Chương 15: Chapter 14

Selessa could see the torches of the approaching troll army. The number of torches was rather concerning, but the situation could've been much worse if they had not done such a thorough job reducing the Amani numbers. Or if hunger hadn't done it for them. The Amani had gotten a brief reprieve after the massacre of Zul'Mashar, but that had only staved off their hunger momentarily. They didn't have any supplies for a protracted siege. And neither did they have any siege weapons.

That meant the trolls really only had a single option. Frontal assault. That said, the trolls would not find things to be easy. They didn't have any siege ladders prepared, and the walls were high enough that constructing any ladders would've been challenging at best. They had no siege towers either. In fact, judging by the expressions of the front ranks of the troll army, who finally got a look at the wall waiting for them, they had not expected to run into fortifications here.

Likely, they had counted on the lush hunting possibilities of the Eversong Woods. That wasn't to say the trolls were entirely without cards to play. They had likely made at least some plans against the Ban'dinoriel, and this wall didn't have the magical protections accumulated over thousands of years. They had their own magic, and the Spellbreakers would only be able to do so much to stop it. She expected elementals to be summoned, likely by combining the powers of the troll witch doctors and shamans.

They might attempt some sort of geomancy, although they'd not find any success on that front. They also had their bats, and some of the trolls would no doubt try to scale the wall even without ladders. And then there were the dire trolls, living battering rams. And the Loa might interfere again. Nalorakk, the bear spirit, might have the power to damage the wall, or at least the gate. In short, the Quel'dorei easily held the advantage, but there were still risks involved. And she had plans. Oh, she had plans.

"See the enemy that marches on us this night!" She called out, a magical spell carrying her voice to the defenders, and only them.

"The old enemy of our people, the Amani, have come to devour us all. This is where we stamp their wretched tribe from the map. After this battle, the whole of Quel'thalas will be ours uncontested, and more land and resources await us in the south. Today, we lay the foundations of an empire! Today, we claim our future!"

"The brutality and tenacity of the troll is something you should be getting familiar with, but trust in me. Trust in each other. Trust in the Light. We will gain victory. The only question is, will you be alive to enjoy the fruits of that victory? So, be steadfast and brave, and take care of yourself and your fellows, and we'll live through this. They're coming at us with numbers on their side, but their numbers will break against this wall this day. In the name of Quel'thalas!"

"For Quel'thalas!" Those on the wall shouted in response.

"Do send our enemies the first greeting." She instructed, and the siege weapons on the wall launched their first payloads and never stopped. The wall was built thick and tall. The siege weapons easily fit on the wall, brought up by several mechanical elevators that would easily move the large machines should they need repairs, and otherwise brought up more ammunition whenever necessary. Several arcane towers dotted the wall, ready to send their magical ammunition at the enemy once they got close enough.

The wall was filled by archers, magisters, and Spellbreakers, while behind the wall was a war camp filled with supplies, medical stations, arrows, ammunition for the siege weapons, fresh reinforcements, and many more. The area around the gate was further fortified, so that simply destroying the gate would not grant access to the camp beyond. The surroundings of the gate were a killing ground and a trap.

The trebuchets on the wall were much larger and more powerful than those used against Zul'Aman, because these didn't need to be moved more than up and down the wall. Instead of a single enormous stone, they instead launched ammunition that would shatter from the force of the launch and rain over a wider area below. You didn't need a huge stone to kill a troll. You just needed a big enough one that traveled fast enough. Some of the ammunition was enchanted to explode instead.

The first trolls started dying even before they got close enough to see what was shooting at them. Soon they also started running into traps, either traditional ones like pit-traps with sharpened stakes or other nasty surprises, or magical ones like runes that had been laid on the ground and would explode once someone stepped on them. The magisters and rangers had been busy during the time they'd been waiting for the trolls to arrive and had turned the pass into a gauntlet of death.

The trolls quickly realized that they didn't have time to stop and consider what they were doing, just as Selessa had planned. Rush and pressure made for bad decisions, and the hunger that gnawed at them didn't make things any easier. Despite the obvious risk, the front ranks of the trolls started rushing at the wall in a berserker rage.

"Make them regret their life choices." Selessa ordered, and the archers packing the walls started unleashing volley after volley at the incoming tide of trolls. Considering the mass of bodies below them, hitting the trolls was not a question. Every arrow hit. The only question was, would they kill, and could they maintain the withering hail of arrows.

Barrels of arrows had been placed on the wall in preparation, and more were brought up by the same elevators that had brought the siege weapons, replacing the rapidly emptying barrels with new ones. Every arrow enchanted to inhibit and slow down the troll's natural regeneration. The soldiers on the wall performed admirably, partially because of her Perks, causing the arrows to find their targets even more often than they should've. The trolls were taking horrific casualties just approaching the wall.

How would they deal with the situation?

Jintha's heart hurt watching his tribesmen fall and die in droves. Where had this wall suddenly come from? It was standing in their way in their glorious attempt to reclaim their home, Zul'Aman, so it had to fall. Things were not supposed to be this way! He was supposed to have been selected as the warlord leading all of the Forest Troll tribes, not some Vilebranch bitch, leading a war of vengeance against their hated enemy, the cursed elves! They'd prepared for centuries!

This was supposed to be their moment of victory. How had things gone so badly awry? He knew. The witch doctors had tried to warn him, but he had not listened. The Great Huntress had changed the way the placid and lazy elves did things. Her cowardly tactics were undeniably effective. Refusing to meet them in battle, and instead going after their supplies instead. He almost felt bad for the Mossflayer Tribe. Almost, but not quite. They had served as sustenance for their betters.

Now, there was only one way they could claim victory from this disaster. The massed strength of his kin would have to suffer the losses until their key pieces were in place. Dire Trolls were surging towards the gates. No gates would be able to hold against those brutes driven insane by hunger, especially when they could smell the food on the other side of the wall.

Most of the remaining spell-slingers, those who had not escaped already, were joining their forces to summon one of the greater earth spirits to attack the wall directly. Their remaining bat riders, whose mounts had not yet been eaten, would strike at the top of the wall. All three were nothing but distraction. It was up to him and his best warriors to really deal the decisive blow. He could see it.

The elves were driven into fervor and success by the Great Huntress, and if she were to fall, they would fall into despair and would be swept away. He was going to lead a decapitation strike, and the bats had been able to locate their target from the air. She wasn't even hiding, really. Foolish!

"Da spell be ready, mon." The last unoccupied witch doctor told him and twenty of his best warriors.

"Remembah, da spell only last a brief time. You need to scale da wall quick. Go!" He could feel the spell taking effect, and the group suddenly rushed up the wall. There were no handholds or anything to grip in the unnaturally smooth stone, but they still climbed, magic allowing their hands and feet stick to the stone. It took them less than twenty seconds to scale the wall, and they leapt over the battlement.

He, like the others, noticed a bit too late that a forest of spears was waiting them to land, and they were all about the be skewered. Gathering the power of Nalorakk, he cried out with the power of the Bear, causing the elves around his landing area to scatter and tumble away. Some of his companions managed to utilize the same gap, while many more were skewered by the elven spears.

He could see his target, clad in golden armor with red highlights, sitting on a chair behind a desk that held maps, shouting instructions, not having spotted their arrival yet. He could not identify the target by sight, as her face was covered by a veil, but he could feel it. This was his enemy. He dashed forward, his ferocious blows crashing into the elves standing in the way, clearing a path as the feeble elves were bowled over by the power behind his blows.

He quickly moved towards his target, and to his surprise his target came to meet him, pulling out a thinn long blade of her own, wielded in both hands. He could also see another white-haired elven woman in similar golden armor and glowing with golden power approach but get waved away by his target. Arrogant. That thought lasted only until his target seemed to get serious, and then a shiver suddenly went down his back. Maybe there was a reason she was willing to face him alone?

Seraphine had never seen the Saint fight seriously, and what a grand sight it was! It was obvious that even with the Light practically overflowing from her, the Loa-blessed troll was larger, stronger, and faster, but that simply did not matter. The Saint was putting on a show for everyone, proving exactly why they all followed her without hesitation, and displaying why sheer skill was always better than raw power and simple speed.

Both fighters moved quickly, but while the large troll warrior struck with greater force and ferocity, none of his strikes seemed to faze his target in the slightest. Every blow was redirected, dodged, or parried with perfect precision and grace, most of the troll's strikes being aborted before even being fully delivered.

That was due to the risk of losing fingers or something more important, as she seemed to be able to predict all his attacks even before the troll moved, her blade waiting for him just in the right way to injure him if he tried to finish the strikes. That, more than anything seemed to be driving the troll mad, as he could not fight utilizing his ferocity. She was reading him perfectly, and she was taking him apart with almost mechanical precision.

Every strike he made became a bit more desperate, costing him more and more in flesh and blood, while all her attacks found more purchase, leaving deepening wounds and gashes on his much larger frame. Only the blessing of Nalorakk and his rage seemed to be keeping him going. Seraphine also noticed something that the others did not. The Saint was facing the troll as a warrior, only using the Light to strengthen herself physically.

She could've struck him with Light, or with Arcane spells, but chose a completely physical fight instead. And the more they fought, the better she seemed to become, as if shaking off rust from her fighting.

"Well, this has been an interesting diversion." The Saint finally stated.

"But it is time to end it." The fight had been short but intense. Suddenly, her blade glowed with almost blinding Light, making it at least twice as long and thick, and a swipe that seemed almost slow and casual struck through the troll's defenses, cutting his axe in two, and separating his head from his shoulders.

"Someone mount their heads on the wall and chuck their corpses over. We don't need trash staining our glorious wall." She ordered, and Seraphine jumped to comply almost gleefully.

[You've gained 1000 EXP!] That had been invigorating. She hadn't gone all out since gaining her new body, as she was slowly getting used to it. It wasn't until now that she dared to get into a serious fight, as her fighting style relied on control. If she couldn't control her own body, how could she control her enemies? But that had been a good test. Her skills were still there, even if she couldn't fully execute them yet. She wasn't going to be able to fight Greater Daemons anytime soon, but a troll warlord?

That was doable. At least when they were nothing but dumb muscles and berserker ferocity. Those kinds of enemies were the easiest to deal with for someone like her. Blindly charging bulls were easy to lead by the nose, as it was the basics of what it meant to fight as an Aeldari. Seraphine could've probably dealt with the troll. Why they thought attacking her with only such a small force to be smart was beyond her.

"Autarch. The Dire Trolls are about to breach the first gate and enter the kill zone." One of the officers reported.

"Good. Make sure they don't live to tell the tale." The whole gate was a trap, set up to funnel enemy forces into their deaths. After getting through the gate, they would enter a zwinger filled with murder holes for archers and spearmen to attack through, stuck in a small tunnel with no room to dodge or escape. And unlike the outer gate, the second gate at the end of this zwinger was a door made of enchanted thorium. Good luck bashing that down with only muscles and fists.

"Autarch, the Dragonhawks report that they've brought down the last of the enemy bat riders. Their numbers were not enough to pose a real problem. Apparently our speculation about the bats getting eaten was true." Another one reported, each officer delegated to keep in contact with a part of the defensive force.

"Have them start harrying the flanks of the army. Drive them closer together, so that they get in each other's way, and bunch up nicely for our archers and magisters. Speaking of, give the signal. Let them remember why fighting the Quel'dorei is such a bad idea." They'd kept most of their magisters in reserve, letting the trolls exhaust themselves against the walls first.

"Send a word to our patrols. They can start to slowly move towards the rear of the enemy. By the time they arrive, most of the trolls should be dead, and they can crush the rest against the wall. We wouldn't want any of them escaping, now would we?" She looked over the battlefield below. This was a perfect example of the superiority of technology and tactics over numbers and strength.

The Amani outnumbered them by a large margin, but they were attacking a fortified position with little-to-no plan, while being tactically outmaneuvered into a horrible position logistics-wise. It didn't matter how many savages with overwhelming power on the battlefield the trolls brought when those same savages couldn't do anything against walls. Down there, the bear riders and berserker warriors were just target practice. The bats had been eaten, and the lynxes had fallen into traps.

The dire trolls were in the process of being wiped out, and the few remaining witch doctors were being suppressed by the Spellbreakers and the magical might of Quel'thalas. The result of this battle was a forgone conclusion, and the only question was how many elven lives were lost in the process. That and the Loa.

"Come on you cowards. Your primary tribe of worshippers is being wiped out. Surely you won't allow that to happen." She muttered to herself. She'd gotten the information on how to kill the Loa from Queen Elessine. It all boiled to one simple thing. The Loa needed to appear with their real physical body, not just an avatar. In their physical bodies the Loa would be much more powerful, but they would also be vulnerable. You only needed to lure them out.

Preparing sufficient sacrifices was one way, while she was testing another. Loss of worshippers unless the Loa interfered. As if summoned by her thoughts, the Great Bear finally made an appearance. His hulking protective form stood above the trolls, shielding them from the arrows, stones, spells, and dragonhawks, shedding any attacks sent its way. Not content on just protecting, the great beast dashed towards the wall, attempting to ram the wall with its large frame.

The presence of the Loa was much heavier than last time. Even if this wasn't the first time for the soldiers to feel the terrifying presence, they still froze from terror. This time as well, the call of the magical horn shook them out of their daze, this time blown by Anasterian, riding the phoenix sweeping down to meet the Loa in battle. Several ballistae hidden on the mountains leading to the pass fired their magical bolts, but the Loa had learned. It had been caught by surprise last time. Not again.

A sickly-green field of energy surrounded it, rapidly spinning around, deflecting the deadly bolts and throwing them aside. Most landed among the trolls below, some in the mountains whence they came, and a few landed on the elven defenders on the wall. The Bear released a terrifying roar towards the approaching phoenix, the sheer energy behind the voice throwing the bird of fire off-course, just before the shoulder of the beast slammed against the wall.

Despite not being Ban'dinoriel, the magically reinforced stone held, though the following swipe from the Great Bear's paw carved several grooves into the surface of the wall and a crack begun forming. The bear was about to pull back for another strike when the retaliation came. Anasterian, channeling the magic of several magister circles working together to funnel him power, managed to form Arcane chains to bind the bear in place for just a moment. They would not hold long, but they didn't have to.

Sapphiron, channeling his own significant might, combined with remaining magisters, fired a stream of glowing hot flames down on the bear, while riding on his flying carpet. Something the majority of the magisters were utilizing now that the airspace had been freed of enemy threats. The flames, glowing as a mix of arcane energies and plasma, shook the glowing barrier protecting the bear, finally shattering it.

"It is time brothers and sisters. Lend me your strength. Let us show the power of Light to these troll, twice damned by their heritage and their heretical beliefs! Let us carve the name of our people into the annals of history by slaying this false idol!" She called out, her voice once again amplified to carry to all the elven forces, even those behind the walls in reserve.

Most of their priests, and those paladins not among the roving hunting packs, were stationed in the rear in case Halazzi chose to appear and attack there instead. Now they all bowed their heads and prayed to the Light, to grant power to her to do just what she'd asked. Her abilities to smite enemies with the Light was still limited, but she had access to some. The gathered faith of her followers, and seemingly also the faith of the soldiers standing on the walls and beyond was directed towards her.

The power was too much for her alone to handle, so she channeled it through the Wraithbone armlet, using the item as a buffer against backlash and to amplify the effect, though she still felt the armlet growing hot and glowing with bright light, leaving marks on her arm. All that faith empowered her strike as an enormous glowing golden sword suddenly fell from the skies, striking the head of the bear with the power of a falling meteor.

The Loa fell to the ground, its body breaking, filled with unnatural cracks like a broken stone, but still alive.

"This is going to hurt." Selessa muttered, channeling the remaining power to her weapon, now in the form of a long spear once again. The weapon, and the arm holding it, were both shining bright with golden light that forced most to turn their eyes away, while only the most fervent believers could look upon the weapon without going blind. She jumped on the battlement and gestured Seraphine.

"Make sure I don't fall after this." The latter complied by grabbing a hold of her cloak. With a quick motion, she threw the weapon at the cracked head of the loa, feeding all her remaining mana into boosting the weapon even further. Luckily her ability to throw was much better than her ability to shoot bows, as the Singing Spears of the Aeldari Farseers were often used as a thrown weapon, and her throw struck true. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The weapon sunk into the cracked form of the Bear, and for half a second the world seemed to stand still, until the golden power held within exploded, shattering not just the Bear's head, but the rest of the body as well, as an energy like molten gold seemed to seep from every crack before exploding outwards.

A great roar of spiritual energy seemed to echo across the continent, and unknown to everyone present, every shrine, statue, and temple of Nalorakk all the way from Jintha'Alor, to Zandalar, to the Gurubashi Empire, and even distant Northrend cracked in half at the same time. It had been a while since a being at the level of the Loa had been slain, and the echoes carried far and wide. Seraphine pulled Selessa back safe, easily holding her up as she seemed to weigh almost nothing.

"It's done?" The paladin woman asked in confirmation. Not that she had doubts after what they'd all heard, but it was simply hard to believe. Selessa chuckled despite the pain from her arm that looked burnt and charred from channeling two spells she had no business channeling at her current level. The armlet was still intact but seemed to have burned its way into her flesh.

"Oh, it's done alright." She answered, staring at the announcement she'd just gotten. [You've gained 20000 EXP!] [You've gained leveled up from lvl 4 to lvl 8! You've gained 4 base points for a total of 7 and 1 advanced point. You currently have 0/8000 EXP!] The trolls all froze, also realizing what had just happened. One of their gods had just died. Everyone could see the sudden plummet in their morale, and the already shaken and starving forces started routing en masse.

Selessa, held up by Seraphine could also see it.

"No retreat, no surrender. Hunt them all down. Not a single one of the cannibal savages survives." She decreed coldly, her quiet words, still carried by the earlier spell, elicited an instant response, a fierce battlecry as the Quel'dorei defending the wall gave chase, while the approaching force planning to crush the trolls against the walls charged forward into the fleeing mass of Amani.

"And someone please find what's left of my spear." She finally gave the last order with an exasperated voice, as Seraphine carried her to a seat, before the grinning paladin acknowledged the order by hitting her chest armor with a plated fist and also going out to hunt.

Selessa winced as the healing spell slowly restored her arm towards its normal state. As the damage had been done by channeling the Light, healing it with more Light was challenging to say the least. She couldn't just throw more power at it. Instead, she had to little by little fix the damage by targeting specific areas and extracting the damaged flesh first. Not a pleasant experience.

"Your arm healing alright?" Anasterian asked, slightly worried, clearly able to see the remaining damage and the signs of pain on her face. She never showed pain, despite all her training that would've been enough to drive most insane.

"I'm not sure alright is the word I'd use, but I'll get there. Eventually. Now, is this really all that's left of my spear." She gestured towards the table with her head, as her hands were busy. On the table were just some shattered remnants that could maybe be recognized as metal, if one was feeling generous. She wasn't shocked exactly, considering the condition her arm was in, but it was still disappointing. Seraphine was kneeling on one knee and had her head bowed down in shame.

"Yes, Saint. It seems the stress from your attack and the death of the Loa was too much. Thousand apologies for failing the mission you gave me."

"It was a mission that was impossible from the start, so no need to apologize. You didn't break it." Selessa shook her head.

"I am going to need a replacement though."

"Unfortunately, we can't provide an equal replacement in a speedy fashion, as the effort to make that one was quite demanding. The artisans jumped at the opportunity back then, and I have no doubt they're even more eager now to provide a weapon to the Saint and the Autarch when compared to a simple Princess, but it's going to take time." Anasterian poured some cold water on that idea.

"We can get a replacement, just not very quickly. You'll have to manage with a lesser weapon for the time being."

"I suppose I don't get into fights that often." She grumbled in response.

"Maybe get me a pair of one-handed swords in the meantime. Might as well use this time for training. On a totally different topic, how did we manage the post-battle?" She'd been indisposed, so Anasterian had nominally taken charge in her absence.

"Quite well. We are still hunting down some of the trolls that managed to slip through our net. Their mass rout was so complete that our flanking force simply couldn't kill them all before they got out of the pass. We still managed to wipe out 95% of the Amani army. Those that escaped are mostly scattered individuals. You ordered no prisoners and no survivors, and that order was taken quite seriously.

There might be some backlash for killing surrendered forces, though I doubt there will be much once we disseminate the news of their atrocities and Zul'Mashar. We have remarkably low casualties, but not zero. The healers did their best, but some were simply beyond help. The High Priestesses are still dealing with the maimed. Some of the surviving offspring of the Loa did nasty things while running away. They aren't surviving any longer."

"Your Holiness, allow me to lead the efforts to wipe out the remaining survivors!" Seraphine requested ardently.

"Granted." Selessa simply said, knowing Seraphine would at least be thorough. The paladin woman rushed out of the tent they were in to carry out her mission.

"That one's not lacking in zeal, that's for sure." Anasterian muttered, while shaking his head a bit.

"Anyway, returning to the issues at hand. Our forces are still clearing the battlefield and working through what remains of the Amani equipment and possessions. Their supplies might have been low on food, but they had plenty of other things. Non-consumables. We're still burning the corpses, and our magisters are attempting to limit any taint this slaughter might have on the area. We wouldn't want any negative magical effects due to all the spirits of the dead. Any magical items are being disenchanted on the spot."

She nodded.

"Good. While that's going on, I want to organize three separate armies. One to remain here to hold the pass. We don't need a heavy force, since we're eventually expecting reinforcements from Silvermoon, but we don't want to lose the wall to some wandering group of trolls either. The second group, consisting of most of our available magisters and infantry should use the mountain passes to traverse to the border between Eastweald and Westweald. They are to start building a base of operations on the border.

Prioritize creating a portal between here and the border for supplies. Our success in starving the Amani made sure we can't get much in the way of supplies from this land either. Anything worth hunting has been hunted, and we have no farms here."

"Should be doable. Thankfully we have plenty of enchanted bags, so a handful of magisters can teleport entire warehouses of supplies even if we can't form a portal there. The ley-lines in this new land are still unknown and unpredictable." Anasterian proposed.

"The third and final group, consisting mainly of those hunting packs that are already familiar with the land should chart it in its entirety and eliminate any remaining troll presence. They can also scout for any important resources. This land is now ours and we're going to make sure no one can claim otherwise." She stated firmly.

"You intend to add this Eastweald to Quel'thalas?" Anasterian asked, not opposed to the idea in the slightest. Just surprised.

"You wanted to create an empire. This is how it's done." Selessa shrugged.

"We'll likely need to encourage a population boom once the war is over, but our people should be primed for it after having held back for thousands of years. This land needs work of course. Building cities, new runestones to safely practice the Arcane without attracting demons, maybe even re-creating the climate control from Eversong, and creation of lesser Sunwells. It's going to take a while, but it'll work, and the rewards will be worth it.

I'd add Westweald to it as well, though that might be too much to deal with, and depends on what the Mon'keigh decide to ask for after the war." She speculated.

"We'll also need to rename the place. Eastweald is an unworthy Mon'keigh name."

"Quel'dorei'Aranal?" Anasterian suggested.

"Rise of the Highborne? Not bad, but we'll workshop it later on." She shook her head, unconvinced.

"You do realize that unless we get in front of this, they're going to name the place after you." Anasterian teased.

"Light, I hope not!" She exclaimed, though she acknowledged the risk.

Thoradin sat on a pile of troll corpses while sharpening his blade Strom'kar as his guards finally reached him.

"Thoradin, my friend, my brother, I know you are brave and strong, but you've got to stop rushing into the middle of the troll force. It's inspiring, but it'll get you killed one of these days." Ignaeus, the previous leader of the Alteraci Tribe stated while walking up to him. Thoradin wasn't a small man, but Ignaeus towered even over him in both height and width.

"You're one to talk. You're worse than me." Thoradin scoffed.

"Yes, but I'm not the king." Ignaeus quipped, a small smile breaking his stoic demeanor and revealing the ruffian beneath.

"Another glorious victory." Hundreds of troll corpses were laid out in the forest.

"And yet they keep pushing us back. This victory, while necessary, is hardly enough to make a difference." Thoradin didn't share his friend's levity.

"We are slowly getting overrun."

"Well, I may have some good news on that front." One of the other men, an older stoic man by the name of Lordain spoke.

"Apparently our elven allies have won a great victory in the north and broken the Amani Tribe. According to their emissaries, their Autarch managed to slay one of remaining beings the trolls worship as gods. Permanently, if they're to be believed. Even now, their forces are sweeping down from their hidden kingdom and taking over Eastweald."

"Hmmm." Ignaeus hummed.

"That is good news indeed. They won't be able to directly support us for a while, but they should still draw some of the pressure away from us. And at least the trolls attacking us won't be getting reinforcements." Thoradin looked thoughtful.

"It might be more than that. The primary troll supply lines from Hinterlands run rather close to the border of Eastweald. From what I've heard, their Autarch already utilized lack of supplies against the Amani quite successfully. I'd be surprised if they didn't use the same tactic again after such success. This time we'll be reaping the benefits."

"Agreed." Lordain nodded.

"We've managed to stall the trolls in the Alterac foothills, and we're only slowly being pushed back in Silverpine. At current pace, we'll be able to benefit from the elven advance."

"I'm more interested in how they managed to slay a god." Ignaeus groused.

"We can't lose to this Autarch, whoever they are."

"This is a dilemma." Selessa vocalized her pondering while leaning over the maps they'd managed to create of the northern part of the continent. The real advantage from having aerial superiority at this level of technology was information, and dragonhawk riders made for great scouts.

"Doesn't seem all that complicated to me." Anasterian countered.

"We'll just do what we did with the Amani. Starve them out."

"It's not that simple. While we will certainly be striking at their logistics, the situation here is different. The southern trolls do have their supply lines running not too far from our current border, but they don't have to travel over the entirety of Eastweald to get to the troll army. Their supply lines are shorter and better guarded. The terrain in the southern part of Westweald also leaves us with a lot less room to maneuver, making our raiding much more difficult."

She pointed at the strip of land running south of Darrowmere Lake and along the southern border of Westweald. She continued.

"Additionally, the Amani had to march through the entire Eastweald that's sparsely populated by trolls due to lack of forests, but the Westweald and the land further west don't have the same issue. There are numerous troll settlements present, all supplying the troll forces. We can't cover them all."

"But you do have some ideas?" Alleria Windrunner asked, not quite as confident in Selessa as her husband.

"I do, but…" She hesitated.

"Spit it out." Anasterian pushed her.

"Well, we're all aware that this is a war of survival. Either the trolls or us. There's a way we will almost certainly win this war, but it's…brutal. There's a difference between knowing our actions will lead to the deaths of troll civilians and children, and actually swinging the sword. I'm not sure if our troops have what it takes to truly do it. And doing so will have some reputational consequences." She explained.

"You're talking of striking at the troll villages." Anasterian realized right away. He'd seen her plan several times now, so he could anticipate her somewhat and see what she saw when looking at the map.

"The Amani had their civilians mostly evacuated." He realized.

"Exactly, and we were fighting for what the Quel'dorei consider part of Quel'thalas. They would've done it even if the civilians had been present. These are not our lands though. Not yet at least. If we start striking at the troll villages, what do you think the warriors in their army will decide to do?" She asked, looking at the two leaders directly.

"They'd want to return to their villages to protect them." Alleria realized what she was aiming for as well.

"Thus, breaking the army pushing at the humans."

"Ideally, yes. Now, if we defeat the main troll army, they will be driven from these lands eventually anyway, but to directly and purposefully target civilians and homes, even if the result will be the same in the end, is something most would balk at." She spread her arms in a 'what can you do?' gesture.

"You're right. The diplomatic backlash would not be insignificant either." Anasterian pondered.

"The humans might appreciate our brutality, or while parts of their society would balk at it. Others…well, once you get a reputation for indiscriminate slaughter, it's hard to get rid of. And what you do to others…"

"The trolls have also had time to gather their crops, so just burning their fields will not do anything. Winter is slowly coming, and the war will grind to a halt when that happens. We can't really use our skirmishing tactics in heavy snow. If we wanted to strike at their food stores, the result would be essentially the same as killing them directly, and they're bound to be more on guard than before now that they've seen our tactics at least once. We can't rely on the stupidity of our enemies."

She explained her thinking.

"It is also a sad truth that both the Mon'keigh and the trolls are more used to winter fighting than we are, considering we're all used to the eternal spring of Eversong."

"So, what do you propose?" Anasterian asked.

"The first option is that we harass the trolls as much as we can until the winter comes, while preparing our own holdings for until the spring, taking advantage of the time to solidify our position and gather resources and new soldiers. We provide the Mon'keigh with what relief we can before digging in for the winter, including cutting off the supplies from south and harassing the troll forces from behind. This part of the war will not be as quick as what happened before. We need to be prepared for a longer war."

She finally decided.

"Not as exciting as I hoped, but I suppose to be expected." Anasterian nodded in agreement.

"I certainly don't have better ideas. I could have Elessine inform our allies of our plans. What's the other option?"

"We push forward with all our forces and combine our strength with the Mon'keigh for a decisive battle. I believe we could win, but the losses would not be light. The war would be over sooner, although we would still be dealing with scattered troll forces for decades, as we would likely not have the forces to sweep all of them from the continent. The upside is that we would likely earn the gratitude of the Mon'keigh for saving their asses, but that gratitude would be bought with our blood."

She pursed her lips in thought, idly rubbing her still aching arm that had not completely healed yet.

"What sort of losses would we be looking at?" Alleria asked.

"Impossible to say. Depends entirely on circumstances, but I would estimate between 25 and 40% of our forces. Our combined forces are superior to the trolls after the destruction of the Amani tribe, but the battlefield isn't so simple." She gave her estimate. She was fairly confident in the estimate, as the victory at Thalassian Pass had given her both Discipline 6 and Commander 6, the latter of which really improved her ability to estimate the capabilities of the trolls.

To be precise, she'd only gotten both after taking over Eastweald, the conquest triggering the upgrade.

"Personally, I don't really care to waste elven blood to save Mon'keigh lives."

"I tend to agree." Alleria nodded.

"While I would like to offer more help to the humans, and they are our allies, their losses aren't really our problem. In the long term it might even benefit us."

"A bit cruel, but reality can be. They can really only curse themselves for not having the ability to do what we did. I vote option one as well." Anasterian joined the other two in solidarity.

"This feels odd." Lirath commented, riding next to his brother.

"After all our skirmishing and ambushes, it feels strange to lead a proper army into battle."

"Doesn't it just?" Talanas replied with a shake of his head. He'd volunteered to lead the detached force to slam the door between the area known as Hinterlands, and Westweald closed, cutting the main supply artery between the troll main force, and the homeland of the leading Vilebranch tribe. The problem was that the distance between the mountain pass and the main army trying to push into Alterac was not very long.

Both were located in the southern Westweald and the river and lake just north of them limited their ability to maneuver. Thus, pure skirmishing was just not feasible.

"I'd be worried without our aerial friends." Lirath pointed above them where Dragonhawk riders constantly patrolled. Due to the short distance to the main troll force, they had to keep a constant eye for the trolls trying to move their way with a force too large to deal with. They'd brought a good quarter of the Quel'dorei army, 60 thousands soldiers, Farstriders, Spellbreakers, healers, and magisters.

That meant all the forces of Quel'dorei were represented, even though most of their knights were still locked in skirmish battles against the troll forces.

"Agreed. Aerial scouting makes things much simpler, though we'll still have to keep an eye out. Wouldn't surprise me if the trolls had a way to hide from our aerial eyes and ears." Talanas gestured towards one of the magisters riding nearby.

"Yes, Ranger-General?" The magister asked.

"Are you certain you and your compatriots can get us across the river? I haven't seen any good places for fording the waters." Talanas confirmed the most important point.

"And we might have to leave in a hurry."

"I am certain. We can create a bridge over the river in a matter of hours. The more time we have, the better the bridge we create, allowing for faster crossing now and in the future." The magister explained.

"Would that not allow the trolls to use the same bridge?" Lirath asked sharply.

"They could. We can collapse the bridge if necessary, though not very quickly." The magister didn't hide the issue.

"There is also a potential risk that the troll magic users or shamans could collapse the bridge as well, but there's nothing we can do about it without spending weeks reinforcing the bridge with runes, which would then make it hard for us to collapse it as well. Either way there are risks."

"Leave a small group to keep an eye on the bridge?" Lirath asked looking at his brother.

"Sounds like a plan." Talanas gave the magister a gesture to let him go.

"It's going to be odd to fight a normal battle after all the skulking around." Lirath scoffed.

"We're still pretty far from a normal battle. I saw the plans the Autarch gave to you and your wife. We're still not going to be fighting in a way that humans or trolls consider normal. It would be too boring." Talanas chortled.

"Yeah, imagine if we actually did try after all this time. We'd feel strange not maneuvering in the middle of the battle. Let's just hope our infantry is up to the task. They haven't seen much action so far."

Selessa slowly moved through the forms that any warrior of the Howling Banshee aspect shrine would know in their sleep, getting used to her two new swords. They were both slim and light blades that could be considered scimitars, with a slight curve to both the blade and the hilt. As always, she had to get familiar with how her body reacted to the new weapons and how the new weapons would behave in any situation she might subject them to.

She had to get her balance perfect, and she had to know exactly, down to the smallest detail, how she could move her new weapons without disrupting that balance, without overextending, and without disrupting her own rhythm. That required countless repetition, until her movements were perfect, after which she'd repeat all the same things, except faster and harder, pushing her own limits. Again, and again.

She didn't know how long she had practiced, sweat flowing down her body and her still injured hand stinging from the unexpected exertion, before she finally came to a stop. Sister Seraphina and Sister Ophelia were waiting on her on one side of the small clearing she was using, while Anasterian and his two bodyguards were on the other. The two guards seemed especially interested, as if re-adjusting their threat assessment of her. Both groups had been watching her for a while.

"I'm going assume you have some news Uncle." She spoke loudly enough to be heard, panting from the effort. She had a long way to go.

"I do, but I'm not in a rush. Your subordinates might have something more urgent, and they were here first." Naturally his matters would usually take precedence as the king.

"They are here at my request." She corrected directly, walking to a nearby rock where she'd left a towel to wipe away her sweat.

"Besides, they might benefit from observation. Unless your matter is delicate of course…"

"I see. I'm here just to confirm your plans with the reinforcements from Silvermoon. We can have that conversation later." Anasterian reassured her, before glancing at his bodyguards.

"Though it would seem my guards might be interested in sparring at another date."

"They are welcome. I need people to spar against to advance my training further anyway. I'm starting to get used to the new weapons." She nodded in agreement. Anasterian just nodded and walked off, and something in his bearing implied that he had something more complicated to say, but it required privacy and wasn't urgent. She wasn't going to worry about it for now though, and gestured for the two paladins instead.

"Saint." Both of them bowed reverently as they got close.

"I believe we all knew this was coming, but let's not beat around the bush. The trolls must go. The others might not realize it, but we know they will be nothing but trouble if left alone. They'll regain their numbers and rise again and again to bother us, and we can't tolerate their presence. The others simply don't have the stomach for what needs to be done." She said firmly. Sister Ophelia nodded in understanding, while Sister Seraphina's smile widened.

"Spare them none. Pardon none. Let the last of their names be undone. Let your verdict fall as fire." The zealous paladin chanted eagerly.

"Gather those you know are strong in their faith, not just fellow paladins. I want you both to lead a group to get rid of the troll villages. No survivors, no witnesses. Burn them all." She had seen war unlike the people of this world. She knew mercy here would only breed resentment and further enemies down the road. A moment of mercy and squeamishness would lead to decades, if not centuries of death and suffering. Better to rip the weed out by its roots.

"For our people and our future."

"It shall be done." Both paladins vowed as one. They were her two most skilled and fanatical followers. They were also the first two to reach the second baptism on their own, triggered by swearing personal oaths. Selessa knew that her interpretation of the Light was a severe one, and not the only one, but she only did what she must for her people.

They just kept coming! Thoradin cursed as he cleaved another troll in two. The lines were holding, but only barely. Luckily they had managed to create some more armor with the help of the Gilnean tribe, reinforcing their lines with heavy soldiers that could withstand the more ferocious assaults of the trolls. Otherwise, their lines might have already fallen. Even his ability to keep the troops together was faltering.

As the last of the trolls finally disappeared back into the forest, he slumped against a nearby rock, unable to hide his exhaustion. He should've stood strong, to keep up the morale of the troops, but he couldn't. Ignaeus, now nicknamed Trollbane, jogged towards him with Lordain.

"You better have good news." He demanded with a less than gentle voice. Lordain made a so-so gesture.

"A bit of both. The elves have finally joined the fight. They've closed the route between Hinterlands and here as we suspected, and they're jabbing at the trolls every chance they get. The bad news is that this Autarch of theirs doesn't think they'll have as much success as they had with the Amani. The trolls here are too well supplied already, having learned from the defeat of the Amani. Further, they're not used to fighting in the winter.

Apparently theirs is a land of eternal spring, so fighting in the snow is not something they're used to." Thoradin grunted.

"Good that he knows their limits, even if it's not great for us."

"She." Ignaeus corrected with a grin.

"Apparently their leader is a lady-warrior." Thoradin grunted again.

"While slightly surprising, I don't really care. As long as she can command their army. Was that all?"

"No." Lordain exhaled hard.

"The trolls are no longer pushing in Silverpine. In fact, from what our scouts can tell, only a token force remains behind to keep up appearances. The thing is; all those trolls have to go somewhere. Either here, to us, or towards the elves."

"They intend to push through us, to strike through Alterac and spread to the southern lands." Thoradin guessed.

"That, or the elves. They're using some kind of magic to hide their advance from our scouts." Lordain confirmed. Thoradin knocked the back of his head against the stone.

"They're coming here. They know they can't deal with the elves with just the eastern tribes, and they don't want to lose another chunk of their forces. They're coming here. If they can push through, they'll have free reign in our lands over the winter and most of the spring. They can devastate most of our lands with little resistance." Lordain nodded.

"That does sound the kind of thing they'd do."

"Are the magic users we sent to the elves ready?" Thoradin suddenly asked.

"Ready for what?" Lordain was slightly thrown by the sudden shift in topic.

"To be useful in battle. If we pull back to Fort Alterac, the trolls will have to gather up for a siege. A hundred magic users could become mighty handy in such a situation, even if I'm personally not a big fan of their witchery." Thoradin outlined his plan.

"I…don't know. I'll have to ask. Maybe the elves can send some of their own magisters as well?" Lordain suggested.

"I think we'll need all the help we can get." Thoradin admitted.

STATUS: Level: 8 0/8000 EXP 7 Base Points/1 Advanced Points/0 Mastery Points Body: 5/11 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Athletics 5 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Iron Lungs Heavy Weapons 4 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Cleaving Strikes Durability 3 Immovable object Reflexes: 4/12 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Light Weapons 3 Swift Strikes Nervous System 3 Keen Eye for Hidden Subtlety 3 Arcane Shots Charisma: 17/17 (+2 Max due to Eyes) (8 Unspent Perk Points) Politics 17 Competent Underlings Superior Subordinates Shared Vision Intelligent Improvisation Unleased Potential Unlimited Potential Above and Beyond Inspiring Loyalty Social 5 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Pleasure 1 Crafting: 2/12 Magical 1 Creation 1 Nature 2 Eye for Errors Eye for Improvement Bonesinging 2 Discipline: 6/12 (+2 Max due to Past Experiences) [+] Commander 6 [+] Battlefield Awareness Ambush Expert Cavalry Tactics Squad Leader 2 Sensei Soldier 3 One With Your Steed One With Your Steed II Magic: 6/13 (2 Unspent Perk Point) Light 6 Severe healing Baptism of Light I Baptism of Light II Arcane 6 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Massive Spells Master Conjurer Spellbreaker 4 Magic Sight Anti-Magic Zone Projected AMZ