Daelin sighed as he put down the scroll summarizing the latest developments from the continent. One particular tidbit of note seemed particularly…annoying.
Murlocs. The boy was offering a way to ‘tame’ murlocs.
And of course the madmen in Dalaran also endorsed and authenticated the plan. What had not been expected was that it was Daelin’s own daughter being named as one of the credible witnesses to Alterac’s lunacy. Supposedly, her name’s going to be on one an actual, honest to Light treatise about murloc domestication.
It was supposed to sound like a big deal, but Daelin still felt too conflicted to be proud right now.
He might have to talk to Katherine about pulling their daughter away from the mage academy. Maybe the scroll might help his argument. They could hire an accredited arcane tutor or two as a compromise to Jaina.
Still, the idea of actually taming murlocs wasn’t so bad. Crazy, yes. But not bad. The fishmen were a menace to any coastal activities. Significant investment into security and seasonal purges had to be expended to ensure that fishing communities actually had fish to catch, or didn’t end up being displaced by the unchecked growth of murlocs. In the same vein, the constant opportunistic looting by the fishmen cost the Kul Tiran islanders a pretty amount every year to replace stolen or damaged nets and other fishing equipment.
And because of how they spawned and migrated, it was practically impossible to completely eradicate a murloc infestation from an area.
So if there really was a method to reduce murloc belligerence, or even remove it completely, Daelin had to be interested.
He just didn’t fully trust the words of magi and a precocious boy-king.
The former, while reliable allies most of the time, often came with the risk of explosive or other dangerous accidents or side effects if left to their own devices. Goblin contraptions could sometimes be more reliable than a mage who cared only on whether they could achieve something, instead of whether they should try in the first place. And that’s not counting the chance that the spellflingers might be secretly dark practitioners, rogue sorcerors that dabbled in the Fel or worse.
As for the latter… Daelin had to admit that he just didn’t like Kyle. However justified he might be, the boy’s arrogance and theatrics had grated on the lord admiral’s nerves. Competent Kyle might appear to be, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be insufferable as well.
That he was a classmate of Jaina also contributed to the dislike. Worse, it seemed that they were friends, and who knows just how much bad influence the boy had infected Daelin’s daughter with?
Terenas speaking well of Kyle’s meeting with Calia did not assuage the lord admiral’s fears one bit. Not accepting a betrothal with Calia only meant that it was more likely Kyle had his sights already set on Jaina. That he dragged her along to his murloc scheme was proof enough to Daelin of that.
For all he knew, the boy would use the murloc taming, along with the offer of the much vaunted repeater bows, as a trade to formally court Jaina.
Daelin groaned at the thought of having to put up with that arrogant brat as family.
Yet, a small part of his mind tried to offer a counter-argument. Kyle hadn’t mentioned any price to his offers. Alterac hasn’t descended into the shithole Thoras and Genn had openly hoped it would become. The boy was, from every overt and covert report Daelin received, a decent ruler, even if one discounted his peasant and arcane heritage.
That small part argued that Kyle was still young, that he might yet grow into something more…tolerable. That the potentials Alterac offered were worthwhile enough to worth some consideration.
Daelin sighed. Fine. He’ll put up with Kyle, at least as a ruler, and give him a fair chance to prove himself.
He picked up a quill and began writing an appropriate response. The Admiralty of Kul Tiras would wait for the long-term results to show before accepting the offer of murloc domestication. Who knows if the methods might wear off in the future or the murlocs were playing everyone for fools, after all. In the meantime, the island nation would monitor the progress of King Kyle’s eccentric project with interest.
At the same time, Daelin also reviewed pending agreements with Alterac, and approved most of them. In the same reply, he expressed appreciation for Kyle’s attempt at warming ties between their kingdoms. Kul Tiran ports would be open to Alteraci merchant vessels, trade of seafood for fruits and grain would proceed without unnecessary obstructions, and the offer to trial Alteraci rifled cannons was accepted with sincere gratitude.
After sending out that message, Daelin began to pen another one, addressed to Terenas. Perhaps their old, idle talk of uniting their families could bear some serious consideration. Arthas should still be clear of any real prospects right now, considering his paladin training. Maybe the wily king of Lordaeron could arrange a fortuitous meeting between his son and Daelin’s daughter…
*****
Thoras rested his cheek on his palm as he leaned sideways on his throne. He didn’t know whether to feel grateful or annoyed at the message that was just read out. A significant number of gnolls found crossing from Stromgarde into Alterac, handily ‘taken care of’ by the brat’s forces, and then concerned questions as to whether Stromgarde required aid from further infestations.
According to merchants crossing from Alterac, the claim was true, evidenced by the fact that gnoll corpses were being carted into select towns to be rendered down into fish bait. Apparently enterprising Alteraci also turned the remaining carcasses into dice, ink pots, combs, and other curious products.
Thoras had to remember the uses in the future. Simply burning the dead mutts or leaving them to carrion feeders was clearly a waste, now that he thought about it. Having frontier villages pick up that industry might help those Stromgardians supplement their meager commerce, and it might even allow them to more easily fund adventurers to purge nearby gnoll camps.
It was a matter for later.
Right now though, Kyle not kicking up a fuss over the gnolls entering his kingdom was unexpected. There was no trace of accusation that Thoras expected the belligerent boy to make of Stromgarde sending the gnolls over. No demands for compensation, no threats to tighten the border… The only insult Kyle gave was faux concern over whether Thoras needed help in maintaining order over his kingdom.
It was frankly far tamer than the warrior king had expected. Thoras almost felt disappointed.
But then he also realized that Kyle wasn’t bothered to kick up a fuss over the matter, which meant that there’d be no drawing the attention of the rest of the Alliance. Which was, as much as Thoras hated to admit it, a boon for Stromgarde for the time being.
The whole debacle about the regents had spread quickly, to the point where Thoras and his court had gotten inured to complaints from local taverngoers about passing dwarven merchants or guildsmen casually insulting Stromgardian honor. To the dwarves of Ironforge, Kyle was set up to fail by his neighbors and admirably railed against his fate. That they were even partially right was rankling.
It also served Thoras right for following Terenas’ little scheme. Ever since his old friend went insane and advocated for orcish internment, Thoras should’ve been far more wary about further proposals from Lordaeron. That Genn was roped in should’ve been the most obvious sign.
But what was done was done, and Thoras and his court now simply hoped to move past the lousy incident. It’d take a while more before the king of Stromgarde felt that he could tolerate a private meeting with Kyle Daelam, but Stromgarde would remain at least coldly polite to Alterac. Trade was permitted, official missives were treated with seriousness, and clearly nobody was ordered to somehow direct a whole horde of gnolls across the border.
Which then raised another curious question: Kyle did not accuse Thoras in any way of the gnolls going over, but gnolls themselves rarely migrated en masse like that without ample warning or reason. The hinterlands of Stromgarde was not so absent of wildlife that the flea-infested creatures needed to move such great distances in search of food. If that were the case, there wouldn’t be a whole horde to start with, just bands of half-starved raiders.
Someone sent the gnolls over. That was the only conclusion Thoras Trollbane could reach. The how was yet unknown, but Thoras had battled alongside Dalaran magi who could turn orcs into sheep, and fought against orc warlocks who could summon demons. How different, ultimately, was persuading or coercing gnolls compared to all of that?
What mattered was that someone either wanted to frame Stromgarde, or incite a reaction out of Alterac, or had other equally concerning intentions. That roused anger in Thoras. He would not be made to look like that snake Genn, or be turned into an oblivious Perenolde.
Sitting straight in his throne, Thoras let out a soft curse before addressing his court. “We’ll have to look into this matter,” he said severely. “Someone wishes to make fools out of us, and I will not stand by it. Find out more details about the gnolls from Alterac. Where they trespassed from, what their numbers were exactly… Then I want scouting parties to investigate the possible regions for clues.”
As a chorus of compliance rang out, Thoras turned to his son, who too was saluting. “Galen. Can I trust you to lead this investigation?”
The lad gave a grim nod, though a smirk of eagerness peeked out from underneath. “Of course, father.”
*****
Far from the western coasts of Lordaeron and Gilneas, Genn Greymane kept his apprehension in check as he stood on the decks of a Gilnean monitor. While it was outclassed by most of Kul Tiras’ warships, the vessel had more than enough cannons to put up a fight, and had the speed to outrun whatever it couldn’t outshoot. More importantly, it was just small enough to be unnoticed under the afternoon sun while being out in the Great Sea.
The ship’s presence here, as was its crew and Genn, were an utter secret from everyone back home, save for Liam who helped maintain a cover. It was a necessary subterfuge to keep any hidden agents in the dark, and to ensure that Gilneas’ sovereignty and prosperity would not be leeched by the Alliance.
“It’s taking a while,” came a spoiled and whiny voice, and Genn had to hold back the urge to snap around with a solid punch into Aliden Perenolde’s idiotic face. Instead, the king of Gilneas made a far slower, more reserve turn to meet the discarded heir’s stupid grin.
“It’ll be here, you know that,” Genn admonished in a soft growl.
Thankfully the fop merely nodded instead of opening his mouth again, and Genn went back to enjoy the relative silence. As the monitor rocked lightly to the placid waves, diligent, hand-picked crew kept busy tending to the ship. These were good men, reliable men, who knew how to do a good job and be silent about it.
Unlike some stupid exiles.
If not for Mal’Ganis’ counsel, Aliden Perenolde would’ve been gutted and buried the moment he stepped into Gilneas. But their mutual mysterious benefactor was right; some plans required a gullible fool to serve as bait or cover. Being an ambitious pretender to Alterac’s throne with none of the skill or sense to back it up, Aliden fit the role a bit too perfectly.
That the man still deluded himself into thinking he was the one to introduce Mal’Ganis to Genn and Liam, along with nurturing other childish fantasies, was proof enough of that. Aliden probably also thought he was the one responsible for subverting Galen Trollbane over to their cause.
Genn wasn’t that stupid. It didn’t require decades of leading a kingdom to know that Mal’Ganis was orchestrating all of this, that the hidden figure had reached out to everyone of note well before Aliden was sent visiting them. The amount of subtle scheming was suspicious, of course, and Genn was well aware that he was likely little more valuable than Aliden as a pawn.
But Mal’Ganis - if that was really their name - had already offered much, and promised much more for the king of Gilneas to simply ignore. Whoever the mage was - and it had to be a great mage to accomplish such things - and whatever their true agenda, that it involved shaking up the current Alliance was more than good enough for Genn.
Terenas and Lordaeron didn’t deserve to be issuing demands simply because it was the largest kingdom. Loathe as Genn was to admit it, Thoras’ people did more fighting and sacrificed far more than Lordaeron. Even Daelin’s annoyingly superior fleet contributed critically at various points against the Horde.
All Terenas did to earn his spot as leader was host Lothar, Varian, and the refugees of Stormwind. Lordaeron might have sent the most men, and provided talents like Uther and Turalyon, but as far as kings went, Terenas was content to sit back and play at leader when everyone else was busy pushing the frontlines back. Genn did his part as well, coordinating coastal battles with the Alliance’s grand fleet (of which almost a fifth was comprised of Gilnean warships) to keep the southern coastline clear from Horde invaders.
Gilneas, Stromgarde and Kul Tiras were at the forefront of the war against the Horde. Lordaeron, huge, bloated Lordaeron, was conveniently protected by its neighbors, and its seat of power safely tucked far away from the frontlines.
So no, Terenas Menethil did not deserve to lead the Alliance. Let it be someone else more worthy. Genn would even begrudgingly offer his vote for Thoras if it came down to it.
But it wouldn’t. Because Mal’Ganis promised something that would secure not just undeniable power, but prestige as well. The unseen mage had already proven their value by providing altered crops that grew faster and bore greater harvests, allowing the kingdom to fill its stores with grain and begin exporting a hefty excess to Lordaeron for once. Sets of ensorceled weapons and armor were conjured in the royal armory, stronger than any dwarven-forged steel and keener than any elven blade. The dark-metal equipment was put to use by the Gilneas royal guard, and Liam had his own set as well.
Mal’Ganis’ generosity was great indeed.
Genn himself awaited his own, greater gift, one that came with the package he was now awaiting. All he had to do was endure Aliden’s foppish presence for just a little longer…
“Ship sighted!” Just in time, the crew manning the crow’s nest alerted the king to his possible prize. No. The spotted ship was the one he was waiting for. Even before the pierced circle that was the colors of Gilneas was identified flying on the incoming corvette, Genn knew that this was the ship Mal’Ganis had promised him.
Ignoring Aliden’s exuberant babbling, Genn kept still, masking his excitement with regal stoicism as befitted a king of his station. The two ships came up to each other, and only then did Genn allow his eagerness to fuel his movements. He boarded the corvette - sent out weeks before Aliden came to Gilneas - and found the weathered ship weathered but otherwise undamaged. Its crew though was a different story.
Genn balked as he saw gaunt sailors with hollow eyes staring back at him. Clothes hung loosely off near-skeletal frames, yet they still held onto the ship’s lines with ease and walked steadily across the rocking deck. None of them bowed or knelt before their rightful king. There was utterly no life in their eyes, as if these miserable men were truly dead but had forgotten to stop their hearts beating or their lungs from breathing.
What had they encountered that could break men like this? There were sailors’ tales of ghost ships and horrors that flayed minds simply laying eyes on them…
“They look unwell, these sailors of yours.”
Concern switched to annoyance, and Genn had to clench his hands into fists tightly to stop himself from throwing Aliden overboard there and then. Remembering his priorities, he growled at the nearest bony sailor. “Where is your captain?”
The sallow man simply turned to him, staring at nothing, and his jaw hung open without a sound. Then the sailor- all of them, actually, eerily turned as one towards the stairs leading to the lower decks.
Instinctively and fearlessly, Genn strode towards it, his guards in tow.
There was no captain to be found.
Instead, in the dim lighting of the lower decks, Genn quickly found the prize Mal’Ganis had urged him to seek. Within the corvette’s holds, lashed down with bloodied rope and surrounded by cold mist and desiccated corpses, was a massive block of unmelting ice. Genn could just make out a silhouette of someone entombed within, wrapped tightly in a magnificent set of metal armor, alongside an impressive sword. The foolish orc warlock, who had sought out the trappings of true kings and had proven unworthy.
Just as Mal’Ganis had said.
Even with Aliden’s annoying excitement assaulting his ears from behind him, Genn grinned and reached out towards the enchanted ice. Power emanated from within, dim power from armor and blade that needed a king, a real king, to awaken.
“Are you ready to ascend beyond the trappings of kings?” rang the silky-smooth whisper of Mal’Ganis in his head.
“Aye.”
And Genn’s fingers pressed against the cold ice, and his grin grew as the whole block cracked and shattered.
Bringing the Lich King south leaves him very vulnerable to counter attack. However seeing as the blue dragonflight was gunning for him up north, I guess he had to flee regardless.
So many butterflies squashed by Kyle.
Hmm... And these changes could lead to the fact that: The Sunwell will not be destroyed along with the corruption of Prince Kael; Archimonde will not come to Azeroth; Illidan will most likely continue to do what he was doing; Lady Vaishi will become friends with Kyle (though I'm not sure how the t*ntacles will react to this); Admiral Proudmoore doesn't give a damn about where and why; this damn capital that sounds identical to Storgrad will not collapse from the undead; and much more...
But this is only Warcraft 3...
I still root for the Horde. I never really liked the Alliance. (Just look at this bunch of idiots, they all needed someone really intelligent to start thinking.) Even though the orcs were influenced by demons many times over, humans didn't even need to be influenced. And, Garrosh, go to hell.
@ZeleniyKrokodil Agreed. I have always been a Horde enthusiast.
The Alliance has always represented the status quo to me, and not really a force for good. I mean when you look into things, most of their members are actually invaders or otherwise groups that colonized the world instead of natives.
Humans, dwarves, and gnomes, are creations of the titans that went rogue due to the Curse of Flesh. They were intended to merely be observers and stewards, to safeguard the world from the various void threats. The space goats are obviously aliens, and in fact even more alien than the orcs. The night elves are descendants of trolls that were empowered by Elune, so they have as much right to things as the other troll tribes.
So really the various kingdoms exist because they killed off most of the competition. The trolls are one of the only native species, yet they are constantly under threat of being wiped out.
On the other hand the Horde is basically an alliance of groups that came together because they were faced with often existential threats. The orcs lost their homeworld thanks to demons (demons drawn to said world by the space goats). They were facing slavery or genocide at the hands of the Alliance after the defeat of the old Horde. The Darkspear trolls as explained above were stuck in a shitty situation when the orcs saved them from being killed off by the sea witch. The Taureans were being pushed to the brink by the centaurs when the Horde showed up and helped them claim a place to survive (note this is on the continent the night elves claimed stewardship over, yet didn't interfere in the genocide). The Forsaken were liberated undead that the Alliance was trying to wipe out, and the territory they claimed was the same most of them lived on while alive. The Blood Elves suffered under the Scourge, and while aiding the Alliance nearly faced a genocide from a racist human commander. They took a gamble on the Horde being more trustworthy, and it largely paid off. Additionally their ancestors were kicked out of the night elf lands due to continued pursuit of arcane power, something the night elves allowed after joining the Alliance.
So the Alliance's ancestors won most of the wars, and don't want to share anything with the various outcasts that make up the Horde. Said Alliance members include various villains that caused great harm to the world, but that doesn't seem to matter as much as the Horde's various villains who tend to be killed off by the Horde itself. I mean the dog man that wanted to kill every orc, down to the last man, woman, and child is still seen as a hero, despite never apologizing. While the orc that tried to forge a new path for his people is painted a terrible person because he made some mistakes, which he admitted to and tried to fix by his own hands. Said mistakes also happening while being distracted by trying to save his adopted homeworld from ecological destruction.
@SuperBort Nor super familiar with WoW lore but that put a lot of the greater organizational politics into perspective for me. Thanks btw
If this isn't hyperbolic or exaggerated this really reminds me of how terrible the Jedi council from Star Wars was in action/inaction. They basically tied their own noose with their crappy beliefs and practices except here the Alliance prevailed against their issues external and internal for the most part it looks like.
@Rezenith In Star Wars, all force users are not masterpieces of intelligence. The Jedi are blinded by the light, the Sidhe are manipulated by the darkness, the Grays care only about balance. Although the grays are obviously more acceptable, since they are at least able to see the whole picture, and if they influenced the world for a long time, then the universe would actually become peaceful, at least without universal wars.
And regarding the fact that the Alliance represents the status quo, this is an interesting way of looking at things. Garrosh and Sylvanas did not exactly represent the status quo, but rather change.
But still, the chronology of events in Azeroth is simply creepy, 20-40 years of endless conflicts, sometimes you wonder how all these races still exist.
@Rezenith Part of the issue with the Jedi Council in Star Wars was a larger scope problem with the galaxy at large. Remember the Republic had basically disarmed, was too busy with an ever expanding bureaucracy, and things had been stable for so long that changing the institutions of government was basically sacrilegious. It didn't help that the Sith were playing the long game, and were being subtle for once.
In the old expanded universe, both the Jedi and New Republic underwent numerous changes post-Endor. Jedi could have relationships, and largely lacked any formal leadership for a long time. They also tried to stay out of politics as much as they could, with some success (some governments were a bit leery about these space wizards running around doing their own thing, especially when it conflicted with the government's own goals. However they largely proved themselves worth the headaches).
@ZeleniyKrokodil Interesting idea. I hadn't really thought of those two as specific agents of change, but they certainly did try to bring about quite a few changes. It is good to remember that change can be unpredictable, so it is a bad idea to let thing build until major changes are necessary, and unpreventable. Better to start making changes early in a more controlled manner.
Garrosh was basically the Horde coming to terms with the non-demonic parts of the old Horde that needed to properly distance themselves from. Up to that point most of the bad orcs were linked to demons, and Garrosh was the first bad orc that was untainted.
Sylvanas was the result of the Forsaken question not being properly resolved by the Alliance. They still held onto the idea of liberating the lands lost to the undead, but never really put much effort into dealing with the Forsaken and their plight. So there was a constant threat of being sent to oblivion, that was only one bad day away for Sylvanas (how many times has the Undercity been invaded by hostile armies, and how many foreign leaders are waiting for an excuse to get rid of her?). If a formal peace had existed that recognized the Forsaken, and established recognized borders, I doubt Sylvanas would have been so destructive in her pursue of a means to avoid oblivion.
Wiping out the Forsaken would not really resolve issues after they existed for so long. It would ensure that groups like the trolls would not be in a stable position since they might fear that they are next.
Basically for the status quo to function the Alliance must be the undisputed power of the world, and the various barbarians only allowed to exist in the fringes at most. If they bow before the Alliance and its way of doing things, they might get to be part of civilization, but they must take a subordinate position.
@SuperBort As the saying goes: “There is nothing that people have not already tried to do or will not try to do in the future.” It's just that, for obvious reasons, some attempts are more frequent and persistent than others. And barbarians... everyone knows what happens to “barbarians” when they encounter “civilization.” The barbarians are either wiped out almost to extinction, or the barbarians themselves become a civilization.
Well, as for orcs not corrupted by demons, are there even such people in the original timeline? Unless these are those who did not drink blood and remained in Outland, but even about them I doubt. Almost immediately after the arrival of the goats, the demons began to transform peaceful hippies like tauren into a warlike people. Plus, if they were able to corrupt Medivh, what's stopping them from doing the same to Garrosh (besides his insignificance compared to Medivh)?
And in general, the fate of Garrosh is too similar to Arthas, both have a problem with their father, both have a wise mentor, both think with their muscles, and both have spoiled like rotten fruit. It’s also powerful to add Anakin Skywalker to this list (the source of inspiration, apparently). (Valerianna Megska, by the way, can also be added, although he, on the contrary, became “good” and thought with his brain?).
Well, with Sylvanas, it was only a matter of time before she did something weird. If not with people, then with the Frozen Throne. Elves in general anywhere and ever are not known for restraint in their methods, I doubt that dead and vengeful elves are any different. Their long life does not make them less hot-tempered, only more patient.
It's a pity that the topic seems to have exhausted itself. It was a pleasant conversation.
@ZeleniyKrokodil @SuperBort @Rezenith both of ya are f*ckin Nerds