"Anyway, I need to write a bunch of letters. It was nice meeting you, Sylvanas. Until next time."

Sylvanas gave him a small smile. "Until next time, Lor'themar." She watched him leave and then looked back at her older sister who regarded her curiously. "You said Kelrian went to Outland, right?"

"Yes, he went there to inform the naaru."

"I wonder what they will say about it."

"They will probably send us some of their best warriors to deal with the threat in the Plaguelands. "Whoever that necromancer is, they must die as soon as possible. We cannot allow the Scourge to gain more reinforcements."

"I wish I could join Kelrian on the hunt for the necromancer. As you know, I haven't gone on any missions since I became the Regent Lady. I miss leading a group of Farstriders and other warriors on a mission. I miss the good old times. I cannot do that anymore because of my rank. I'm way too important to the sin'dorei. I cannot allow myself to get killed in a battle. My responsibilities are too great."

"I understand you perfectly. As the Queen of Undercity, I cannot join any battle. If it's a very close and important battle, then yes. But I cannot just go to the Plaguelands and fight the necromancer on my own."

"Especially because the Lich King's minions will try to kill you."

Sylvanas nodded. "Another point that speaks against it."

"At least I'm pretty good at coordinating everything from my office. Since the fall of Quel'Thalas, every campaign I coordinated was a success. We haven't retaken every area that had once belonged to Quel'Thalas, but most of them. Some areas are still overfilled with Scourge minions and retaking them would cost too many lives."

"Windrunner Spire is one of these areas, right?"

Alleria nodded, a small amount of sadness could be seen in her eyes. "Unfortunately, yes. Banshees, gargoyles, spirits, ghouls, skeletons and many other wicked creatures still possess our home."

Sylvanas put a hand on one of Alleria's, giving her a comforting smile. "One day, we will drive out these creatures and reclaim our home."

"I'm looking forward to that day."

"So do I."

The sisters were silent for a few moments but it was not an awkward silence. They enjoyed the quiet moments, doing nothing but staring into each other's eyes. Alleria was the one who eventually broke the silence. "How are things between you and Kelrian?"

"As good as usual, nothing had changed over the past years. We still love each other, we don't see each other as often as we would like because we have responsibilities. But we see each other at least twice a week. We always spend the time we have together wisely. And before you asked, no, we don't just have sex. We also do other things like strolling somewhere, visiting beautiful places, we even hunt sometimes like in the good old times when Kelrian served under me. But I cannot deny that sex has an important role in our relationship. Just like in every functioning relationship, it is essential."

"I always wonder how it is to have sex with an undead," Alleria said.

Sylvanas chuckled. "You should probably ask Kelrian that and not me. I cannot give you an answer for that. I can only tell you things from my perspective but I'm not sure if that gives you the answers you want to hear."

"I don't mind hearing your perspective. We talked about sex when you were still alive, so I don't see anything that speaks against it. Our relationship has always been so close that we talked about our sexual experiences, preferences and so on. If you remember."

"Of course, I remember. I was always the one with the best memories of the three of us."

"Indeed."

"So, what do you want to know?"

"I'm curious how different sex is for you as undead. If you compare it with the sex you had when you were still alive. I'm sure you clearly remember how sex was with Kelrian before everything went down the tub."

"I do remember. I wouldn't say that there is a huge difference when it comes to the act. I still feel a lot of pleasure when Kelrian is inside me, his touch feels a bit different because his body is warm while mine is cold. It feels different but it doesn't have a huge impact. All I can say is that it feels a little better when his warm hands are touching me in certain places."

Alleria signalized her to continue, so Sylvanas continued. "I don't need to breathe, so I can hold the kiss infinitely long but Kelrian needs to breathe, so he is usually the one who pulls back after some time. Nevertheless, not needing to breathe has advantages in other situations when making love."

"I think I get what you are implying."

"I cannot suffocate and the gag reflex no longer bothers me."

"You like to be choked, don't you?" Alleria asked curiously.

"I don't mind feeling a little amount of pain during the act, let's say it like that," Sylvanas replied honestly.

"Being choked and feeling pain is not my thing, but everyone has different fetishes. As long as both partners are fine with it, why not?"

"Another advantage as an undead is that you have more stamina and more time. Having a huge pool of stamina is not only useful in battle and having more time is always good."

"So, you endure long enough. What about Kelrian?"

"He also endures for quite a long time. I cannot complain."

"Also, you don't have to worry about becoming pregnant."

Sylvanas shook her head, a small amount of sadness could be seen in her eyes for a very short moment. Alleria noticed it but didn't comment about it. "I wish I could have another child but that's no longer possible."

Alleria put her other hand on Sylvanas' right hand, caressing the back with her thumb. An apologizing look could be seen on her face as she looked at her sister. "I shouldn't have brought that up, I'm sorry, sis."

Sylvanas shook her head slightly. "No need to be sorry. You didn't say anything wrong. As much as I love my children, I wish I didn't become pregnant during the Second War. Fewer of our people would have died if I would have fought by the sides of our men. But I had to retreat from the battlefield because I couldn't endanger the lives of my unborn children. I wish I would have become pregnant after the end of the war and not in the middle."

"We still won in the end and that's all that matters." Alleria's gaze shifted to the bottle on the right side of her desk. "Do you want anything to drink? I should have offered you a drink when you entered my office but I always forget that you are one the only Forsaken whose body can absorb liquids."

Sylvanas chuckled. "I'm glad I still can. Not only to drink alcohol but also other liquids."

Alleria knew exactly what she was speaking about, so she chuckled as well. "But only if you enjoy the taste of that certain liquid."

"I do."

Alleria didn't make a comment as she opened the bottle and poured the bronze-coloured liquid into two glasses. She handed one glass to her sister who accepted it and didn't hesitate to empty it in one go.

That made Alleria smile. "Thirsty, aren't we?"

Sylvanas grinned. "I thirst for more than just alcohol."

"I didn't know undeath turned my sister into a horny slut."

"Even in life I have always been horny but I stand by it."

"Sex is the most natural thing in the world, so wanting it is nothing to be ashamed of, especially because you only do it with one partner and not with many."

"What about you?" Sylvanas asked after several minutes of silence.

Alleria raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Your sex life. Have you done it ever since the Scourge took your lover?"

Alleria took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before she responded to her sister's question. "In the first few years, I didn't have sex because I wanted to stay loyal to my beloved. We didn't break up, it was the Scourge who broke us apart. I still love him but I don't know if I will ever get him back. He is not truly dead but it's not guaranteed that we can save him. There is the chance that I will never get him back. I didn't know that the Scourge had him, I believed him to be dead but I still didn't take a lover. You might have thought that ever since I found out that he is a member of the Scourge, my hopes would have gotten higher that I might get him back one day.

Alleria made a small pause and allowed herself to order her thoughts.

"I still hope that but I realised that a lot of things can happen. I could die, Turalyon could be killed before we can release him from the Lich King's control. Even if we manage to do that, there is still the chance that he is not the same anymore. Maybe he doesn't want me, or he changed so much that I cannot love him any longer. As I said, it's also possible that I never get him back, so I decided that I need to be prepared for every outcome. I realised I had to move on, so the worst-case scenario won't hit me so hard."

"So, you have had lovers?"

Alleria nodded, a small amount of shame could be seen in her eyes. "I'm a living being with needs and desires. Masturbation is not a solution for me, not in the long run at least. Most days are very stressful and sometimes I just need someone who helps me to release my stress and relax my tense body."

Sylvanas gave her a comforting smile "No need to feel ashamed. You are a woman just like me and we have needs just like men have. As you might know, Kelrian also had a lover while he thought I was dead. Unfortunately, it was Elena but I'm still fine with the fact that he had a lover. I made him promise me to move on after my death and he held that promise. I'm sure that the Turalyon we have known would have wanted you to move on. If we get him back one day, you can stop taking other lovers and try to win him back. Until then, you shouldn't feel bad for taking other lovers, especially because you don't know if things turn out in our favour."

"So, you suggest me to continue like that? Taking a lover whenever the desire overwhelms me?"

"As I have said, Turalyon would want you to move on. But because you seem to have some personal troubles with that, I would suggest you only sleep with someone if you cannot hold out anymore. Don't do it like me, I have sex as often as the situation allows."

Alleria nodded. "I think I can get on board with this idea."

"May I ask you how many lovers you have taken so far?"

"Four or five over the past years. With three of them, I have done it more than one time," admitted Alleria.

"Are they humans or elves? Or maybe they belong to another race. You don't have to answer that question if you don't want."

"I have sworn to always be honest with you, Sylvanas."

"That has nothing to do with being honest or not. It has to do with if you feel comfortable to answer or not."

"I have had lovers before Turalyon and all of them were elves. I never thought I could be attracted to humans until I got better known to Turalyon. There are a lot of attractive humans, men and women alike but Turalyon is and will always be the only human for me."

"I can understand you. If I would have lost Kelrian, I would have never taken a male lover. I would have probably gone with Verena or another attractive female sin'dorei or Forsaken."

"My case is a bit different. I have had male lovers but no humans."

"I see but the principle is the same."

"Yes."

"Did you only take male lovers?"

Alleria shook her head. "At first, I only made love to females because I thought that Turalyon would rather accept that but with time I changed my opinion in that matter. I took male lovers but no humans. As I said, Turalyon is the only human for me. Not to mention that I find sin'dorei more attractive than humans in general."

"When was the last time you took a lover, if I may ask?"

"A few weeks ago."

"Male or female?"

"Does it make a difference?" Alleria asked.

Sylvanas shook her head. "No, it doesn't. I'm just curious."

"Fine. There were two people. A male and a female."

Sylvanas grinned widely. "A threesome. You must have had a lot of stored stress then if you needed two to help you relax."

Alleria rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I was lonely, needy and drunk. Threesomes are not my thing and I will never have one again."

"Never say never."

Alleria slightly shook her head and take a large gulp of her drink.

"You didn't sleep with Lor'themar, did you?"

Alleria nearly spat her drink out. "Of course, not. He is like a brother to me."

"Do I know one of those lovers you had?"

"You do but I won't tell you, not today at least. Maybe another time."

"You are such a spoilsport," Sylvanas said grinningly.

"Yeah, whatever. Maybe if you get me drunk enough next time we spend time together, I will tell you about the lovers I had and my experiences with them."

A look of anticipation appeared on Sylvanas' face. "I'm looking forward to that day."

Alleria cleared her throat. "Enough of that talk. Let's get serious again and talk about the big deal. The Scourge and what we can do against them."

"We already agreed to send soldiers to the Plaguelands. What else can we discuss?"

"Well, we have no idea what is going on in Northrend. It's very likely that the Lich King will spread his influence there first."

"We have no bases in Northrend, no control over it."

"That must change in the near future. We have to send spies to Northrend to find out what is going on there. And then we can plan the next steps," responded Alleria.

"We need to discuss that with the other leaders first."

"Then we will bring that topic up in the next meeting."

"So be it," said Sylvanas.

---

"It has begun," a feminine voice said.

Kalnier turned his head and looked at the white-haired woman that stood not far away from his golden throne. He said nothing in return and looked at the high priestess.

"The Scourge launched their first attack after not having been active at all for years. It is only a matter of time until the Chosen will look for the fragments of the Sword of the First Sentinel. You should search for it before he gets it."

Kalnier looked at the three beings that floated behind him. "I don't think so. Why should I do all the work when I can let him find the fragments and then take them from him? That's much easier than looking for it on my own," he responded.

"You won't be able to get it without a fight," said the high priestess.

"I don't see a problem with that. He won't have a chance against me."

"I trust your judgment."

"You better do."