People in this chapter:
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Rohan Wilcox Ragnorak Voyonkor Dymond Doctor_J Kindzadza Nyeriah Syntax Chasity Smeldor Eisen Gnurg Obliviana |
Chapter 6 - Reinforcements arrive
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**Dymond** Around the great table of the high council they sat, the alarming news from Orgrimmar had caused an emergency session to be held. Dymond and Doctor had already taken their seats; their numbers had dwindled beyond recognition with the recent events. As they sat in silence patiently waiting for Kindzadza, the final member to arrive, the doors suddenly slammed open. He strode into the chamber, golden armour illuminating the room and the bright white diamond sparkling off his pauldrons. Two white wings protruded slightly from his chest, the symbol of Angel society, a silver sword down the middle signifying the emblem of the army. Kindzadza was the military head of the Angels, however with peace throughout the land and no real threat his rank had been reduced to a purely ceremonial one as head of the Dalaran guard. On his back trailed a white cloak with golden trails around the edge, trailing just above the ground it flustered as the wind from outside entered the room. “Where is Chasity? Does she know the peril she is in? We must begin preparations and arm every Angel for the worst” he demanded as he walked to his seat. Dymond watched as he dragged his chair back, her face shared the distressed of Chasity’s pleas in Stormwind, “She’s in Stormwind. She is safe there” she replied, “She knows what has happened and is instructing the Alliance, they are with us.” “Is she?” Kindzadza quipped back at her, “Can we trust them? How do we know they won’t turn their backs like the Horde did to Syntax, these Demons turn people, they’re dangerous”. Dymond sighed, the stressed getting to her, but with no other figures in the chamber she knew she had to be the voice to speak up, “We know, Kindz, we know. We have been reading the ancient scriptures about them and we are in contact with Chasity.” she calmly said back to him. The two then looked to the last remaining council member present, Doctor had not spoken at all, it was in this time of need they looked to him for wisdom and guidance. His white and gold hooded robe covered his head as he looked down at the table, yet he smiled when they looked to him. His head slowly rose up and the hood fell from it, his aged eyes looked straight forward between the two Angels. Finally, he cryptically whispered “For a hero to rise the world must fall.” Kindzadza and Dymond were forced to lean in to hear the words he ushered “Lights must fade before they can shine and traitors must flourish before they can redeem”, he was then reduced to a maniacal laughter as his head lowered back down back into silence. They looked at him puzzled as his passage came to an end, retracted a bit from their forward positions before looking at each other. Kindzadza shook his head and clutched his sword, the hilt adorned with gold and blue; he swirled around and headed for the door. His long cloak waved up and down, when he reached the doors, still wide open from his previous entrance he turned back to the table. “All I heard was our world will fall, and it Dalaran will never fall on my watch. If you need me I’ll be in the armoury, prepare to fight with me or run like Nyeriah” he told Dymond before descending down the stairs. Dymond looked to Doctor, still silent under his hood, before getting up herself. She thought about asking him for advice but knew he would not reply. She then sheepishly walked out of the chamber, her robes dragging along the floor **Wilcox** Footsteps thundered across the wooden boards as he ships docked into Theramore’s port. The sound of their feet stomping closer relieved the Alliance battle line, breathing a fresh air of confidence throughout their ranks. Every soldier now stared at the buckling door as the Horde slammed into it; they gripped their spears, their swords and their bows in anticipation for the oncoming fight. Their new unwavering resolve held as the wooden reinforcements on the gate splintered, parts flew off and yet still they stood waiting. Embers from outside warmed the air, forcing sweat from their brows. The remainder of their fellow soldiers, stranded on the fortifications became surrounded by the Horde overcoming the ramparts. They could now fully see the men who wished for their deaths, staring them in the face. The final hammer blow from the mighty battering ram smashed the gate open. Suddenly the threat of the horde above seemed low in comparison to the enraged men storming the gates. Without hesitation the enraged mob, led by Ragnorak roared before dropping the heavy ram and marching into the courtyard. As they pushed the leftovers of the destroyed gate out of the way it signaled for more troops to charge the bridge. The entire Orgrimmar army now bottle necked into Theramore and into Wilcox’s column. Despite their new found confidence, Wilcox noticed the men around him may begin to falter amidst the ferocity of the incoming troops. The Horde were truly terrifying, enough to shake even the strongest of men, their angry expressions exemplified their passion for fighting. Focused eyes showed the blood rage that took over them and their lust for battle, the spikes on their heavy armour only a reminder of the brutal nature of their society and warfare. With Ragnorak leading the charge he commanded his most mighty warriors, only those who shared his thirst for glory and the heads of their enemies were permitted to stand by his side in battle, Voyonkor followed with the rest of the troops. “Hold firm my comrades! The fight shall soon be over!” he shouted into the crowd, “Survive this night and we shall drink for a thousand days!” Front line troops took a few steps back and lowered their spears, their silver tips glistening in the moon lit night sky, ready for the Horde. The enemy were now a few metres away and each man began to tremble watching them slowly come forward. Ragnorak inspected his axe menacingly, as if to sharpen the blade even more, unnerving the watching Alliance troops who stuttered back and forth. Moments later his axe dropped to his side and raised his arm with two fingers pointing to the skies, he quickly jolted it back down and roared at the Alliance column. They looked up to see a hail of arrows coming down onto them, as their friends around fell to the ground, armour punctured by arrows, their eyes locked back onto Ragnorak’s forces who now turned their walk into a stampede. Desperately the Alliance troops tried to fix their formation, but the archers had broken the phalanx, without true discipline they resorted to barbaric tactics and headed for one on one combat. The Alliance had their own archers at the back of the group giving support, Wilcox charged forward as they fired arrows onto the Horde back line. He swung his mighty sword through one of Ragnorak’s guards before ducking under another’s axe. His sword quickly became engulfed in blood as it carved through the horde lines. For the moment the Alliance were holding, Wilcox’s fighting brought confidence to those around him as they saw him weaving in and out of incoming attacks. As the battle raged, a dark mist came over the fighting and it became hard for the soldiers to see but a few feet on front of their own eyes. **Gnurg** Far from the fighting upon the rough seas, Captain Gnurg looked on from the Alliance flagship Saviour, her tarnished iron armour and sword sheathed at her side were dirtied from a lifetime of fighting. Her dirty blonde hair tied up into a ponytail swayed in the wind as she watched the fires of Theramore light up her horizon as the wind swept the ships forward. Her troops quickly scrambled for their armaments ready for the upcoming battle. Reinforcements from Stormwind approached the Alliance outpost; the hulking brown ship sped through the waters, with two more to the sides, to the aid of Wilcox’s troops. Clanging of steel and iron rattled throughout the galleys, but a fog soon overcame the speeding vessels. “Captain, ships seem to be docking already, reinforcements already sent?” inquired her first lieutenant Eisen. Gnurg unpacked her telescope for a closer inspection, before turning to her men, “Black sails...Those are the ships we shooed from Stormwind, but far more than we ever anticipated. We are not equipped to take on both the Horde and that many of those Demon folk. Turn these ships around at once!” she instructed. Eisen looked at her concerned, “But Mam, we have orders to relieve Wilcox and his”. Gnurg promptly interrupted him, “We have orders to help Wilcox fight the Horde, do you see any Horde? We are outmatched and do not even know what we are up against. We are going to Stormwind.” Eisen nodded back to her, “At once Captain”, he then commanded the flagship to turn, and sent the orders to the surrounding ships. **Ragnorak** As the Alliance and Horde became locked in battle, Ragnorak was slicing through the weak Alliance troops two at a time, the ships earlier spotted finally docked into the harbour. Hundreds of soldiers dressed in dark black armour stormed into Theramore, their boots splashing onto the mud as they marched on. Alerted harbour guards attempted to flee in panic but realised too late. The battalion spread throughout the town and made way for the courtyard, flanking the Alliance troops. Archers towards the back of Wilcox’s line were able to pin down the Horde advance, giving the soldiers time to fight lower numbers of Horde troops. With the hope of Stormwind reinforcements coming they battled on in belief that they could win. It was then that the Demon army smashed into the flank of the Theramore guard, quickly removing the threat of the archers. Fear swept through the Alliance ranked as they began to realise what was happening. Wilcox looked up to see banners of black approaching, he heard the screams of his men as their hope turned to plight and he spotted Ragnorak cutting down the frontline of his small army. With little left to lose he quickly ran towards the juggernaut of the Horde, lifting his sword up and sweeping aside any enemies in his path, Ragnarak looked up to see the Gladiator charging at him and smiled. Wilcox’s sword still gleamed in the moonlight, the green gem of his sword was clear to see, a beacon in the dark mist as he got closer to Ragnorak, who simply stood up straight despite the blood shed around him. He picked his battle-axe up with two hands, scraping it out of an Alliance soldier before stepping to the side. Behind him stood Horde crossbowmen, they fired straight forward into the crowd, hitting the sprinting Wilcox and piercing his armour. Wilcox’s knee dropped to the ground, before he forced himself back up and staggered forward again. The crossbowmen reloaded and unloaded again, bringing the Gladiator to the point of being unable to stand. He looked around to see his men being cut down, his town on fire and two armies surrounding his position. Ragnorak confidently strolled up to him; Wilcox tried to raise his sword in defence only for the Horde war chief to snap it from his hands. Ragnorak simply pushed him to the ground with two fingers and laughed as the remainder of his men rushed forward and took the town for the Horde. **Rohan** Oblivana noticed light shining from the windows of the war room tower in the middle of the night. She walked up and into the room to find Rohan poised over the table, a map of the world with ships and troops positioned around it. He seemed deep in thought as she watched him think, sat alone with his figurines under the blue slate roof which spiraled above them, only candles lighting up the white brick stone walls. Before she could ask footsteps came from behind her and a messenger brushed past. “Sir, sir, word from Captain Gnurg” the messenger said as Rohan looked up, “She turned back, Theramore is taken, Black sails, too many” the boy told him lost for words. Rohan was now looking at the boy, and nodded for him to leave, he quickly scuttled away. Rohan then turned to Obliviana and raised his head, signalling for her to question what he was doing. “I thought you said not to go to Theramore? You sent Gnurg? Why? What’s happened” she asked him as she stepped further into the candle lit tower. Rohan bobbed his head back into his maps, “Me and Chasity had a little chat after our meeting. I was wrong. We should stand by our friends at Theramore, we are the Alliance, a united peoples. I sent Gnurg to aid the Gladiator with the defence of the town, but I was too late. Theramore has gone; the Demons and Horde have combined their armies and crushed what little defences. I have failed them, I should have acted sooner and sent more men.” His hands held his head in sorrow. Oblivana walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulders, feeling the cold steel of his shoulder pads. With her other hand she picked up his figurines of Alliance troops and placed them onto Stormwind before tapping on the city of Ironforge. “It was not your fault, it was all of our’s, now is not the time for thinking of mistakes. Plan for the future, you were right, we must fortify the city. We still have friends in Ironforge” she assured him. Rohan looked up to the map and held figures placed on Ironforge in his hand, “Yes, we must hold. Send word to Lord Smeldor of Ironforge, tell him to gather his army. They will march on Stormwind next, and we need the full might of the Alliance to stop them.” |
