Chapter 49: Marks of War

Nothing.

There was nothing.

He felt nothing

Was he dead?

No?

He was not dead, was he?

He was alive?

Was he?

He felt something.

He felt something but he was not sure what it was.

A weird feeling which he had never felt before.

At least he thought that.

It turned out what he felt was not a weird or surreal feeling. He felt a soft tingling. Was something tingling him or was it his body which was tingling? He didn't know.

The more time passed the more intensive the tingling became. He noticed his slow but rhythmic heartbeats. His heart was beating which had to mean he was alive, right? He had to be.

Cold air. There was cold air in his lungs. Cold air he inhaled without even thinking about it. He was breathing, so he must be alive. He hoped that he was still alive and not in the afterlife. He hoped he was still in the world of the mortals and not somewhere else. But he couldn't see anything so he didn't know where he was. Everything around him was still dark. He felt nothing except for the intense tingling.

Then he felt something else. Pain. Pain which came from his right arm. He had an arm. Two arms to be exact and he also had legs. He felt them for the first time at this very moment. He could only move his limbs slightly. Well, not all of them. His right arm was immobile. He couldn't move it no matter how hard he tried and the pain he felt became more intense the harder he tried. He quickly realized he wouldn't be able to move it.

Everything around him was still dark but he heard something. Unfortunately, it was not understandable. More sounds were hearable and became clearer over time. He heard shouts but he didn't understand what was shouted. He was able to see something. Everything around him was blurred out but he could see colours and vague outlines.

Kelrian felt something. Something which came in contact with his shoulders. He felt something on his torso. He noticed that he was lifted up. He assumed that someone carried him. The outlines became a little clearer. The colours around him changed so he assumed that he was somewhere else.

There was a blurred circle. No, not a circle. It was a face. A face with light skin colour. The face became clearer over the time and the noises he heard became more intelligible. He could recognize the face eventually. It was a familiar face.

The face of Seitor. Kelrian's brother who had hated him for almost twenty years since he had failed the first priest examination. Seitor's face showed worry. There was a cut in his left cheek out of which blood came out but that didn't seem to bother him.

Kelrian got the feeling over his body back. Over his entire body. He could feel and move everything except for his right arm. It was hurting so much whenever he tried to move it.

"Stop trying to move your arm, brother. You only hurt yourself," spoke Seitor. Kelrian had almost forgotten that his voice was so deep. Much deeper than his and their father's voices. He hadn't talked to him for almost twenty years so it was only natural that he didn't remember his voice.

"What happened?" Kelrian asked as he tried to remember anything. He couldn't remember much. An orc had charged at him. That was the last thing he remembered.

"An orc was about to kill you but your friend saved you in the last moment. I just brought you in the inside of the nearest tower to make sure none of these green bastards kills you."

Kelrian turned his head slightly and checked his surroundings. He was sitting on the floor with his back against a wall. His brother squatted next to him and regarded his arm closely. There were staircases not far away from them. One led to the next lower level while the other to the next higher level. There were a few tables, chairs, bookshelves and even a wardrobe. He also saw spears, swords, bows and other weapons hanging on weapon racks.

He looked back at his older brother who was still worried about him. He noticed that his yellow robe was stained with blood but it was not his blood. Kelrian assumed it was the blood of the wounded he had treated. Seitor's hair was long and made up in a ponytail. He didn't look similar to Kelrian but he was also handsome. Unlike him, Seitor was not very muscular but he didn't need muscles as a priest.

"Thank you, brother," Kelrian spoke quietly.

"Your arm is broken that's for sure. I can ease the pain but I cannot fully heal your arm. I can cast a few spells which increase the healing speed but it will still take weeks until your arm is fully healed."

"You mean I can't fight for the rest of the battle?"

Seitor shook his head. "No, Kel. As long as you are not able to shoot with one arm, I'm afraid you won't be able to fight."

"I can still fight with a sword," mentioned Kelrian.

"You won't survive long if you go in melee combat against these monstrosities."

"But..."

Seitor put his hand on his brother's mouth, silencing him. "You can't, Kel. Fighting in your condition is pure suicide. I know we have to stop the orcs but you won't help anyone if you get killed by the first brute who approaches you. You have to stay here and wait."

Kelrian was silent and made a thoughtful face. It was clearly visible that he didn't like the idea of not fighting and hiding instead. He was a fighter. He wouldn't shrink back from fighting for the Alliance. He wanted nothing more than returning to the battlefield and killing as many orcs as possible. But he knew his brother was right. He would only be able to do much with only one arm. He would only die for no reason.

He couldn't allow that. He wanted to live and return to his family. He wanted to return to Sylvanas and raise their child with her. He wanted nothing more than that.

"I guess you are right," Kelrian said eventually.

"Can you stand up and walk?"

"I hope so," Kelrian replied and tried to get up. Seitor helped him and stabilized him as he noticed that he was unsteady on his legs. They walked over to the wardrobe, Seitor opened it and helped Kelrian to climb in it. "Stay there, brother. Hide until the battle is over. I don't want you to die because of unnecessary heroism. I don't want you to waste your life because you want to fight until you can't stand anymore. You won't be able to do much with only one arm so remain here and hide."

"But...I'm... I'm not a coward..."

"I know that but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do. You don't want to break mother's heart, do you?"

Kelrian shook his head. "I don't want to make her sad."

"I don't want her to be sad either. Do you promise me to stay here and hide?" Seitor asked, looking into his little brother's eyes.

Kelrian returned the stare. "I will."

Seitor gave him a small smile. Kelrian was still surprised by his change of attitude. Many years ago, Seitor wouldn't have minded if Kelrian would have died. He had regarded him as a shame for their family and had treated him like a piece of shit.

But he didn't treat him like that anymore. He no longer hated him. He had changed his mind completely. For Kelrian, it didn't matter if he had come to the conclusion on his own that there was no reason to hate him or if someone had convinced him of that. Kelrian was just glad that his brother no longer despised him.

"There is something we have to talk about. Something I noticed before Zetai saved you. We don't have time for this now because I'm needed out there. We will talk as soon as the battle is over. If we survive, at least," Seitor said after he had cast two spells on his brother that would make his arm heal faster. He told him that his bones wouldn't heal within a week. He also told him it would take some time until he would be able to move his right arm again.

Kelrian gave him a thankful nod. "Be careful, Seitor."

Seitor made a serious face as he nodded. "I will. See you soon, my dear brother."

Seitor looked at his little brother one more time before he closed the double doors of the wardrobe and hurried out of the room back to the battle on top of the wall.

---

Kelrian opened his eyes as he heard a quiet noise. He stood up carefully and pulled a dagger from his belt. He was still hiding inside the wardrobe because he was not able to do anything with a broken arm. He would only die if he would try to fight the orcs in close combat with only one arm. It may not be honourable to hide in the wardrobe while others were fighting for Lordaeron but he didn't care about honour. He just wanted to survive and return to Sylvanas and their unborn child.

He would do no one a favour if he would charge back into the battle. He believed no one would hold that against him once they would find out. He was injured and every injured soldier who had survived and been brought inside the keep of Lordaeron where they were treated by priests.

Kelrian didn't want to die nor did he want his child to grow up with only one parent. He had two options. He could hide there or return to the wall where he would most likely die. He had made his choice. He was no coward. He would fight until his last breath if he wouldn't be injured.

But he was injured and he believed he wouldn't make a difference if he would return to battle. He would only find a quick death if he would return so he had decided to stay and wait. He would wait until he would feel stronger so he could walk without needing the support of someone. His plan was to reach the keep and enter it.

But he was not sure if he would manage to do that. His legs were still shaking and hurting. His back hurt too. He assumed that he had landed hard on the ground when the orc had dropped him. He didn't know how much time had passed since he had climbed in the wardrobe but the pain hadn't alleviated in the meantime. On the contrary, it had become worse. His arm really hurt. The pain he felt because of his back was nothing compared to it.

The noises became louder. He heard footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Probably an orc or a soldier of the Alliance with very heavy armour. He remained in the wardrobe. He was ready to attack any foe who would open the double doors. He was not sure if he would be able to do much with his dagger but he wouldn't go down without a fight. The footsteps stopped and he heard heavy breaths. He couldn't tell if the breathing belonged to an orc or a member of the Alliance. He remained alerted and waited patiently. He was ready to attack any creature with green skin.

The double doors were opened but the person who looked at him was not an orc. It was a human. An old human with a long white beard and magnificent armour which was covered in blood. He carried a gigantic sword in his hand which was almost as big as he was. He regarded Kelrian for a few moments, then he allowed him to come out of the wardrobe. Kelrian was about to say something as he noticed the orc that just entered the room at this very moment.

Kelrian didn't hesitate to throw his dagger at him, hitting him in the left eye. The orc cried out in pain and stopped moving. The old man turned around without hesitation and rushed towards the orc. He blocked his axe blow with his massive sword, then he made an attacking move and cut off the orc's hand. The orc's cries became louder as the man thrust his sword through his chest. The warrior pulled it out and beheaded the orc a moment later. He waited until the orc's body and head landed on the ground, then he turned around and walked to Kelrian.

"You got quick reactions, elf," spoke the man.

"Thank you," responded Kelrian. He scrutinized the man closely. His armour was very thick and heavy. The shoulder plates were massive and shaped like a lion's head. His belt buckle and his shield, which leaned against the wardrobe, had a similar was impressed that this old man was able to move so fast while wearing such heavy armour.

"You are welcome, boy," responded the man. He pointed at Kelrian's broken arm. "Your arm doesn't look good. You should let someone check it."

Kelrian turned his head and looked at his right arm, noticing that it was swollen and coloured in dark purple. "A massive orc broke it as if it was nothing more than a toothpick for him."

"I see. Your uniform is covered in blood. It seems you killed many of these creatures in return."

"I did but most of them with my bow. I avoid melee combat whenever I can. The orcs are physically stronger than me. Stronger by a lot."

"It was clever to hide in the closet. You would have found only a quick death out there if you would have returned to battle. How long have you been hiding here?"

"I don't know, to be honest. The pain became so intense that I passed out. I believe that at least. I have no idea how much time has passed. What day is it?"

"The 27th of March."

"So, six days have passed since the start of the siege. I haven't noticed that so much time has passed. Is the siege still going on?"

The man shook his head. "The orcs fled once my army and the army of your people arrived. We killed thousands of them before they managed to escape. The siege is over. The orcs didn't manage to break through the front gate nor did they manage to leave the walls and storm into the city."

A sigh of relief escaped Kelrian's lips. "I'm glad that we won but we wouldn't have managed that without your assistance. Thank you."

The corners of the man's lips formed a smile. "We are on the same side, so we helped out with pleasure. I only wished we would have arrived a few days earlier. We would have lost fewer soldiers if we would have been there from the start of the siege."

"We won, that's all that matters. The war might not be over but I assume that the orcs lost more than half of their warriors. We killed thousands of them during the past days and I believe more fell near the gate," replied the ranger. He tilted his head a little, a questioning look appeared on his face. "How did you know that I was hiding in this wardrobe?"

"Your friend told me."

Kelrian tilted his head. "My friend? Not my brother?"

The man nodded. "He told me his name is Zetai and that your brother told him he put you in the wardrobe. What's your name, boy?"

"My name is Kelrian Sunsinger. I belong to the Ranger-General's elite squad."

"Kelrian Sunsinger. I've heard of you. You're the one who managed to escape from the captivity of the Amani trolls with the troll queen as a hostage. That's really impressive."

Kelrian gave him a small smile. "Thank you. Am I allowed to know who you are?"

"Of course, you are. My name is Anduin Lothar."

Kelrian's eyes widened as he heard that name. Anduin Lothar. The Anduin Lothar. The legendary warrior. The most prominent human warrior of the Alliance. He had a similar status to Sylvanas. Everyone knew about him, everyone admired him and every enemy feared him. Kelrian had heard many tales of this warrior. He had heard he slew tens of thousands of orcs since the opening of the Dark Portal. He was known as the best warrior of the Alliance. No one was better in close combat than him.

Sylvanas may be the only person who would be a challenge for the warrior. A battle between them would be very interesting. Anduin was an old but experienced warrior and he had massive armour, a massive shield and a gigantic sword. Sylvanas was also very good in close combat but her swords wouldn't do much against his armour. But she was faster and the best archer on Azeroth. She wouldn't allow Anduin to come too close to her and he wore no helmet. A duel between them would have three possible outcomes. Either Sylvanas or Anduin would win or it would end in a tie. A sparring match between them would be interesting to watch.

"It's an honour to meet you, sir," responded Kelrian once he had ordered his thoughts.

Anduin chuckled. "It's an honour for me too, boy."

"I am no longer a boy, not since our king changed the laws not long ago," mentioned Kelrian.

"I'm sorry, it's just an old habit that doesn't want to leave me."

"It's okay, you can call me whatever you want. It's not that I would stipulate the legendary warrior Anduin Lothar how to call me, an ordinary ranger."

Anduin chuckled. "Ordinary ranger? From what I have heard you are one of the best the Ranger-General has."

Kelrian blushed and rubbed the back of his head with his left hand. "Who said that?"

The warrior chuckled again, a small smile appeared on his lips. "Your General of course. We talked about our best men when I met her the last time. She told me about you and your friend Zetai. I could tell you what exactly she said but I think it's better that we bring you to a healer first. Your arm needs to be treated."

Kelrian nodded. "You are right."

---

The air was stale, it smelled after piss and death as Kelrian entered the military hospital for the first time. The aromas of various medicines hung in the air. He heard the painful cries and shouts of wounded soldiers. He heard loud groans, prayers and sobs. People were crying as they regarded the motionless corpses of their loved ones.

The military hospital was larger than Kelrian had expected. There were many rows of beds in this room. At least twenty beds stood in one row and this room was not the only room where the injured soldiers rested. There were more rooms which were as large as this one. Almost all the beds were taken in this room. The severity of the wounds varied from patient to patient. Some of them only had medium-sized cuts while others had much deeper cuts and stab wounds which had resulted in a loss of a massive amount of blood. Those who had survived the blood loss lied in the left row of beds.

But there were also soldiers with worse wounds. Some of them had lost an arm or a leg, some had lost both legs or an arm and a leg. Others had burn wounds which had left scars on their skin. There were many soldiers where at least one part of their bodies was wrapped in bloody bandages. But not only the bandages were soaked in blood. There were also numerous blankets which were soaked in blood. Some of them laid on the floor while others still covered the bodies of the patients.

There were not enough healers in this part of the hospital to treat every patient at once. There were too many injured soldiers and too few staff members. The healers, their assistants and apprentices did their best to help the injured soldiers and keep the room as clean as possible at the same time. They tried it but they didn't manage it. They didn't have the time to keep the room tidy enough. Hygiene was very important but the well-being of the wounded was more important so the healers took care of the patients first and while their apprentices kept the room as tidy as possible.

It was not tidy for the liking of the high priestess of Lordaeron but there was nothing she could do to change it. The well-being of the patient had priority. They would have enough time to clean everything once most of the patients had been treated.

Kelrian regarded the scene in front of him for a few moments, then he turned his head to look at Anduin Lothar whose old eyes shifted from soldier to soldier. Most of the soldiers were humans, about a third were high elves and only about two dozen patients were dwarves. Anduin knew some of the human soldiers. He didn't know them by their name but he had seen them before. Kelrian knew a few of the high elves there but only briefly. No friends of him were in this part of the hospital. He hoped that none of them was in any other part of the hospital. He hoped they had survived the battle and were alright.

"The staff is very busy. So many wounded soldiers... So many soldiers that died... The outcome of the battle is worse than I've hoped for," muttered Kelrian.

"But we won, that's all that matters," responded Anduin.

A nod from Kelrian was the only response the old warrior received.

"There is an empty bed over there," said the warrior and pointed at a bed in the third row near the other side of the room. Kelrian started to walk towards the bed, his gaze rested on the soldiers he passed. Most of them didn't look at him because they were busy with something else or were sleeping. Kelrian could understand why they were doing that because the battle must have really exhausted them.

He was also really exhausted. He had fought for days without a pause and had been awake most of the time while he had been hiding in the wardrobe. He wanted nothing more than lying down in a bed and get some sleep. But he was not sure if his hurting arm would allow him to rest. Maybe with the help of some medicine, he could fall asleep.

But he assumed that his broken arm would not be the only thing which would stop him from getting enough sleep. He expected that the nightmares would plague him during the night. He had not assimilated the events in Zul'Aman yet and he had seen so many horrible things during the past days. He assumed that his nightmares would become worse. He could only hope that the medicine they would give him would stop the nightmares somehow. He didn't believe it would work that way but he hoped it would.

Kelrian sat down once he arrived at the bed. Anduin stepped to him and checked their surroundings. "I will see if I can find a healer who can take care of your arm."

"There are soldiers with worse wounds, I don't mind waiting a bit longer. I can bear the pain," responded Kelrian.

Anduin turned his head to look at him, scrutinizing him closely. "I believe that but no soldier should be in pain longer than necessary."

"My brother will arrive soon. At least I hope so."

"Depends on how much time the soldier needs to find our brother. You told him his name and described his appearance. Who knows how much time will pass until he finds your brother?

"I hope he will find him soon" replied Kelrian.

"I hope so too. Nevertheless, I will see if I can get a healer for you. If there is none available..."

"Then I have to wait. I'm fine with that because I can bear the pain."

"Are you sure?"

"I am. It really hurts but I've felt worse pain." Kelrian remembered the day where he had been beaten up by the mercenaries his father had hired. He remembered it as if had happened yesterday. He remembered the pain he had felt until the doctors had given him the right medicine. His ribs had been broken back then which was much worse than a broken arm. His arm was hurting but only extremely when he tried to move it. His ribs had hurt whenever he had made a breath or moved his upper body just slightly.

But his broken ribs had been healed eventually and he was sure his arm would also heal. He just needed to be patient. He just had to wait here and let the priests and doctors take care of him as soon as they had time for him.

Kelrian leaned back, putting his head on a pillow. He closed his eyes and relaxed, drifting off eventually.

He opened his eyes as he heard quiet voices. He waited until his vision was clear and looked around, spotting Zetai and his sister Sydori next to his bed. Zetai's entire torso was covered by bandages while half of Sydori's head was wrapped up by bandages.

"Zetai. Sydori. It's good to see you both alive. Where is Seitor?" Kelrian asked curiously. He swallowed as he saw the change in their expressions. Sydori's worried expression became sad and Zetai's neutral expression changed to worry. Kelrian had a very bad feeling about what would happen next. He was afraid of what they would tell him soon.

He was afraid that something had happened to Seitor.

Was he injured?

Was he alright?

Was he dead?

Had the orcs kidnapped him?

He hoped Seitor was alright. He remembered that he hadn't cared about his fate for a while but since he had found out that his brother didn't hate him anymore and cared about him instead, he had started to care about him too. He didn't want him to be dead. He hoped his brother would be alive but the unpleasant silence, the tears in Sydori's eyes and the look on her face told him that something had happened. Something really bad.

Sydori didn't say anything in the first few minutes. She struggled hard to hold her tears back but she didn't succeed. Her bottom lip was trembling so were her hands. Her face was pale and her eyes were wet from crying because she had cried before she had come to the hospital. Judging by the look on her face, Kelrian was pretty sure that he wouldn't like the news she would bring him.

Sydori parted her lips eventually but no words came out of her mouth. Only quiet sobs were hearable. She was not in the condition to say anything. She was still too shocked and her heart was beating rapidly in her chest. Zetai exhaled quietly and came closer to Kelrian as he realized his best friend's sister wouldn't be able to say what she wanted to say.

Zetai took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry but I have to tell you that your brother...," Zetai took another deep breath, his eyes didn't stop staring into Kelrian's. "Your brother didn't make it. I'm so sorry."