Phetatarei had met Lady Proudmoore a few times. Although she doubted the powerful mage would remember that. The last time their paths had crossed was at the siege of Icecrown Citadel. It was no secret that the Lich King was formerly Proudmoore's beloved prince Arthas. Phetatarei had not known love in her days, but she felt sorry for Lady Proudmoore. The lady seemed to attract all the wrong men. Kael'thas, Arthas, maybe some vicious orc was secretly dreaming of claiming the ruler of Theramore to himself in the future. The last time Phetatarei had seen the human Lady was at the wedding of Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage, but Phetatarei was understandingly not a part of the VIP's attending that party.
Now, about two years later, much had changed. Before he was put to dead, Deathwing had angered the earths’ elements. He had reshaped the whole of Azeroth in an event known as the Shattering. On a political scale, the Worgen of Gilneas had joined the Alliance and the Goblins of the Bilgwater Cartel had joined the horde. Although both factions had gained new forces, it was not hard spotting the differences between the proud king Greymane and the greedy trade prince Gallywix.
The shared threat of Deathwings Cataclysm had not prevented conflict between Horde and Alliance. Both factions were fighting for a foothold on the cursed island of Tol Barad, wishing to be able to launch their fleet from the former prison hold. In the Twilight Highlands the Wildhammer Dwarves and the Dragonmaw orcs were in constant conflict at the Twin Peaks. More importantly, Thrall had left the Horde and appointed the young general Garrosh Hellscream as the new leader of the Horde. Garrosh soon proved power hungry, looking to exceed his father, Grommash, in legend.
It was due to Garrosh's hunger for power and blood that Lady Proudmoore had visited Stormwind. All the bells in the city were tolling in grief. Theramore was no more. Apparently the Horde was able to steal the focusing iris of the Blue Dragonflight and with it was able to create a manabomb capable of wiping the whole city in one go. None witnessing the explosion made it out alive, except for Jaina Proudmoore.
Not long after the destruction of Theramore, the horde encircled the whole continent of Kalimdor installing a blockade at all of the Alliance settlements. Garrosh wished to claim Kalimdor fully for the horde. Now King Varian Wrynn had called upon his heroes to aid him. The plan was to lift the blockade and free the citizens on Kalimdor. Reportedly lady Proudmoore had asked him for the total annihilation of the Horde, but it was his son, Anduin, that had advised against it. Since then the broken mage had disappeared in anger.
Against all her kindness, Phetatarei was often eager for battle. She couldn't handle knowing that the weak would be struck. She preferred to suffer herself, standing as a beacon of Light in battle. She had gathered the Longbeards for a meeting. Phetatarei was sure she wanted to join the Alliance fleet and travel to Kalimdor to help lift the blockade, although she preferred bringing her most trusted friends with her.
The beer in the Golden Keg flowed as it always did, but there was a grim tension in the inn. Many heroes of Azeroth had gathered to discuss the implications of Theramore’s fall. The Longbeards, although protectors of Azeroth, were not famous for their war efforts. “We fight for the good of Azeroth, I don’t want to fight the Horde,” Shadowcrest exclaimed. “Deathwing, Arthas, Sargeras. The Horde and the Alliance were only able to defeat them by working together. I know your hatred for the orcs runs deep, Pheta, but I won’t join Varian’s fleet.”
Phetatarei nodded in understanding. Shadowcrest was a fierce Druid who had clawed many enemies to death, but she had never been fond of fighting wars. “I won’t be dying over petty political squabbles.” Isai added. The gnome mage was known for her pragmatic approach. She was a fierce leader in battle, but like most of the Longbeards, she didn’t care for war.
A bit tipsy, Melrien, another Night elf druid raised her voice. “These are no petty squabbles. None of the Alliance are able to come and go at Kalimdor at this moment. The Horde raised a blockade at all major ports, attacking any Alliance ship on sight. They don’t even allow trade ships. Without a relief effort, the Alliance presence on Kalimdor will vanish.” Melrien was clearly frustrated with her more pacifist friends. She had stood up and was spilling mead out of her drinking horn.
Phetatarei was tired, but this felt awesomely important to her. She stood up and used her massive Draenei posture to deliver her point. She didn’t want to scare the Longbeards, but in all honesty she felt scared herself. She had dressed herself in full battle armour for this occasion trying to stress the importance of acting up against the orcish threat. She banged her plated fist on her Longbeard tabard and nearly shouting said. “The sign of the Longbeards is a golden ram on a blue background. The ram stands for the might of our dwarven founders. The blue and gold stand for our allegiance to the Alliance. If we don’t use our joined might to aid the Alliance, we are but lost. I won’t force anyone to join me. But anyone that wants to aid me to relief Garrosh’s brutal claim on Kalimdor is welcome. The Alliance fleet will leave in three days, I’ll meet all willing Longbeards at the harbour by then.”
Phetatarei saluted her guild members and left the inn. Her hoofs clacked on the cobblestone streets of Stormwind. She needed a visit to the Cathedral of Light. Some heroes of the Alliance nodded to her in recognition, as she came upon the cathedral square. All over Stormwind, people were discussing if they would join the war effort. The bells of Stormwind were tolling in constant fervour, trying to stress the danger of the Horde war plans.
Citizens were trying to help in whatever way they could. There was a weird sort of business that could be mistaken for the joy of a festival if it was not for the clanging of metal by blacksmith’s trying to mend armour or forging new weapons. As Phetatarei entered the Cathedral it proved flooded with all kinds of believers. Fathers and mothers were saying goodbye to their children. Some veterans of the older wars were praying for the younger soldiers, some of whom had never seen any real conflict with the Horde before. Phetatarei overheard some of the words.
”Orcs are fierce, but they don’t like fighting in armour. You need to focus on their soft spots, they can fend off crushing blows, but try hitting them with precision strikes in the neck or armpit. You’ll be bathing in orc blood before you know it.” Another veteran was warning young bloods for the the tusks of trolls. “Trolls are mischievous in battle. They are bigger than they appear and if they can pierce you with a tusk, they will.”
All kinds of races had joined in prayers at the Cathedral. The majority were humans, dwarfs and gnomes, but enough of the Night elves, Draenei and Gilneans had been stationed in the Eastern Kingdoms. Phetatarei had hoped to find some calm in the Cathedral, but thousands of others had had the same thought. Eventually she found a spot that looked a little less busy and she kneeled down in prayer. The light of the setting sun filled the Cathedral with a beautiful play of colours.
“Blessed Naaru. Fill my heart with Light and burn away the shadows of doubt. I pray to you not for the defeat of the enemy but for the safety of my allies. In a few days, the Alliance will sail to Kalimdor. Our king doesn’t want to share our destination in fear of spies, but I know danger is ahead. Let me stand as a beacon of Light to my allies and may the same Light discourage those who want to attack me. I have lost most of my people and since the day Shattrath has fallen, I have known nought but conflict. Still, my faith in you, Naaru, and the Light never faltered. I ask you for strength and courage, let me be a bulwark of Light, a defender of the Naaru. Help me to protect the innocent souls and if I have to slay any enemies, help me to let them part with the blessed warmth of holiness in their fading souls. Dear Naaru, take my faith and use it as a source to strengthen the Light. Pheta thones gamera. May the Light lighten the way.”
Pheta had given her prayers in silence, but as she stood back up she could feel that her holy radiance filled those she passed with a warm feeling. The Light soothed thoughts and fears. Faith was the answer to doubt.
The Draenei paladin had enlisted herself to a ship named Khaz Modan’s Bullet. It was captained by a dwarven Sailor named Billy Ironfoot. Legend told that Billy had lost his foot somewhere in the third war. His vessel was sunk by an orc warship and as a true captain he went down with his ship. His foot got trapped in the rigging of the ship and he had to saw it off to release himself. Now Billy proudly walked on his new foot enhanced with gnomish engineering. Phetatarei and captain Ironfoot had agreed that the paladin would spend her nights on the ship so she could get used to her new task as a marine. Tired the Draenei crawled in to her nets and let the soothing motion of the waves carry her to sleep.
Three days later the Alliance fleet was ready for departure. Phetatarei had never seen so many ships in one place. The destination of the fleet was on a need to know basis, so even heroes like her did not know where they were sailing. Captain Ironfoot himself didn’t even know the final destination, he was ordered to follow his flagship and protect it at all costs.
To the relieve of Phetatarei some of the Longbeards had joined her on Khaz Modan’s Bullet in the past few days. Three Death Knights, Rottenskull a sturdy dwarf, Yirkoon a tall human and Damejeff a Night elven lady. They used to tease Phetatarei for her belief in the Light, but having known dead before, they had become fearless fighters. Nomog a Draenei mage also joined. She had fought with her before in different battlegrounds, where the mage would burn and singe enemies from afar while the paladin kept them distracted. Finally two healers had joined the crew of captain Ironfoot. Bléssu a dwarven priest and Melrien a Night elf druid. Both had kept Phetatarei alive in combat against the Horde.
These Longbeard heroes had joined the fleet for the good of all. But the other Longbeards had not forgotten them, the fleet was ordered to depart by the break of dawn and every Longbeard present in Stormwind had come to the harbour to wish their brave delegation the best of luck. No one knew the words to say but they did share a lot of hugs and claps on the shoulder. The Longbeards that planned to stay on the shore even prepared some rations to share with the ship’s crew. Captain Ironfoot was delighted when the Longbeards rolled a barrel of rum on the deck.
“I’ll keep the rum safe below decks. If I don’t sink this ship, we’ll share the rum on our return home.” “What do you mean with this ship?” Bléssu asked in shock? “Don’t you ken fair lady? Captain Ironfoot is known for keeping his crew safe. But I’m also known for sinking the most Alliance ships without perishing myself. In my whole career I’ve commanded over twenty ships.” No one was comforted by these words and Yirkoon offered to drink the rum right away as one shouldn’t cope with lives uncertainties. Ironfoot could not be persuaded and finally the Alliance fleet departed. Somewhere in the distance the Longbeards spotted the ship of king Varian Wrynn himself. The presence of the king assured everyone that failure was not an option they would break the Horde blockade or die trying. Phetatarei looked on to Stormwind being blessed by the early morning sun. Even in such dread times the Cathedral of Light shone as a bright pillar above the city. Slowly the people on the docks waving and crying became nothing more but bright blobs until finally they would disappear on the horizon.
The journey to Kalimdor would take a few days and this gave the Longbeards some time to get to know Captain Ironfoot’s crew a little bit better. Most of the crewmen were dwarves and gnomes, so the Draenei felt a bit out of place with these small races. Ironfoot’s first mate however was a Gilnean female who seemed to be at least as crazy as captain Ironfoot himself. Together they had escorted a lot of Alliance trade ships and first mate Bloodjaw proudly stated that she had learned her captain to sink Horde ships instead of his own. When Melrien wanted to know about the origin of the name Bloodjaw, some gnomisch crewmen shuddered and pleaded her to not ask any more questions. “You’ll find out soon enough.” Ironfoot chuckled while pinching the Night elf in her arm.
After some days of living in constant excitement for the upcoming battle King Wrynn’s ship, The Lion of the Waves, launched a few flares. They were colour coded in a way Phetatarei did not understand, she could only make out bright colours of blue, red, green and white. In response to the flares the different Alliance flag ships blew some horns and as if commanded by an invisible force the whole fleet was being reformed in different formations. “Our Bullet to the front captain.” Yelled first mate Bloodjaw still in her human form. Even in her soft form she appeared brawny, it was clear that this lady was no stranger to combat. Her neck had been scorched, probably by some exploding gunpowder, Phetatarei fathomed.
“Allright boy and girls the time for explosive combat has come. It seems our king proves to be a brave boy after all! We are sailing for Orgrimmar! You must admit, that High King of ours really has some big dwarven balls! Now get battle ready we are sailing to the front of the fleet, so we will be the first to get an aim on the Horde. Deploy all cannons and mortars. Sappers get ready below deck and you!” He pointed a finger to the Longbeards. “Keep my crew safe, heroes.” He spit out the last word in contempt, he thought it was easy to be courageous if you were able to provide for a rich kit yourself. Real bravery, the captain believed, rested in the souls of them who fought without any fancy resources. “Be it green and small, furry and big, tusked, hoofed, angry or already dead. Whatever appears on my ship, Longbeards, it’s your job to deal with the threat. Let’s give these Horde pigs some of the Bullet’s punch!”
Soon the ship was brimming with activity, The Longbeards were checking each other’s gear, sharing supplies with one another and prepared for combat each in their way. Bléssu and Phetatarei were kneeling, holding hands in prayer. Nomog was preparing a magnifique seafood feast for everyone. Melrien took some seeds in her hand and sprouted a miniature forest in her palm. The three death knights, finally, were sharing tales of combat from before and after dead. The crew of Khaz Modan’s Bullet was running around excitedly, carrying cannon balls fastening powder kegs, cleaning kit, and arming themselves with impressive gnomish engineered guns. First mate Bloodjaw was hanging from the mast clinging to the ropes with one hand and peering through a lens with the other. “Land in sight captain! I see the smokes and filth of Orgrimmar!”
What followed were a whole set of words, exclamations and behaviours Phetatarei didn’t understand. There was talk about knots, seamiles, fish in and outside of the water. And a lot of launching of flares from all the ships around her. This time the flares all shared the same colours: Blue and Gold. “For the Alliance!” “For the Alliance!” “For our king!” “For Theramore!” The battle cries came to Phetatarei from almost all directions. But as her eyes spotted Bladefist Bay she heard a new sound coming in from the west. An orc shout she had dreaded since she was a child. She had been fighting orcs since she was only a teenager. “Lok’tar O’gar” the horde shouted from the distance. The sound of destruction.
Before long the Horde launched a counter assault with some of their own gunships. “We are in luck captain!’, Bloodjaw exclaimed. “The horde blockade of the continent has left their capital’s harbour vulnerable! Not too many ships on the horizon!” The muscular first mate was still swinging and climbing on the masts’ rigging as if she was not part wolf but part monkey. Her salty dark hair bounced along as she was going from one mast to another. “Forsaken vessel coming in from starboard cap’n. Three clicks away.” As if the gnomes and dwarves were made out of grinding gears themselves they rushed from hither to tho on the deck. In a few seconds they had launched three mortars towards the forsaken war ship and sunk it with one mortar hitting it in the middle. The other two mortars loudly splashed into the water.
As soon as the first few mortar shells were launched the real sea battle started. This was a true test of goblin versus gnomish engineering. Both the horde and alliance tried to launch as many mortars as possible, trying to hit the enemy from long distance. Strangely, Captain Ironfoot had commanded his crew not to launch any more missiles. The Longbeards had to guess for the reason, but Ironfoot’s crew seemed to trust in their captain. The dwarf yelled to his steering mate. “Full throttle ahead, release all sails. We’re going in for an explosive entrance!” Phetatarei could hear a lot of shifting gears from within the bough of the ship. She had no clue what was going on down there, but she hoped it was going to be bad news for the Horde.
Khaz Modan’s Bullet lost its formation from the other Alliance ships and was now sailing fully ahead of the fleet. In doing so they crossed a massive horde Destroyer that seemed to target The Lion of the Waves. Phetatarei gasped as she could clearly see Garrosh Hellscream himself commanding the orc crew. It seemed as if Garrosh was looking for a true duel with king Wrynn. The paladin didn’t get any time to ponder it any further. “Brace for impact!” Bloodjaw snarled. She had turned into her worgen form. She had been scary as a woman, but now she looked truly ferocious. Covered in fur her burned skin was more clear than ever.
The impact the first mate had mentioned was into a large horde vessel almost double the size of the Bullet. The front hull of the dwarven made ship opened and from within, Ironfoot’s crew launched some torpedoes that blasted through the Horde’s enforced bough. Almost immediately after, gnomish sappers entered the enemy vessel below deck and the Bullet closed it’s hull again. First Mate Bloodjaw was now sitting in the crow’s nest and again the Longbeards could hear the clear sound of grinding gears. The masts transformed into giant harpoons and suddenly Bloodjaw launched herself with an explosive bang onto the deck of the Horde. Phetatarei didn’t have much time to stay impressed because suddenly the Bullet got hooked from underneath the water. A high pitched voice exclaimed form within the bough: “It’s the forsaken cap’n they are entering from underneath the water, they’ll be on our deck soon.”
”Time to prove ye’r worth, Longbeards, let’s see if you can fight like real dwarves then!” Captain Ironfoot taunted the Longbeards as he was trying to keep control of his own ship. The three death knights were looking down into the water and before all of the forsaken had climbed above the shore line they death gripped some of them on the deck. Phetatarei felt blessed as the salty seawater had masked the rotten musk of the undead men and women. While the death knights were hacking into the rotten flesh of the forsaken entering the ship, a new threat came from above. Goblins were coming down from above with parachutes throwing bombs at the Alliance vessel. Nomog tried to intercept the bombs with her fire spells, while Melrien called upon the power of storm to stop their vessel from catching fire. Phetatarei called upon her holy powers to throw a shield towards the goblins that bounced off of them making some of them land with a loud splash into the water. Some troll and tauren marksmen were shooting with bow and arrow at the crew of Khaz Modan’s Bullet. Bléssu summoned a large dome of Light to cover some of the ship against any kind of projectiles.
In the background the large sea battle continued. From all sides smoke and soothe covered the water of Bladefist Bay. And for a moment it looked like the large Alliance presence was able to overpower the Horde straggler’s spread thin around the waters of Orgrimmar. Ships from both sides got stuck in battle and a few of them were already sinking, but the might of the Alliance was countered by an evil trick of Garrosh. In the distance Phetatarei could see dark shamans of the Horde blowing on giant seashell horns. And now a new threat loomed from underneath the water. All around the the Alliance ships water started bubbling, and before everyone realised what was going on, The Lion of the Waves was crashed by massive tentacles from below. “Kraken!” “Kraken!” Through the sound of battle the Alliance fleet was trying to warn each other about the massive beasts that seemed to be enthralled by Garrosh’s forces. In an attempt to stay away from danger the Alliance ships tried to spread out.
The Longbeards too saw a giant tentacle reach out for their ship. Before long a kraken had taken hold of Khaz Modan’s Bullet. “I will not let another vessel of mine go down!” Yelled Captain Ironfoot. “Longbeards cut down these tentacles!” In a reaction the three death knights called upon their unholy powers to summon a large army of ghouls that immediately started distracting the tentacles. No longer were they threatened by the Horde but now the sea itself seemed to turn on them. With a loud bang, the kraken sunk some of its teeth in the ships bough. Its tentacles seemed to be moving around as if they had a mind of their own. Nomog tried to freeze the tentacles but to no avail, they just flicked her spells away as if it were annoying insects. Then Yirkoon cried out: “I have an idea!”
Without hesitation the death knight jumped off the ship, but instead of splashing into the water he made himself a path of frost. He invited the other death knights to do the same and soon all of the Longbeards were standing on frozen waves. While the former slaves of Arthas concentrated on their frozen trail, the other Longbeards tried to cut off one of the tentacles. Melrien had transformed herself into a ferocious cat and ripped the kraken flesh open with her sharp claws, while Nomog was launching arcane energy to the base of the tentacle. Phetatarei finally imbued herself with Holy Light and struck with her axe where Melrien had already weakened the flesh. Blood started gushing from the wound and as the thick fluid trickled out, it turned the salty water to sanguine. Now Nomog launched a fireball into the gaping wound and finally the tentacle was defeated. In response to the pain the kraken released a giant squirt of water launching the Longbeards in the air.
They landed hard on the deck of the Horde vessel where first mate Bloodjaw had been fighting the enemy on her own. As Phetatarei looked up she could see the worgen beast ripping out a tauren larynx with her mouth like it was a piece of candy. The tauren gurgled out his last breaths as Bloodjaw addressed the Longbeards. “Ah, finally the support has arrived.” She smiled her wolven teeth bare revealing the blood on her pearly white fangs. Around her lay many victims that she made on her own and without any effort she threw another goblin from the top of the ship.
Before they could truly admire the viciousness of the maddened first mate, the Longbeards were quickly surrounded by a pack of Horde marines themselves. Now the death knights were finally glad to join in to the action again. Damejeff took up her big axe and cleaving an orc chest in two she spread disease to the other enemies surrounding them. Yirkoon used the energy of the plaguing disease to empower his own strikes and finally Rottenskull send out his undead minion to feast on the flesh of the fallen enemies.
From high above in the rigging goblins were still throwing bombs to the Longbeards and Phetatarei released her divine powers to protect her friends from the explosions. Nomog launched a giant fire orb that singed all the ropes above them, forcing the goblins to slide down from the mast. As they reached the deck Melrien immediately summoned vines to trap the goblins. Now Nomog encircled the goblins with a ring of frost which froze them as they tried to escape.
Suddenly there came a crackling noise from Bloodjaws’ chest as if someone was trying to contact her. With one of her legs she held off a troll woman trying to swing her axe into the first mates’ bare shoulder. Her clawed foot bore into the leather armour of the troll trying to kill her. With one hand Bloodjaw shot a blunderbuss which she had stolen from one of the Horde marksmen launching a bullet into a forsaken skull splitting it open. With the other she took out a gnomecorder from her kit and answered the call.
From the other side of the line came a squeaky voice clearly from a female gnome. “Master Bloodjaw, we are ready!” The Gilnean snarled in satisfaction. She patiently put the gnomecorder back in its place. Now pressed the troll on her back with all the might in her legs and she ripped off the arm holding the axe. After dealing with the troll, she leaned over the railing across the deck and yelled to her captain downstairs who was still fighting the kraken with the rest of his crew. “Cap’n we are ready!” “Finally.” Captain Ironfoot muttered to himself. He opened the tip of his enhanced foot and a big shiny red button revealed itself.
Captain Ironfoot was ready to punch the button with the heel of his other, booted, foot. He looked up and saw that Bloodjaw had stuck to the plan. She came floating down with the Longbeards aided by the slow fall and levitate spells from Nomog and Bléssu. The scene of the heroes slowly getting down through the air almost had some kind of peace about it.
When Ironfoot noticed his new crew and his favourite first mate had almost landed back on Khaz Modan’s Bullet, he punched in the red button. From within the bough of the horde vessel, the Longbeards could hear some ticking and fizzling. When they turned around they witnessed a massive explosion turning the Horde destroyer in a complete wreck. At the same time they could hear some kind of machinery making a lot of noise underneath Ironfoots’ ship. It reminded them of the sound of a chainsaw.
When the smoke of the giant explosion subsided some fireworks were launched from within the sinking Horde vessel, revealing the gold and blue lion crest of the Alliance. In the meantime the kraken tentacles released their pressure on the boat carrying the Longbeards. Blood was bubbling up from the cold salty water. Ironfoot addressed the Longbeards with a nod of satisfaction. “You ken, Longbeards, not only the heroes of te Alliance have tricks up their sleeves. We ‘normal’ people make do with great engineering. After losing that many ships of my own, I know every vulnerability of any Alliance vessel. The Khaz Modan Bullet’s design was based on my failures. And even though I’m famous for losing my ships, I’m equally famous for returning back home. I hope miss Bloodjaw didn’t scare you too much. Her ferociousness gives my gnomish crew the creeps, but she’s the best first mate I could wish for. Since Hellscream the younger came to power her and I have sunk more Horde ships than I have those of the Alliance.” The captain chuckled. But his face quickly turned back to his stern captain’s look. “The good news is, that my ship didn’t sink, yet. The bad news is that our King’s destroyer was turned to debris by the kraken. It is not certain if Varian Wrynn still lives, and although we were able to kill our kraken, many are still lurking in the water. The Horde fleet has been smart enough to retreat to a safe distance and are now still probing our fleet with mortar shots. This battle is lost by the Alliance, but at least we live to see another day.”
Suddenly a loud dwarven voice came booming through the noise of naval combat! “Captaaaiiin! Dragon on Portside flying in fast!” From the distance a massive blue dragon appeared, followed by an even greater tidal wave. It looked as if the wave was going to crash all ships still remaining on the water. “When it rains it pours.” Ironfoot grumbled. He took a lens from one of his crewmates. “Give me that!” His gnomish foot started grinding again and suddenly he launched himself up in the air. Dangling upside down from a parachute in his leg, he spied through the glass.
After the landing he reported what he saw. “That’s a big blue dragon alright, I thought they all had disappeared recently. The wave is not what it seems. It’s a collection of giant water elementals set out for destruction and it looks as if the dragon is fighting them.”
As the water elementals and the dragon came closer the Longbeards could also see a tiny figure sailing along on the waves, it seemed as if it was controlling the elementals on her own. “It’s Kalecgos!” Nomog cried out! As a mage she of course recognised the new leader of the blue dragon flight. Although Kalecgos had recently surrendered his powers together with the other aspects to defeat Deathwing, the blue was still a massive being and a force to be reckoned with.
“It looks as if they’re going to Orgrimmar captain.” Bloodjaw said while looking through her own spyglass. “The figure controlling them, it’s lady Proudmoore!” “Dear lass what are you doing?” Captain Ironfoot said to himself. “Captain if she destroys the Horde capital, all hope for the rest of Kalimdor is lost, the Horde will surely turn their blockade into aggressive warfare! She can’t do that.” “Well Bloodjaw, are you going to rip her throat out as well?”
As if Jaina Proudmoore felt threatened by the words of Captain Ironfoot she suddenly turned herself towards the Alliance fleet instead of the Horde Capital. Kalecgos flied up high, stopping his efforts to thwart the mages attacks. Now the huge water elementals also changed course and quickly rushed to the naval battle. “She’s really going to kill us!” Phetatarei yelled out in shock. “Naaru be with me.”
As Jaina Proudmoore and her army of elemental slaves came closer and closer, the tide raised as well, already ships from both the Horde and Alliance were being taken by the waves. All around people were yelling, trying to get a hold on anything that could keep them from drowning. Then to the Alliance’s relief the water elementals started fighting the kraken still in the water. Some of the massive sea creatures were thrown on the shore, others were trapped in a swirl of hurricanes. Before long the Horde had to fully retreat without the help of these deep sea creatures.
”Look!” Melrien exclaimed. “The Lion of Wrynn.” And indeed in the sky they could see the signal of their king. Although his ship was destroyed, he had seemed to survive. “They are signing us to move the fleet. We’re sailing west to Northwatch Hold. This might be a good day for the Alliance after all!” Captain Ironfoot claimed in joy. Out of pure joy he threw his captain’s hat into the air and ordered his crew to follow the Alliance fleet. The mortars he had saved at the start of the battle were now launched to try and sink the Horde ships that were retreating.
Before long the Alliance reclaimed the keep of Nortwatch Hold and soon the king ordered repairs to be made to the fort. The Horde was not allowed to break the presence of the Alliance on Kalimdor. Nothing could set straight the calamity Garrosh had ordered on Theramore, but at least the blockade on Kalimdor had stopped. King Varian ordered the return of his fleet to Stormwind and kept a defensive force on Northwatch. A part of the fleet was to sail around Kalimdor to make sure that the Horde could not blockade any port. Captain Ironfoot was to set sail back to Stormwind and help with repairs in the dry docks there.
The Longbeards got some time to relax on the journey back to their friends in Stormwind. They crossed the salty sea with mixed feelings. Sure, they had been a pawn towards a victory for the Alliance, but it was clear that the Horde still had the upper hand in this renewed conflict. Hellscream not only proved to be a savage but also a cunning leader. “It feels like instead of preventing war, we started a new one.” Bléssu sighed. “One thing we know for certain, Garrosh Hellscream only cares about what’s good for Garrosh Hellscream. He’s not afraid to let his own people suffer to ensure victory.” In silence the rest of the Longbeards agreed.
The rest of the few days across the ocean were spent singing sea chanties, playing cards, and specifically Yirkoon had a fondness for gambling with the Bullet’s crew. The human death knight also made sure that captain Ironfoot kept his promise about sharing the keg of rum. Phetatarei had an oath against drinking and gambling and she was staring out into the ocean.
Damejeff, looking for some fresh air joined her paladin friend. For a soul that formerly died the Night Elf had some kind of merriness around her. “What are you pondering about, little Draenei?” Even without her trusted armour the death knight favoured purple outfits to accentuate her skin colour. Phetatarei was toying with a necklace that resembled one of the angelic Naaru. “It’s hard,” she said, “to feel blessed when death seems to surround me. Since I was child I had to be there for others. I’ve always felt the need to protect others. But I think I forgot to take care of myself. Since I have crashed into Azeroth, I was hoping to start a new life. I was forced to let go of everything I knew before. My home lies in ruin, my parents died. And now I’m sailing across this strange planet to fight the same orcs and blood elves that ripped my way of life away from me.”
”And now you’re talking to a dead elf.” Damejeff joked. “You are right that death surrounds you Pheta. We would never give up on our holy little candle.” A subtle smile appeared on the paladin’s face. “Is there nothing you miss from your former life? Even a death knight has memory, no?” The night elf giggled. “Well nothing could beat the taste of ice cream for me. Arthas blessed us with new senses and although we still have some taste left in us. It’s nothing like it used to be when we lived. As a lieutenant of the scourge I was forced to mindlessly kill anything that stood in the way of dead. We were not free of mind at the time, but of course the memories scar us to this day. Why do you think Yirkoon keeps drinking so much?” Searching for words Damejeff embraced the worried Draenei. She felt surprisingly fragile without her plated armour protecting the body. Phetatarei returned the embrace and together they stared at the ocean drinking in the last rays of the sun.
Finally all of the Longbeards were reunited within The Golden Keg. For the occasion the guild had decided to fund anything ordered that night from the vault’s resources. Elunaira had prepared a song for the occasion and soon everyone was laughing, dancing and hugging. News of the battle had reached Stormwind, before the full return of the fleet and ironically the Longbeards that had not travelled the seas, already knew more about the aftermath than Ironfoot’s surrogate crew.
In a loud booming voice, Thrundin, the leader of the Longbeards shared all the details he had gathered. “First of all I want to congratulate the safe return of my Alliance soldiers. It was very brave of you to join the fleet to an unknown destination. As you should know, all of the Longbeards are like family to me. And it warms my heart that everyone was able to return safe and sound. At least all of our friends that were not staying in Stormwind are free to travel wherever they’d like again. However nothing can bring back the destructed kingdom of Theramore and it seems like even lady Proudmoore herself came to realise that. She has recently been elected to be the new leader of the Kirin Tor. It has also been whispered that she found new love in the form of Kalecgos. It’s clear that the lady favours, powerful men, eh?” Throughout the inn people were listening in to what Thrundin had to say, even heroes and citizens from outside his guild.
”As for the Horde. It seems like Warlord Hellscream can’t stand the idea of defeat. He has announced a total war against the Alliance and he’s planning to wipe out anyone that stands against him. Everyone within the Horde is enlisted in his lust for war, even the children. It is said that the Blackrock clan now has taken over the elite Kor’Kron and that they act as a new state within a state. Only one thing is constant in this world. Things will change. Fear not Longbeards, whatever threat we will have to face we’ll face it together!”
As Thrundin’s words disappeared, the celebration continued. There was a time for everything and tonight it was the time to be merry. Even Phetatarei was happy to get her mind away from her worries. She enjoyed the hearty dwarven meal and she drank it down with some refreshing iced tea. Things will change, she thought to herself. As a child she would never have imagined to enjoy chewing down some delicious boar ribs. Life on Azeroth wasn’t always unpleasant after all.
