Chapter 5 - The Northern War
A few minutes later the king tapped a glass with his knife to get everyone's attention. "Let's start back up and I will let Mathias run this part of the discussion. I probably should warn you -- eat quick because the discussion is going to get pretty gruesome." He looked at Commander Singleton. "I know all of you have been through a lot but there are some thing well.... I'll just let Mathias explain."
Mathias stood and walked to the part of the map that represented the northern part of the continent.
"Essentially our Northern Front is made up of two areas - the Highlands and the human settlements on the Northern Contintent. We have had great success in the Highlands but were mainly focused on supporting the Red Dragonflight in that area. Even with our success against Deathwing's forces, the Dragonmaw orcs are a large threat and will no doubt bog down Alliance operations in that area for a long long time."
The King asked, "What's the latest on Grim Batol?"
Keegan spoke up, "We have sent many expeditions into it's depths but the place is cursed so I don't see us pacifying the place any time soon. As it is Mathias is correct though. There's no love lost between the Wildhammer and the Dragonmaw. I'd bet the two sides are still fighting in the Highlands when my grandchildren's grandchildren are born. Nasty bunch them Orcs."
Mathias continued, "The Highlands aren't the problem in the north as the Dragonmaw threat is limited. The issue is the Forsaken." Mathias moved the alliance and horde markers on the map. "This was essentially how our forces were aligned before the Cataclysm." Then he moved the markers and removed the Alliance markers and added addtional Horde units.
General Twinbraid interrupted, "Where is the Horde getting all these reinforcements to send to the Undercity to help with their advance? I would assume the orcs spent all there reserves attacking me in Kalimdor."
Mathias nodded, "That was our question as well. I sent a few spies north to Lorderon to see if they could get an accurate count of unit strength and this is what we found." He started to place something on the table the quickly added, "I hope you have strong stomaches."
The gnomes have created an experiment device we can use that captures images. The placed a few images on the table. "This is what remains of Southshore." Anduin looked but only saw structures surrounded by purple puddles of goo.
Anduin saw Marshall Stoutmantle turn white, "Is that what I think it is?".
"I'm afraid so Gyran. We thought we'd seen the last of the Forsaken plague at the Wrathgate but it appears that Sylvannus used it to destroy Southshore's population. We don't know the lethality but we do know she made the town uninhabitable by humans for a long long time. The sad part ... this isn't even close to the worst news", and he threw more images on the table.
"Is that human heads?" someone asked.
"Yes. We don't know the reason they have humans literally planted in what used to be a garden. Our scouts report that as humans are captured they are put into this pit some alive / some dead though occasionally someone will come along and kill them with a shovel. We've found other pits but nothing quite like this one. This picture happens to be from the area formerly known as Hillsbrad Fields."
Anduin couldn't help himself, "That's barbaric!"
"Aye laddie", he heard Kurdran mutter across the table.
Marshall Stoutmantle asked, "Do we know if there any humans alive in the area?"
Matthias added, "Not that we can find but there's one other development but first I will have Halfus explain his forces role in the northern battle so far."
A tall man stood and walked beside Mathias. "For those that don't know me, I'm Halfus Wyrmbreaker of the 7th Legion. I've lead my men from Hyjal to Silithus. From Naxxramas to Icecrown. I thought I'd seen everything but I was wrong. As many of you know we received a distress call from the Gilneans requesting our support against Sylvannus. We knew when we left Northrend that it was going to be bad because the Gilneas have a long history of sulf sufficience especially considering they were practically impregnable behind the Greymane Wall. When we arrived we saw that the Cataclysm cracked the wall along with destroying part of the coastline making a Horde invasion of the town pretty easy. We found out later that after the Cataclysm occured, the Forsaken army headed straight for the breach and landed troops on the south. south through the breach and decimated the Gilneans with a combination of the Forsaken Plague and just overwhelming force. A force so large that the Gilneans felt they had no choice but to turn themselves into worgen to have a chance to survive. The newly invigorated Gilneans fought bravely for a while but the Forsaken numbers were just too much and eventually they had no choice but to leave their homeland on Night Elf rescue ships. We arrived a few days after the evacuation and sent in a submarine in under the cover of darkness to look for stragglers. We've picked up a lot of rebel worgen and they have been a great source of information. I'm currently stationed off the Gilnean coast biding my time until we can find a soft spot in the Horde's defenses."
General Twinbraid interjected, "I've got to say those escaped Gilneans have been a great addition to the alliance even if they are a wee bit scary. Not big talkers though."
The king added, "Genn Greymane is a great addition to the Alliance. We are happy to have him even if it was under less than ideal circumstances."
Anduin had gotten to know Greymane very well since his arrival in Stormwind. He was a nice man though he still grieved terribly for the recent loss of his son and homeland. Anduin wondered why his dad chose to exclude him from this meeting since they Genn seemed to have taken the role as one of his dad's closest advisors.
Mathias threw another stack of pictures on the desk. "Here is the last piece of the puzzle of what is happening in the North."
Stoutmantle once again was the first to speak, "Is that what I think it is? What is a Val'kyr doing out of Northrend?"
"The Forsaken were an accidental byproduct of the Scourge during 3rd war and are mainly made up of the unfortunate citizens who happened to live in an area attacked by them. All forsaken were first turned into mindless zombies obeying the commands of the Lich King. Sylvannus was the first to break free and helped others do that same, eventually attracting a small army of followers which settled in their former home of Lordereon, now which she now calls the Undercity." Mathias saw he was losing his audience so he continued.
"I have heard in recent years occassionally an undead will turn into a Forsaken but it has become rare event. We were hopeful that it would only take a few generation before these abominations would die out and we could reclaim our the human kingdoms. That's where the Val'kyr come in. The Lich King's Val'kyr have now pledged themselves to Sylvannus and she is using them to turn human dead almost immediately into additional Forsaken. Want to know why Gilneas fell? It wasn't just the Cataclysm opening the wall." He threw a series of pictures demonstrating the process. "She killed and turned the people of Southshore, the people of Ambermill, the people of Hillsbrad, and even the people of Gilneas themselves. Gilneas never had a chance."
Stoutmantle gave out a low whistle, "It's like she's the Lich King all over again.
Mathias went to the map and moved some units around.
"Sylvannus force's have moved quickly. She has taken all of Silverpine forest, moved into Hillsbrad and taken Southshore then everything to the Thordin's Wall and beyond. She's also made moves in the Plaguelands moving into Andorrhal and taking that city. That's what she has done so far with her new Val'kyr allies I'm sure she's only begun."
The king gave Matthias a sign to speed it up a bit.
"So where does that leave us? In the North the Alliance still has quite a few territories but they are all hanging by a thread. Our Northernmost base is in Chillwind which is where we based both our attack on Andorhal and our attack on Tarren Mill. You can bet that Chillwind is going to get attacked soon by Sylvannas as it is more of a supply depot than a proper fort. The other territories close by are our Wildhammer friends in Aerie Peak and the high elves of Quel'Danil Lodge. After that our only other position is the few remaining humans that gathered at Refuge Pointe near Stormgarde Keep."
"Our supply lines consist of a single road from Thandol Span up the new road we built through to the Hinterlands, past Aerie Peak to Chillwind. From there we support our ongoing battles in Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin. Both of these battles have been bogged down for years but we are danger of losing them if our supply lines are cut."
"That brings me to the final piece of the puzzle." Mathias threw a final picture on the table. Anduin looked at it and saw the image of what looked like an undead warrior.
"If you look closely at the picture you will perhaps recognize the armor. Anyone? No? This is an image of Galen Trollbane, the former Prince of Stromgarde castle."
Stoutmantle gasped, "He's undead?"
"We have reason to believe that Sylvannus targeted him for a very specific reason. I have it on good authority that Slyvannus actions don't have universal support in the Horde but with a Trollbane at her side she can take Stromgarde castle and claim she is only supporting his ancestrial claim. If she is able to take Stromgarde then the supply road I mentioned earlier is untenable and the Alliance would have no chioce but to retreat from all our holdings in the North and abandon everyone who stayed to their fate."
He let that sink in a bit then added, "We aren't sure when she will attack but our guess is she isn't going to move forward until she has an overwhelming force and then attack with all fury. My best guess is we have about 2 months." Mathias turned and looked at King Varian.
Anduin looked around the table and saw the shocked looks on everyone's faces. He saw his father pause for effect. He'd seen his dad do this a thousand times in the past and the tension built to unbearable levels then take control. His father broke it by saying, "I realize this is a lot to take in. There are about 10 people in the Alliance outside this room that know what you now know so I should not have to remind you that this is for your ears only. We don't need the people to hear about this and needlessly worry about it."
Kurdran rose and faced the King. "I thought I saw everything during my stay in the Outlands but this takes the prize. We Wildhammer are self sufficient and I'd like to think we could hold Aerie peak for years but that's just fool's talk. I didn't realize Slyvannus had moved so far. Have you spoken to my cousin Falstad or Muradin Bronzebeard about this?"
"Not yet. The only people that know are in this room and people in SI:7. If you are wondering why I haven't brought my allies into this it's because I don't know what to do and that's what I need you to help me decide. As i see it we have two choices. We can either 1) quickly resettle the people in the North to Kalimdor and essentially give Slyvannus the lands she wants or 2) we can fall back in Kalimdor and take the fight to Sylvannus. I don't see a third option -- we just don't have the resources to do both. To study the problem I want to split you into teams.
I'm putting Alpha Team under the command of General Twinbraid. General, I want you to evaluate our options in Kalimdor assuming we focus all our forces on that area especially centered on Mulgore and assuming we will evacuate any humans that want to go into an area designated to be the start of a new city in that area. Your team will consist of Jaina, Dugan, Troutman and Roberts.
I'm putting Bravo Team under the command of Commander Halfus. Commander, as your army will more than likely spearhead any invasion into the North I want you to investigate a strategy that reverse the balance in the North with a focus on protecting the existing human population. Because we don't have enough troops to do this with existing forces you are going to need to determine what we are going to pull from the West keeping in mind we can't totally abandon our Night Elf friends. Your team will be made up of Ebonlocke, Stoutmantle, Singleton, and Kurdran."
Anduin felt a twinge of relief when he heard he wasn't on either of the teams.
"... I'm putting Delta Team under the command of Prince Anduin ..."
Anduin coughed, "Wha..."
"Anduin, Your team will be looking for ideas that are out of the ordinary. Think special forces and lightning strikes. Nothing is out of bounds on your team and you have all forces at your discretion. Your team will consist of Aubrey, Blueheart, Firebeard, and Thassarian.
Since I want to give you plenty of time to prepare I'm going to let you break off into your groups for the evening. We will meet back here first thing tomorrow morning to discuss your plans.
Any Questions? No? Good. See you tomorrow."
A few minutes later the king tapped a glass with his knife to get everyone's attention. "Let's start back up and I will let Mathias run this part of the discussion. I probably should warn you -- eat quick because the discussion is going to get pretty gruesome." He looked at Commander Singleton. "I know all of you have been through a lot but there are some thing well.... I'll just let Mathias explain."
Mathias stood and walked to the part of the map that represented the northern part of the continent.
"Essentially our Northern Front is made up of two areas - the Highlands and the human settlements on the Northern Contintent. We have had great success in the Highlands but were mainly focused on supporting the Red Dragonflight in that area. Even with our success against Deathwing's forces, the Dragonmaw orcs are a large threat and will no doubt bog down Alliance operations in that area for a long long time."
The King asked, "What's the latest on Grim Batol?"
Keegan spoke up, "We have sent many expeditions into it's depths but the place is cursed so I don't see us pacifying the place any time soon. As it is Mathias is correct though. There's no love lost between the Wildhammer and the Dragonmaw. I'd bet the two sides are still fighting in the Highlands when my grandchildren's grandchildren are born. Nasty bunch them Orcs."
Mathias continued, "The Highlands aren't the problem in the north as the Dragonmaw threat is limited. The issue is the Forsaken." Mathias moved the alliance and horde markers on the map. "This was essentially how our forces were aligned before the Cataclysm." Then he moved the markers and removed the Alliance markers and added addtional Horde units.
General Twinbraid interrupted, "Where is the Horde getting all these reinforcements to send to the Undercity to help with their advance? I would assume the orcs spent all there reserves attacking me in Kalimdor."
Mathias nodded, "That was our question as well. I sent a few spies north to Lorderon to see if they could get an accurate count of unit strength and this is what we found." He started to place something on the table the quickly added, "I hope you have strong stomaches."
The gnomes have created an experiment device we can use that captures images. The placed a few images on the table. "This is what remains of Southshore." Anduin looked but only saw structures surrounded by purple puddles of goo.
Anduin saw Marshall Stoutmantle turn white, "Is that what I think it is?".
"I'm afraid so Gyran. We thought we'd seen the last of the Forsaken plague at the Wrathgate but it appears that Sylvannus used it to destroy Southshore's population. We don't know the lethality but we do know she made the town uninhabitable by humans for a long long time. The sad part ... this isn't even close to the worst news", and he threw more images on the table.
"Is that human heads?" someone asked.
"Yes. We don't know the reason they have humans literally planted in what used to be a garden. Our scouts report that as humans are captured they are put into this pit some alive / some dead though occasionally someone will come along and kill them with a shovel. We've found other pits but nothing quite like this one. This picture happens to be from the area formerly known as Hillsbrad Fields."
Anduin couldn't help himself, "That's barbaric!"
"Aye laddie", he heard Kurdran mutter across the table.
Marshall Stoutmantle asked, "Do we know if there any humans alive in the area?"
Matthias added, "Not that we can find but there's one other development but first I will have Halfus explain his forces role in the northern battle so far."
A tall man stood and walked beside Mathias. "For those that don't know me, I'm Halfus Wyrmbreaker of the 7th Legion. I've lead my men from Hyjal to Silithus. From Naxxramas to Icecrown. I thought I'd seen everything but I was wrong. As many of you know we received a distress call from the Gilneans requesting our support against Sylvannus. We knew when we left Northrend that it was going to be bad because the Gilneas have a long history of sulf sufficience especially considering they were practically impregnable behind the Greymane Wall. When we arrived we saw that the Cataclysm cracked the wall along with destroying part of the coastline making a Horde invasion of the town pretty easy. We found out later that after the Cataclysm occured, the Forsaken army headed straight for the breach and landed troops on the south. south through the breach and decimated the Gilneans with a combination of the Forsaken Plague and just overwhelming force. A force so large that the Gilneans felt they had no choice but to turn themselves into worgen to have a chance to survive. The newly invigorated Gilneans fought bravely for a while but the Forsaken numbers were just too much and eventually they had no choice but to leave their homeland on Night Elf rescue ships. We arrived a few days after the evacuation and sent in a submarine in under the cover of darkness to look for stragglers. We've picked up a lot of rebel worgen and they have been a great source of information. I'm currently stationed off the Gilnean coast biding my time until we can find a soft spot in the Horde's defenses."
General Twinbraid interjected, "I've got to say those escaped Gilneans have been a great addition to the alliance even if they are a wee bit scary. Not big talkers though."
The king added, "Genn Greymane is a great addition to the Alliance. We are happy to have him even if it was under less than ideal circumstances."
Anduin had gotten to know Greymane very well since his arrival in Stormwind. He was a nice man though he still grieved terribly for the recent loss of his son and homeland. Anduin wondered why his dad chose to exclude him from this meeting since they Genn seemed to have taken the role as one of his dad's closest advisors.
Mathias threw another stack of pictures on the desk. "Here is the last piece of the puzzle of what is happening in the North."
Stoutmantle once again was the first to speak, "Is that what I think it is? What is a Val'kyr doing out of Northrend?"
"The Forsaken were an accidental byproduct of the Scourge during 3rd war and are mainly made up of the unfortunate citizens who happened to live in an area attacked by them. All forsaken were first turned into mindless zombies obeying the commands of the Lich King. Sylvannus was the first to break free and helped others do that same, eventually attracting a small army of followers which settled in their former home of Lordereon, now which she now calls the Undercity." Mathias saw he was losing his audience so he continued.
"I have heard in recent years occassionally an undead will turn into a Forsaken but it has become rare event. We were hopeful that it would only take a few generation before these abominations would die out and we could reclaim our the human kingdoms. That's where the Val'kyr come in. The Lich King's Val'kyr have now pledged themselves to Sylvannus and she is using them to turn human dead almost immediately into additional Forsaken. Want to know why Gilneas fell? It wasn't just the Cataclysm opening the wall." He threw a series of pictures demonstrating the process. "She killed and turned the people of Southshore, the people of Ambermill, the people of Hillsbrad, and even the people of Gilneas themselves. Gilneas never had a chance."
Stoutmantle gave out a low whistle, "It's like she's the Lich King all over again.
Mathias went to the map and moved some units around.
"Sylvannus force's have moved quickly. She has taken all of Silverpine forest, moved into Hillsbrad and taken Southshore then everything to the Thordin's Wall and beyond. She's also made moves in the Plaguelands moving into Andorrhal and taking that city. That's what she has done so far with her new Val'kyr allies I'm sure she's only begun."
The king gave Matthias a sign to speed it up a bit.
"So where does that leave us? In the North the Alliance still has quite a few territories but they are all hanging by a thread. Our Northernmost base is in Chillwind which is where we based both our attack on Andorhal and our attack on Tarren Mill. You can bet that Chillwind is going to get attacked soon by Sylvannas as it is more of a supply depot than a proper fort. The other territories close by are our Wildhammer friends in Aerie Peak and the high elves of Quel'Danil Lodge. After that our only other position is the few remaining humans that gathered at Refuge Pointe near Stormgarde Keep."
"Our supply lines consist of a single road from Thandol Span up the new road we built through to the Hinterlands, past Aerie Peak to Chillwind. From there we support our ongoing battles in Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin. Both of these battles have been bogged down for years but we are danger of losing them if our supply lines are cut."
"That brings me to the final piece of the puzzle." Mathias threw a final picture on the table. Anduin looked at it and saw the image of what looked like an undead warrior.
"If you look closely at the picture you will perhaps recognize the armor. Anyone? No? This is an image of Galen Trollbane, the former Prince of Stromgarde castle."
Stoutmantle gasped, "He's undead?"
"We have reason to believe that Sylvannus targeted him for a very specific reason. I have it on good authority that Slyvannus actions don't have universal support in the Horde but with a Trollbane at her side she can take Stromgarde castle and claim she is only supporting his ancestrial claim. If she is able to take Stromgarde then the supply road I mentioned earlier is untenable and the Alliance would have no chioce but to retreat from all our holdings in the North and abandon everyone who stayed to their fate."
He let that sink in a bit then added, "We aren't sure when she will attack but our guess is she isn't going to move forward until she has an overwhelming force and then attack with all fury. My best guess is we have about 2 months." Mathias turned and looked at King Varian.
Anduin looked around the table and saw the shocked looks on everyone's faces. He saw his father pause for effect. He'd seen his dad do this a thousand times in the past and the tension built to unbearable levels then take control. His father broke it by saying, "I realize this is a lot to take in. There are about 10 people in the Alliance outside this room that know what you now know so I should not have to remind you that this is for your ears only. We don't need the people to hear about this and needlessly worry about it."
Kurdran rose and faced the King. "I thought I saw everything during my stay in the Outlands but this takes the prize. We Wildhammer are self sufficient and I'd like to think we could hold Aerie peak for years but that's just fool's talk. I didn't realize Slyvannus had moved so far. Have you spoken to my cousin Falstad or Muradin Bronzebeard about this?"
"Not yet. The only people that know are in this room and people in SI:7. If you are wondering why I haven't brought my allies into this it's because I don't know what to do and that's what I need you to help me decide. As i see it we have two choices. We can either 1) quickly resettle the people in the North to Kalimdor and essentially give Slyvannus the lands she wants or 2) we can fall back in Kalimdor and take the fight to Sylvannus. I don't see a third option -- we just don't have the resources to do both. To study the problem I want to split you into teams.
I'm putting Alpha Team under the command of General Twinbraid. General, I want you to evaluate our options in Kalimdor assuming we focus all our forces on that area especially centered on Mulgore and assuming we will evacuate any humans that want to go into an area designated to be the start of a new city in that area. Your team will consist of Jaina, Dugan, Troutman and Roberts.
I'm putting Bravo Team under the command of Commander Halfus. Commander, as your army will more than likely spearhead any invasion into the North I want you to investigate a strategy that reverse the balance in the North with a focus on protecting the existing human population. Because we don't have enough troops to do this with existing forces you are going to need to determine what we are going to pull from the West keeping in mind we can't totally abandon our Night Elf friends. Your team will be made up of Ebonlocke, Stoutmantle, Singleton, and Kurdran."
Anduin felt a twinge of relief when he heard he wasn't on either of the teams.
"... I'm putting Delta Team under the command of Prince Anduin ..."
Anduin coughed, "Wha..."
"Anduin, Your team will be looking for ideas that are out of the ordinary. Think special forces and lightning strikes. Nothing is out of bounds on your team and you have all forces at your discretion. Your team will consist of Aubrey, Blueheart, Firebeard, and Thassarian.
Since I want to give you plenty of time to prepare I'm going to let you break off into your groups for the evening. We will meet back here first thing tomorrow morning to discuss your plans.
Any Questions? No? Good. See you tomorrow."
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