Chapter 1

Liadrin, her apprentice Galell and Dar'khan wake up, hanging upside down, in a troll
sacrificial chamber. They had been on their way to fix a malfunctioning Runestone, with a
mall escort of archers. She could have asked for a larger escort, but she didn't do so because
the trolls hadn't attacked in a while.

They start arguing about how useful the others were during the attack, with Dar'khan
calling priests unsuited for combat and Liadrin telling him that he'll be grateful for their
powers when he's dying on the battlefield. She also tells both of her companions to remain
quiet so they won't attract the trolls' attention because they'll put them to sleep again.

Whatever put them to sleep also seems to have made them unable to concentrate, so they
can't cast spells. (Liadrin seems to be very faithful, talking about the Light's splendor and
things like that.)

Two trolls enter with Lor'themar in tow and hang him in the middle of the chamber.
Liadrin muses about having more reasons to hate trolls than other elves because they killed
her parents. A witchdoctor enters and prepares the fumes that'll put them to sleep. He
magically creates fire by saying Dazdooga, which might mean fire. The three trolls exit, not
wanting to fall asleep too.

Lor'themar introduces himself and tells them that, if he manages to free himself, he won't
leave anyone behind. The others agree, but Dar'khan seems somewhat less enthusiastic.
They fall asleep and Liadrin has hallucinations in which Dar'khan turns up as an undead elf,
Lor'themar is burned alive and Galell dies. The whole time, tiki masks tell her that they've
been found guilty.

Liadrin wakes up and sees three trolls, who the ones chanting about the elves were being
guilty. One of them, she presumes, is Zul'jin. He tells them that the trolls are like a
nightmare that won't go away, and that, since they won't go away, they'll fight to the last
toll. He wants to find out how to damage the Runestones, so he can get rid of the Sunwell
and weaken the elves. He was, therefore, not responsible for the Runestone not working,
like she had feared. To do so, he plans to kill Lor'themar, knowing that he won't say
anything, so the others start talking.

Galell frees himself and kills one of Zul'jin's friends with a spear, but not before Lor has
gone through Zul'jin's ministrations... Liadrin manges to save Galell from Zul'jin by making
the troll feel all the pain she had felt in the last hours. She tries to heal Lor, but her
connection to the Light seems to be fading, and the more desperate she tries to use the
Light the more it fades.

Zul'jin fakes still being under her spell's effects and manages to grab Dalell. Liadrin feels a
pull, which I thought meant that Dar'khan was using them to cast magic, but he just
managed to concentrate, and the pull was him teleporting them. Zul'jin is obviously not
amused, but what can he do?

Chapter 2 - Part 1.

Liadrin are at the Suntower, a location to the north of Silvermoon but south of Quel'Danas.
(Probably in the 1-5 zone.) The reader gets told about the importance of the Sunwell, the
fact that the high elves' ancesotrs had to leave Ashenvale because of their predisposition
towards the arcane and that Liadrin can feel and see the Sunwell's light even at this
distance.

Liadrin starts remembering the ceremony where Sylvanas elevated Lor'Themar to

Alar'annalas, which means Ranger Lord, and gave him the ceremonial Fora'nal cloth, which
seems to be worn as a cape. Sylvanas ends he speech with "belono sil'aru, belore'dorei",
which means "shoulder your burdens well, child of the sun"".

Ladrin's mentor and the one who raised her, Highpriest Vandellor, wouldn't mind her
hooking up with Lor'themar and his friend, Grandmaster Belo'vir tells him to stop trying to
get her to date just because he never had any interest in doing so himself. Liadrin thinks
that they act like an old married couple, that never fails to make her laugh.
Anasterian appears to congratulate the new Ranger Lord, and he seems content, despite his
waning health. Anyways, he disappears as soon as he finished congratulatign Lor, together
with his advisors. They seem to have brought bad news because he seems preocupied, now.

This isn't the first time she was able to see how Lor'themar rose amongst the ranks. She
and the other members were there, when Lor'themar was amde Ranger Captain. This
ceremony is special, though, just like Lor'themar.

During the Second War, a conflict they didn't want to get involved in, he fought valiantly
against the Horde, which Zul'jin had joined. The Horde somehow managed to control red
dragons and the diabolical orc necromancers managed to make the Runestones harmless
and to harness their energies. Despite all this, the Horde was still unable to break the
magical shield, maintained with the Sunwell's power, that surrounded Silvermoon.

When the Horde left Quel'thalas, to strike against Lordaeron, Sylvanas remained in
Quel'thalas while Alleria and Lor'themar pursued the orcs, with the Alliance.

The trolls, and some orcs who had been cut of from the main group by the fire, remained,
and Anasterian, seeing a chance to rid himself of the trolls forever, sent mages and priests
to help the Farstriders get rid of them. Liadrin was in Halduron's group and they came
across Zul'jin, whose small band of fighters had been unable to reach the shore, and safety,
due to the fire. The elves moved his companions down, captured him and beat him the
whole day because he'd been responsible for the death's of many relatives of theirs. When
the night set, one of the elves stabbed him in the eye, and Liadrin went to talk with
Halduron so he'd stop the needless torture. If Zul'jin has to die, he should just kill him.

Halduron tells her that the decision is not in his hands, and while she's thinking about the
fact that he seems to have other reasons besides this one, he gets hit by a troll spear. A
small group of Amani reinforcements managed to cross the lake. The elves dispatch the
trolls, but when they return to the ruins where Zul'jin had been held captive, the spear, that
had hit Halduron, had disappeared as had most of Zul'jin's body. Only his arm and the
chains remained. This act made him even more legendary, amongst the trolls, and in the
years to come, all trolls, especially the Amani, would cry "for Zul'jin". He disappeared soon
afterwards, though, and hasn't been seen in the last 10 years.
Liadrin stops reminiscing about the past and starts thinking about the present. How Galall
has turned into a fine priest, who is infatuated with ehr although she only sees him as a
younger brother. She also thinks about the human plague ,and how it was a good decision
to distance themselves from the humans since the elves are living a tranquil and
prosperous life, unlike the humans.

Lor'themar and Dar'khan arrive and they start talking about Silvermoon's defenses and
that the Horde's attack (and Zul'jin's plan to destroy the Runtestones) showed them that
they can't be complacent. Lor'themar has shown Dar'khan all the defenses, so he could find
weaknesses they have to cover.

Dalell mentions that Dar'khan will use his meeting with the council, in which he plans to
tell them about the weaknesses, to rise to the position of Grandmaster of the Magisters, and
Dar'khan has trouble controlling himself. According the Liadrin, Dar'khan has become a
really jealous person, after all his friends rose in rank while he stayed a simple Magister.
Liadrin became a Highpriestess, Galell a priest, Lor'themar a Ranger Lord and Dar'khan got
passed over, due to his egoistic and aggressive nature.

The meeting ends with Liadrin praising the Light, the Sunweel, Lor'themar and unity. If
they hadn't cooperated when they were held captive by the trolls, they would all have died.
They all say "everyone or nobody" but Dar'khan doesn't seem to have been touched by the
words. His expression doesn't change, at all. He also seems to be happy for private reasons,
more than anything.

Some time, possibly weeks or months later, Liadrin is standing on the causeway of
Silvermoon looking down upon the host of corpses making their way towards Silvermoon.
She sees the Nerubians and wonders if some Aqir might have survived, in remote parts of
Azeroth. The Scourge became too much for the humans to handle, and if rumors are to be
believed, Menethil was killed by his own son! (As if we didn't know that. )
Of course, the elves are safe in Silvermoon. Not even the red dragons were able to breach
it's shield, so the Scourge will obviously also not be able to do so. Despite this, Galell
gathered the children for a possible evacuation of Silvermoon, as a safety measure.

A horse rider, with white hair, tells them to open the doors of Silvermoon. He'll reward
them with eternal servitude, if they do so, or kill all their loved ones, if they don't. With
Anasterian and the Sunwell at their side, the elves can't lose, so they don't. (Yep, that was
Arthas.)

Lor'themar and his rangers were patrolling around Zul'aman, when small vibrations
warned him that an army was marching against Silvermoon. They moved north, but when
they arrived at An'telas something was wrong. An'telas was visible, which meant that the
magic keeping it concealed had failed. He told his lieutenant Ry'el to tell the men to scout
the perimeter and look for the guards. There's no sign of either the guards of the attackers
or the guards, but the ground seems to be singed, devoid of life. The mooncrystal, the
emerald Eye of Jennala. He wonders what the invaders could want with the crystals.
Although they help bing the magic into the shield that keeps Silvermoon safe and prevent
anyone, but the elves, from casting spells, taking the crystals isn't enough to make
Ban'dinoriel - gatekeeper/gatewatcher - fail. The magi can keep the shield working, but the
crystals are simply more convenient. The only way to make the shield fail would be to make
it overload, but you'd need a really great source of arcane energy.

(The other crystals are the amethyst Stone of Hannalee and sapphire Body of Enulaia at
An'owyn and An'daroth.)

The rangers march to An'daroth because moving south, to An'owyn, is something they can't
afford, with the enemies in the north.

Back to Liadrin.

The stench of the undead is becoming unbearable and the fact that they chew on their own
severed limbs is making Liadrin feel sick. The ground the army marched through has
turned purple, and nothing in it's path is immune, not even the stones. Meanwhile, the
scourge is using the extra time it has to move the catapults into position.

Arthas tells the elves to submit, telling them that he suffered far worse nightmares than
them and that he's a messenger of the apocalypse. Belo'vir tells him that countless armies
have stood in the same place, before Silvermoon, and failed to take it. Arthas uses this
opportunity to present Sylvanas, the Banshee Queen. She tells her people to submit, and
that Arthas will be merciful if they do so. (She seems to be corporeal. A banshee wouldn't
be recognized as "a woman, one of their own..." would she?)

Back to Lor'themar.

He and his group have arrived at An'daroth only to find it in ruins too. This time, the
defenders are found. All of them are dead. Suddenly, he senses movement from the forest.
It's the missing guardians of An'telas who, through some miracle, have managed to make it
to An'daroth despite their grievous wounds. There's something strange about them,
though. They show no expression even though they should feel relief. Lor'themar thinks
that it may be a result of the shock, but Ry'el, who had gone to greet them, gets decapitated
and the battle ensues. The guardians of An'daroth, who had eben dead just moments ago
suddenly also rise and start attacking the rangers.

Liadrin and Vandellos are trying to cope with what they just saw (undead Sylvanas), but
Liadrin is starting to lose faith. If Sylvanas fell to the enemy, what other atrocities could the
enemy be capable of?

Suddenly, a flash of light is seen in the sky, in the north where the Sunwell is, and Arthas
starts the attack. Some undead try to overcome the wall by tunnelling, others by climbing
and the abominations simply batter the gates. Arthas says the speech from Warcraft 3, and
the gargoyles fight against the dragonhak riders, for air supremacy. Unfortunately, there
are too many gargoyles and they can become invulnerable by turning into stone. The other
len troops aren't faring much better. The arrows hardly do any damage and only the mages
and priests seem useful, although Liadrin almost fails to heal Belo'vir.
A young archmage arrives, asking what to do, and Belo'vir tells him to evacuate the city and
teleport all the troops to Quel'danas, to protect the Sunwell. Silvermoon has fallen. The
young archmage is Rommath. Before Belo'vir teleports Liadrin and Vandellor, Vandelllor
asks him for a favor.

Back to Lor'themar.

Only one of his soldiers is still alive, but he gets killed too. He manages to stab one of the
undead in the heart before dying, but it doesn't do anyhing. Lor'themar learns that only
decpitation seems to work. Despie knowing this he still gets overwhelmed and loses his left
eye to the undead.

He gets saved by Halduron and his ranges, who had ventured north after seeing An'owyn
and An'telas in ruins. Lor'themar sees movement and shoots the necromancers that had
animated the elves, without being hindered by the loss of his eye. He would have closed it
anyways.

Back to Galell

Galell is on the ship Fellovar. Besides the Fellovar, there are two other ships, the
Morn'danel and Varillian, that are also filled with children. In total, there are about 100
children in the small ship convoy, three healers (one per ship) and some guardians. The
destination seems to be Aerie or the TH. They are going to seek sanctuary with the
Wildhammers.

A small elven boy, An'dorvel is afraid and asks when he'll be able to go home, and Galell
calms him down and tells him to go back to the other children. The boy is wearing his best
clothes and his hair combed very neatly.

After the boy has gone, gargoyles attack the Varillian, and Galell warns the crew. They get
overwhelmed, Galell gets caught by a gargoyle and the Morn'danel crashes into the
Fellovar. Galell kills the gargoyle and as both fall he tries to stop thinking about the children
and poor An'dorvel.
Dar'khan

Dar'khan thinking about the secrets he told his master (mooncrystals), the fact hat the
master already knew bout them, the spells the invisible advisor has taught him and hat fool
Lor'themar.

He's been busy killing the most powerful mages, who'd be able to find out that he bound
the energies of the Sunwell, and although the first kill was difficult, he's started to enjoy
sinking his sword into the soft flesh.

The flash of light Liadrin saw was a fireball, cast by Dar'khan, telling Arthas that his part of
the plan was done. With the Sunwell bound, only Dar'khan can access it's power, and he
can't keep himself from tasting it's energies.

Back to Liadrin

Belo'vir is commanding the elven defenders, in the southern shore of Quel'danas. Smoke is
rising from the city, and Liadrin wonders how the undead will cross the sea. Her doubts
remain and she fears that everyone will die.

Arthas and Sylvanas get some screentime

The undead are looking for corpses they can gnaw on, and Sylvanas tells Arthas that he
won't be able to cross the sea by filling it with cadavers, not even the entirety of
Silvermoon's corpses ould be enough for that.

Arthas tortures her and tells her that he has a plan. Crossing the sea would have been a
problem when he was a human but not now. Arthas throws Frostmourne, it embeds itself
in the sand and starts freezing the water. The Scourge marches on.
Sylvanas is no longer allowed to call him by his old name. Master is good enough.

Back to Liadrin

Belo'vir and his mages try to taw the icebridge, but their fire is not hot enough. He ha to
akbowledge defeat, and the mages retreat, leaving the archers in the front.

Belo'vir gets shot by an undead elf.He tries to pull it out and both Highpriests try to heal
him, with Liadrin failing to concentrate, but Arthas cuts his right hand off and the corpses
overrun him. Vandellor goes to save his friend nd oesn't head Liadrin's warning not to do
so.

Anasterian arrives to meet the fallen prince head on. He's wearing the ancient armor
Lu'minellia, forged during his great-grandfather's reign, and dual wielding his great-
grandfather's sword Felo'melorn and a staff with a Kaldorei crystal on it.

He cracks the ice, and his feet are surrounded circular flames which burn the undead.
Liadrin uses the opportunity to go see how her mentor and hs friend are faring. The undead
are clearing the way for him. (Yep, he's one powerful priest. )

Arthas and Anasterian start duelling. Anasterian's style seems to be to evade by teleporting
for short distances and then striking his foe. He manages to cut Invincible's legs, which
enrages Arthas. Arthas freezes everything around himself with a shockwave created by
Frostmourne, but Anasterian manages to unfreeze himself just in time to block
Frostmourne. Felo'melorn breaks in two and Arthas kills he old king, but not before being
wounded by him.

During all of this, Sylvanas is forced to watch but is unable to do anything to hlp her people.
When her king dies, the only thing she's cpable of doing is crying, which doesn't really help
anyone but the Scourge...
Vandellor wasn't able to heal his friend, only being able to keep him alive for little while
longer. An abomination kills him with it's hook, and Belo'vir makes good on his promise. He
teleports Liadrin.

Back to Dar'khan

Arthas revives Kel'thuzad and taints the Sunwell, which Dar'khan senses more than others
due to having drawn on it's energies. Arthas kills him, and the last thing he hears is
Kel'thuzad mocking laugther.

Chapter 3:

Lor'themar, Halduron and the other farstriders looked for all the survivors they could find,
which included unconscious Galell, and they barricaded in the Bazaar. Some Quel'Danas
survivors arrive, including the aforementioned brothers with Anasterian's corpse. Galell is
alive and wakes up after some days, but he seems to be in a vegetative state.

Rommath, who has become one of Kael's avisors, teleports to the Falconwing Square, IIRC,
looks for survivors while battling against the Scourge troops that Arthas left behind and
informs Lor'themar that Kael is on his way to meet the survivors. He doesn't say when Kael
is going to arrive because he fears that there are traitors amongst them. Rommath makes
Lor'themar feel uncomfortable, but he acknowledges that the mage is capable. Kael'thas
could have teleported himself, but he wants to see the full extend of the devastation.

The survivors aren't to happy with Kael, saying that he'll just leave them again nd arrived
too late, and demand food. Kael doesn't know what to say and goes to pay his last respects
to his father. He asks where all the other fallen are, and Lor'themar tells him that they had
to be burned. Kael and his advisors remain reclusive in the next few days, furthering the
crowd's discontent, and then just disappear without saying where they are going. When
they return, they have some veiled items with them.

Kael'thas addresses the crowd and tells them that he went to the Sunwell with his retinue,
including the two magisters Rommath and Astalor. According to him, if the Sunwell
continues existing in it's corrupted state, it would corrupt the land. Even settling
somewhere else wouldn't save the elves because they are linked to it. Liadrin arrives and
tells everyone that there is a more immediate threat. The Amani are amassing for war
against the Scourge, so they can take the Sunwell Zul'jin was so interested in.

Kael plans to make the well explode, using the recovered mooncrystals, which would solve
both their problems, as the explosion would also kill the trolls and undead near the well. To
do so, he needs volunteers that'll keep their foes at bay while he and his two mages channel
the well's power. Liadrin is one of these, but she doesn't want to use the Light anymore.
Instead, she uses a mace and asks Lor'themar to tell one of his men to train her. Lor,
Halduron, Falon, Solanar and Galell, who has regained his connection to the Light and
therefore come out of his stupor, also join Kael.

The Amani destroyers have already begun their attack, when the group teleports to the
well. Solanar was supposed to be in the defending group, but his older brother insists that
he should stay with the mages (both brothers seem to be priests). The plan doesn't work as
intended and the Scourge isn't enough to stop the Amani from reaching the defenders.
Falon saves Lor'themar from a berserker, but gets killed in the process. Solanar, despite
being unable to see this, can feel that his brother died. Galell seems to not be as capable to
wield the Light again as he thought. Liadrin smashes heads, including the head of risen
Vandellor. (Liadrin, SMASH!?)

While Kael is channeling, Lor'themar believes that he saw Kael's appearance change into
what would later be known as a wretched elf, for a brief moment. Once the mages are done,
all the elves teleport out and their enemies die. The three mooncrystals have turned into
verdant spheres, which Kael'thas keeps. This is also the occasion where he changes his
people's name and says that Anasterian was the last king of the high elves.

Krasus is at the location of the Sunwell, but the blast doesn't harm him. He thinks he
arrived too late, but some of the energies are still left...

Chapter 4

Liadrin is plagued by guilt for letting fear control her, failing her brethren, allowing
Vandellor to die and for not having died with the rest, despite 5 years having passed since
the day Arthas attacked Quel'Danas. She's feeling a dull pain, her body is weak and she's
sweaty. She hasn't feasted for too long. Liadrin stands up, while a pack of rats runs through
the rubble filled room, and goes into the anteroom, where a green crystal lies amongst the
weapons she's collected in her last fights. It's another gift from her anonymous benefactor,
but she's got a hunch who it is. She sates her hunger, one of the unforeseen consequences
of destroying the Sunwell. In the beginning, nobody understood the lethargy, the sickness
that killed the old and young.

Kael, Astalor and Rommath studied the problem until they found the answer. Even when it
had been corrupted, the well had filled the elves with magic. Now that it had been
destroyed, they felt empty and had nothing to fill the void. The prince vowed to find a cure
for his people and allied with the night elf Illidan, after he and his volunteers had been
ostracized and ridiculed by their "ally" Garithos. Illidan taught Kael'thas how to drain magic
who taught others and the knowledge spread to all blood elves. Liadrin is worried that
Illidan's influence may not be beneficial for Kael because the lord of Outland made use of
fel, dark and tainted magic.

She's been living in an abandoned manor, in the Ghostlands, dealing with her guilt and
killing all the undead that cross her path. Since Arthas is out of reach, she's been hunting
Dar'Khan (I always thought that Dar'Khan was his given name, but it turns out that it was
his surname...) She believes that he's still out there, despite Lor'themar and Halduron
having killed him with the aid of two blue dragons.

She hears something outside and takes one of the maces lying around to strike the invader.
It turns out that it's Halduron, who came to visit her and to tell her that the Regent would
like to see her. Despite initially not wanting to leave, she agrees after he assures her that his
farstriders will be on the lookout for the traitor.

Halduron takes her to the Sunfury Spire and she's amassed at the progress. Unlike the
other elves, she hadn't been content with just reclaiming Eversong, so she hadn't been to
Silvermoon in a long time, choosing to remain in the Ghostlands instead. When they arrive
at Lor'themar's office, he tells her that Rommath has an offer for her, but he also indicates
that he's wary about it. Rommath interrupts and the two leave to discuss whatever
business he has with her. He allows her to sate her hunger for magic, but stops her before
she takes too much in. He tells her that the blood elves need to find balance, and that her
life is marked by the extremes. First a devout priestess and then a warrior. He hands her a
Blood-Tempered Ranseur, a weapon that symbolizes the balance between her two paths.
His proposition for her is to use the Light without having to fear that it'll abandon her
again.

He teleports her to the chamber where Mu'ru was contained and tells her that it was a gift
from Kael. Kael had sent it so they'd drain it until it was empty, but Rommath and Astalor
had another purpose in mind for it. After many attempts, they had managed to bind Mu'ru
to their will and force it to server as a for the Light. Astalor and Rommath help her connect
to Mu'ru, and she feels as if it was trying to talk with her. When she channels the Light
through Mu'ru's aid, she gets headaches and there's no warmth. Instead it feels as if she's
being torn into pieces, like a lightning bolt straight to the soul. And... that's how she became
the Blood Knight Matriarch.

Someone is knocking on the door of Galell's home while he lies on the floor, trying to keep
his shivering fits in check. He has trouble thinking clearly, but that's nothing new to him.
When the elves discovered their magic addiction, he soon found out that a big dose of
magic could induce an emotionless state, something the former priest found comforting.

The person knocking on the door does so again, and says "Wake up, your worthless pile of
scum!" Galell has developed a resistance to magic, which means that he needs more magic
each time. This has forced him to look for dubious sources to get the quantity of magic he
needs, but even in this state, he knows that he's at a crossroad in life. If he continues on this
path, he'll turn into a wretched. He'd like to feel the Light again, but his current state
impedes him from doing so, and he doesn't know how to find the way back to it.

The person breaks in. It's Orovinn, Galell's dealer, who's looking for his money. Galell
assures him that he'll get work soon, and Orovinn gives him one more week to pay him. If
he doesn't pay, Orovinn 'll hang his corpse from the Shepherd's Gate. The work Galell is
interested in is becoming a Blood Knight. Most elves are disgusted by them because it's said
that the Blood Knights steal the Light form a creature from the beyond.

He saw a Blood Knight procession and was surprised that the new order was lead by none
other than his old friend Liadrin, but seeing her and knowing about this order makes him
believe that there's a chance he may feel the Light again. He's stopped his intake of magic,
despite getting sick due to the withdrawal, so that he'll be able to convey his request to
Liadrin with a clear mind, in a persuasive and factual way.

Liadrin, riding her purebred Thalassian Horse, is on a cliff, overlooking her knights'
training. They have much to learn, but she's still impressed by their progress. She wonders
how anyone could hope to go back to the old ways and why one would do so. Why should
one be a servant of the Light if being a Master of it is possible? She wants t go back to the
Ghostlands, eventually, but for now she's content doing what's within her reach, having her
knights train by fighting against the wretched, at the Sunsail Anchorage.

One of Liadrin's men cries for help, and she reminds herself that even the Wretched
shouldn't be taken too lightly. She rides towards the Anchorage, and sees that Vranesh is
surrounded by 6 wretched, atop of one of the few intact ships. Even for an elf, Vranesh is
extremely arrogant and conceited, calling his peers plebeians, but he's an dedicated and
capable fighter. He uses a lance resembling the Ranseur he'll get once he becomes and
adept.

Solanar, who's on top of the watchtower, tells him that the others are busy and kicks a
wretched down from the tower. The wretched falls onto one of the broken ship masts and
gets impaled. Solanar is one of the first who joined the order and also one of the many
blood elves that changed their surname to honor the fallen. Liadrin thinks that his new
surname, Bloodwrath, suits him. Solanar gets attacked by two more adversaries, but Cyssa
has reached the top too and attacks the two attackers. She beheads one of them with fervor
bordering on joy.

Mehlar Dawnblade, one of Uther's men, rushes to aid Vranesh, but Vranesh tells him "Never
mind" and that he'll deal with it. Mehlar is very righteous, and although she doesn't
necessarily agree with his theories, Liadrin admires his conviction.

Bachi and Bloodvalor, who hates being called by his given name and doesn't even tell it to
most, are returning from the shore, having cleared it of wretched. Bloodvalor informs
Liadrin that the shore is clear, while Bachi goes to aid Vranesh. Bachi is known for his
fearlessness, but he's somewhat jumpy.
Liadrin hears steps behind her, feels the Light rising up inside of her and channels it into
the wretched trying to attack her, through her Ranseur. He gets tossed into the tree he'd
been hiding behind. Mehlar asks if she's alright and whether there are more of them, and
she assures him that nothing is wrong and that it was the last wretched.

All the knights return to her and she tells Vranesh that he should have checked the cargo
hold of the ship. She also chastises Solanar for not having waited for Cyssa. She tells them
that they should act more like a team and less like individuals. They're now part of
something greater.

Despite their services, the Blood Knights are still despised by the other elves. Liadrin had
hoped that the citizens would overcome their initial doubt once they saw the good her
team could do or, at least, accept the knights, but the people in the Bazaar looked at them
with contempt, when she and her knights were returning to the Hall of Blood. The
reception in the Farstrider's Square wasn't much better, and Cyssas asks the people "What
is wrong with all of you? Don't you understand that we fight so you are safe?" Liadrin tells
her to give them time.

Once inside, she hears a familiar voice. It's Galell who's come to tell her how he managed to
set himself free, when the four friends had been captured by the Amani, and to ask to be
allowed to join the Blood Knights. As a child, he used to play a game called caught/trapped
with his friends where they'd all tie each other up and the one to free himself the quickest
would win. He says that now there are no secrets between them, and she asks about the
crystals he left on her doorstep. He doesn't know what she's talking about, but she just
thinks he's trying to fool her and doesn't get that he really has no idea what she means.

She asks him where he's been all this time, and he answers that, honestly, he hasn't been
himself for a long time, that he felt alone and lost. She tells him that he was never alone and
heals a hematoma on his cheek. (Probably a result of stopping his magic consumption.) He
tells her that he wants to feel the warmth of the Light again and that he thought that doing
so would be impossible for him under his own steam. She tells him that the way the Blood
Knights use the Light there's no warmth to be felt, that it's a constant fight. He still thinks
that it's his best shot to turn into the man he was again. He believes that the Light will guide
him, even if he has to force it to do so.

She has doubts and wonders how deep the scars run. (Relating to the day where all the kids
died.) She asks him whether he'll be able to handle being looked at with contempt by the
other elves, do everything she says and be disciplined enough to complete the training, and
he answers yes to all her questions. He tells her that he needs this chance and reminds her
about the promise they made in the trolls' hideout, everyone or nobody. She replies by
saying "yes, everyone or nobody" and takes him to Astalor, so he can show him everything
he has to know. (M'uru.)

(Sating their thirst for magic makes their eyes shine more intensely, and the green crystals
turn into black stones, once they are empty.)

Liadrin is back in the Ghostlands with Solanar, Bachi, Vranesh, Cyssa and Galell. Solanar is a
knight while Vranesh, Cyssa and Bachi are still just adepts, but they're going to turn into
knights soon. They still haven't learned to work more like a team. Galell has shown his
determination, but he doesn't make any attempts to integrate himself into the group. He
stays by himself most of the time and is always silent while training. She's not sure whether
her decision to accept him was right, but tells herself to give him time to adapt.

Mehlar and Bloodvalor join the group. They'd been scouting the area, and tell Liadrin that
everything is clear. No Scourge troops or trolls have been sighted. According to reports, the
trolls seem to be amassing in Zul'Aman. The group is near the Dawnstar Spire, Dar'Khan's
home and place where he grew up, because the farstriders had seen an increased Scourge
presence in the area, in the past days.

The Spire is near to the Eversong Woods and the plant life seems to be recovering in this
area. Despite being on the border of a dead land and being abandoned, the Spire looks
almost pristine.
The group enters the Spire and starts looking for anything that would explain why the
Scourge was so interested in the place. Like the exterior, the interior looks pristine. The
furniture, carpets and banners, showing Silvermoon's creast, are all in a good state. Galell
goes outside because of the headache that comes with suing the Light the way Blod Knights
used to. For some reason, the headaches seem to be far worse for him than for others.

Cyssa find a small trapdoor. Beneath it, in the small cavity, the group finds a diary white a
white parchment, unlike the yellow parchments found in diaries, with strange symbols
written on it stuck between it's pages. They take it with them, believing that it could be a
hint.

When Liadrin entered Lor'themar's office, he was busy fletching. Now, the forgotten arrow
lies on his desk, while he transcribes the message on the parchment onto another. While he
does so, Liadrin looks around the room and sees a letter bearing the Horde's seal. After he's
done, Lor'themar returns the parchment and diary to Liadrin, so she can be return it to it's
original place beneath the trapdoor. The new parchment will be sent to a scribe so it's
message can be deciphered.

Lor'themar tells Liadrin that he had concerns regarding the new order (Blood Knights), but
that, in light of recent events, creating it may have been for the better. She asks about these
events he mentioned, and he mentions having communicated with Thrall and Sylvanas with
the goal of having the Sin'dorei join the Horde. Liadrin mentions that their cousins in
Kalimdor might not like this, to which Lor'themar responds by saying that times change.
She responds with the phrase "people change". According to Lor'themar, the Blood Knights
may make the Horde more willing to accept the blood elves into the fold. That, one day, the
Blood Knights will accomplish something remarkable that could be enough to make Thrall
change his opinion. (It seems like Thrall didn't want them in his Horde. ) She says
"Dar'Khan", and he doesn't understand what she means. She elaborates, "Dar'Khan will die
- one way or another, and if his death makes our worth in the eyes of potential allies
increase the better." (My translation. Likely looks different in the English version. )

Both talk about Galell joining the Blood Knights, and she tells him that he's adapting, when
he asks how Galell is faring. Afterwards, she leaves the room.
Lor'themar takes a few arcane crystals out of a drawer. For some reason, Lor'themar and
the other Farstriders don't seem to need magic as much as other elves, but he has no idea
why. He knows that other elves have it worse, though. He's the one who's been providing
Liadrin with crystals. He asked Halduron to leave crystals where Liadrin would find them,
while she was still alone in the Ghostlands. Despite times changing, his admiration and
affection for Liadrin remain unchanged.

Galell is in his room feeding one some crystals he took in Dawnstar Spire. He's found
another use for magic consumption. It can relieve the headache that comes with being a
Blood Knight, but the amount needed once again increases with each dose. Another
drawback are the blackouts.

He got what he wanted, the Light, but the Light can't expel the bitterness from his heart. He
wants to keep trying, though, and to him, the crystals seem to be only solution, for the time
being.

Orovinn is back for his money, and Galell uses the Light to seize him by the throat, despite
the other elf being larger. Galell gives him enough money to pay his debt and to finance
more crystals. Crystals of the highest quality, that is.

Edit: Forgot to mention that Liadrin doesn't trust Sylvanas and wants to see what kidn of
person Sylvanas is now, before she can trust her.

The next afternoon, Solanar and Liadrin ride to the Ghostlands to relieve Galell, Vranesh
and Mehlar who were keeping watch over Dar'Khan's home. Nothing noteworthy has
happened during their watch, but Galell is missing. Liadrin asks where he is, and Vranesh
says that he'd been following the urges of mother nature, as an excuse for not knwing
where Galell is. Mehlar says that Galell had left a few times and was behaving strangely,
which according to Vranesh, seems to be the norm with Galell. They consider him a weirdo.

The group go search for Galell, and Liadrin finds blood. She tells the knights to come to her
and continues following the blood trail, which leads to humanoid body parts. She can't tell
whether they belong to a human, elf or some other species. Finally, they find Galell,
drenched in entrails and blood, near a troll skull. Mehlar repeatedly asks for forgiveness
and says that he didn't know, but Liadrin doesn't answer him. She asks Galell whether he
did this and then says that she'll take him to Silvermoon, after it is clear that he won't
answer.

Some time later, Lor'themar and Liadrin are talking about Galell. He asks her how Galell is
doing and whether he's told her what happened. She answers that he's resting and that
Galell told her that a troll scout had surprised him while he was thinking about the past.
Galell didn't explain why he made such a mess, though.

The conversation shifts to another theme. Astalor has managed to decipher the code and
found out that an individual called Thadirr will leave the Stone of Light, Stone of Flame and
the fragments of the Stone of Sparks in the place where she found the diary, the next day.
(This stone doesn't exist in the game, so the name may not be 100% accurate.) These
stones were created by Belo'vir during the Troll Wars and are imbued with energies of the
Sunwell. The Stone of Sparks broke back then, but Belo'vir kept it's fragments. With the aid
of these stones the Scourge could be beaten back, and if Dar'Khan knows this, he probably
wants to keep them out of the elves' hands.

Halduron enters the room, and Liadrin and Lor'themar conclude their conversation with
her saying that her Blood Knights will lay a trap for Thadirr, before allowing Halduron to
state his business. Liadrin wants to leave, but Halduron tells her that she should hear what
he has to say too. A group of Alliance treasure seekers entered Zul'Aman, and the lone
survivor revealed that Zul'jin is back and that the Amani are performing sacrifices to their
animal gods, before succumbing to his injuries.

Liadrin leaves, and Halduron asks whether Lor'themar misses the life as a ranger.
Lor'themar replies that he misses it more and more each day and that, some times, it feel as
if the room were getting smaller. Halduron tells Lor'themar that he's at fault for Zul'jin's
return. He had the chance to kill him, but left him alive because he wanted Lor'themar to
decide what to do with the troll. Lor'themar tells him that he feels guilty for Silvermoon's
fall. Halduron interjects that Lor'themar couldn't have known that Dar'Khan was a traitor,
and Lor says that that is his point. That guilt, remorse and despair gnaw at you each day, if
you allow them. Lor says hat he deals with it by hoping that blood elves' suffering unites
them, that their land will not only regain it's old splendour but also become even more
magnificent, that the elves will learn from their errors. True leadership does not mean that
you are infallible. It means that you won't give up, even when you've made a wrong choice.
He also says that Halduron is his most loyal and trustworthy companion. Halduron is
visibly relieved.

That night, Liadrin gets woken up by Vranesh. There's something she has to see. They go to
the Shepherd's Gate, where a crowd has gathered, and see the bloody corpse of Orovinn.
According to the rumors one of the Blood Knights is responsible. One of Silvermoon's
guardians makes his way through the crowd and tells Liadrin that Rommath wants to see
her.

Rommath tells Liadrin that Galell had been seen hanging Orovinn. Liadrin says that it
could've been self-defence and that Galell is no murderer. Rommath tells her that someone
who kills in self-defence wouldn't have showcased his action. He has to inform Kael about
the status of the negotiations with the Horde/QT Alliance and expects her to deal with this
matter before he returns, the next day.

She tells him that there are other pressing matters, but he tells her that he demands that
she deal with Galell. He tells her to do what is necessary, quickly and without attracting
attention. He asks her whether he can leave this matter in her hands, and she says yes.

The Blood Knights, sans Liadrin and Galell, are waiting for Thadirr, to apprehend him.
Bachi assures Vranesh that he's not his type, and Solanar tells them to be quiet. They've ll
wondered why Galell took a turn to the worse. Some believe that it was a magic intake
imbalance, others that M'uru's voice drove him mad. Either way, his change has taken it's
toll on the group. Cyssa has become introverted and is no longer lively, like she used to be.

A hooded person, surrounded by an aura of arcane magic, arrives at the spire. They believe
this person to be Thadirr and the aura to be fuelled by the stones. As soon as man enters
the spire, the Blood Knights commence their attack.
Lor'themar is unable to understand what happened with Galell. Galell a murderer? He
wonders whether he could have changed something, if he had had the time to visit his
friend more often. He also wonders how Liadrin is coping. She's the one who admitted
Galell into the order, after all.

Astalor enters. He says that the stones have been found in Silvermoon's ruins, so Thadirr
must be laying a trap for Dar'Khan. Lor'themar realises that Thadirr is an anagram for
Drathir, which he would have found out sooner had he not been busy negotiating with the
Horde, and comes to the conclusion that it's a trap for the elves, not Dar'Khan.

Dar'Khan congratulates himself for the perfectly executed plan. When the master heard of
the Blood Knights, he ordered Dar'Khan to integrate them into the ranks of the Scourge.
Thanks to his spies, Dar'Khan knew that the stones hadn't been recovered yet, so using
them as bait was no problem. He smiled while thinking about the surprised faces of the
knights when they'd find out that he wasn't an easy target like they had thought. Instead of
a lone individual, they'd find Dar'Khan and his undead minions. The battle commences, but
it's sounds lead to the knights getting reinforcements. Thankfully, Halduron and a squad of
rangers had been nearby, repairing a ruin so it could be used as their new headquarters in
the Ghostlands. (Farstrider Enclave.) If they hadn't arrived, the Blood Knights would have
died.

Despite the blood elven reinforcements, Dar'Khan was sure that he'd win and lamented
that Liadrin hadn't showed up. He still hoped that she'd do so. He'd have loved having her
lead her undead knights against Silvermoon. Just as he is salivating at the thought, Astalor,
Lor'themar and a group of guardians teleport to the battlefield. Astalor holds a small box,
presumably with the the stones inside it, in his hands. Lor'themar greets Thadirr and takes
a look at his former friend. Just like in life, the mage still likes wearing pompous clothes, but
the silk robe doesn't conceal the fact that the body beneath it is little more than skin and
bones. Dar'Khan's body is also covered by swarms of carrion eating insects.

The elves are starting to gain the upper hand, but Dar'Khan sets Lor'themar aflame before
he can attack the traitor. At once, all the knights start healing the Regent, putting their own
lives in peril. Even Solanar, who had been weakened by the teleportation does so.
Bloodvalor sees that Solanar's life is in danger and protects his fellow knight with a holy
shield. Lor'themar's feeling of burning alive quickly goes aways, and Astalor enters the
Spire with both intact stones floating at his sides. Dar'Khan feels the magic that keeps him
alive losing power, and Lor'Themar shoots him with his sole arrow. A little something he
prepared before the journey. It is an arrow that has a fragment of the Stone of Sparks as it's
arrowhead. Dar'Khan tries to cast his last spell, but the power of the stones keeps him in
check, and his body quickly turns into dust once the arrow hits him.

Galell is in the ruins of the troll hideout where he and his four friends had been kept captive
long ago, sticking arcane crystals into his body. It is the price he has to pay, to suppress
M'uru's voice. He wants to look for Orovinn to get more crystals, but then remembers that
he had killed him. At first, he considers the thought that he could've killed Orovinn
ludicrous, but after a convulsion, he stops thinking rationally and decides that Orovinn
deserved dying, just like all the other elves do. He starts giggling but doesn't know why he
considers Orovinn's death funny.

Liadrin enters the sacrificial chamber, just as Galell is singing about Orovinn's death. He
looks like a wretched, almost ghoullike even. She feels powerless and doesn't know what
she could do or could have done to help him. Suddenly, Galell regains lucidity. He tells
Laidrin that they were fated to die. That they shouldn't have survived that day. She tells
him that he should come with her, that she will help him, but he replies by saying: "Our fate
was to die, as punishment for the sins of the past. That is what he is trying to tell me when
he SHOUTS AT ME!" Galell takes his lance and starts attacking Liadrin. Liadrin desperately
tries to counter his strikes without inflicting a deadly wound. She implores him to stop, to
come to his senses, and he says: "When it talks to me, it sounds like splintering glass. I feel
as if a piece of me, the one I want to hold on, had been separated from my being and were
drifting away - a ship lost amidst-". He starts mumbling, and Liadrin tries to calm him
down. Galell shouts, asking An'dorvel for forgiveness and telling Liadrin that, some times,
M'uru's voice sound like crying children, instead of splintering glass.

He attacks her again, and she is unable to counter one of his attacks without killing him.
Instinctively, she knows that he won't be able to block her attack in time and starts crying
as her strike splits his head open, cutting off the upper part of his cranium. Hours later, as
she burns Galell's body, Lor'themar arrives and tells her that she did what was necessary.
She asks him: "what has become of us?", and he answers saying that times change. She
counters saying: "people change". As the two embrace, Liadrin asks herself whether what
she is doing is right, whether the other paladins and priests are right... whether the Light
should remain out of reach.
The End