Chapter 11 Chapter Ten One after another

Stormwind City is the strongest remaining stronghold of human beings. Most of the disciples of this kingdom have been destroyed but survived in the end. It was rebuilt after the end of the First Orc War.Varian now rules the Kingdom of Stormwind—or rules it again, since he was king there before disappearing for a while, only to return recently.Beginning with the siege of Stormwind, the brown-haired, irascible leader of the capital that bears his name, struggles to defend his domain and the Alliance from encroachment.Varian is a man with a sense of urgency, which has only intensified after the death of his beloved wife, Tiffin, in a riot 13 years ago.His son was his only comfort.Anduin - who was still a baby in his mother's arms when his mother died tragically - has been through a lot as king in the long time Varian has been gone.

So, after so much pain and struggle, it's no surprise that King Varian was haunted by nightmares in his sleep.Recently, he can only fall asleep by taking anesthetics that can block nightmares, but this is only a last resort.Unless they were particularly tired, Varian was more often seen patrolling the battlements. Varian represents a king to his people.But this rough, handsome, tall middle-aged man with a head of brown hair, he didn't know how to deal with the troubles he encountered at the moment. His people did not wake up. To make matters worse, the number is rising every day.Start with just one or two, then five, then ten, then more.With each day new sleepers are discovered, the people become more and more melancholy.Some people think it is a disease, but the scholars of the king's think tank firmly believe that the situation is far more than that.Something is affecting Stormwind in a strangely weakened way, and now Varian knows what it is.

is tribe. Although there is no evidence, it turns out that Varian's feeling is accurate.There are quite a few people in the tribe who are considered unable to defend peace.Orcs - also in Varian's suspicion - Varian can't find any reason to trust the blood elves - this group of high elves have turned to learning after losing their proud energy source, the sunwell Demonic magic, and gradually become obsessed with demonic energy.Nor did he trust the necromancers, who had declared their independence during the Lich King's reign.Of all the tribes, the tauren were the only ones that didn't make the ruler of Stormwind want to take up arms immediately.But since they mixed with orcs, they have become less trustworthy.

Varian was already planning to write a letter to Jaina Proudmoore at this time.Jaina Proudmoore is an archmage and ruler of Theramore Island, southeast of Kalimdor.Kalimdor is located on the western side of the Great Sea.A few days ago, Varian was hesitant to write to her, but he put it off again and again because he believed too much in himself.But now the king is starting to regret that he should have done it when he thought of it. A soldier in helmet and armor charged Varian with a standard force.He was the first guard Varian encountered.Even the king's private army was weakened by more than a third of its strength.

"Is everything normal?" he asked. "Yes, Your Majesty!" The guard hesitated a bit, and then added, "Everything is normal, except for the terrifying mist gradually rising in the distance..." Varian glanced at the distant battlements. The fog had thickened a little more than last night... a little thicker than the night before.The Sentinels first noticed it slowly spreading about a week ago... the morning the first Sleepers were discovered. He recalled the last time Stormwind was filled with fog.That fog masked the entry of disaster.The Scourge of the Undead used it as cover to sweep across the capital.Looking at the uncanny resemblance, the mist seemed even more otherworldly and menacing this time around.The fog seems to be alive... not only invading the human body but also invading the human heart.In fact, it's like a noir nightmare.

The king blinked.For a moment, he swore he saw something move in the fog.Varian leaned forward, but couldn't make out what it was.He is a person who does not like fantasy. "Send the order," he warned the soldiers. "Be vigilant at all times." "Yes, Your Majesty." After the soldiers left, Varian couldn't help yawning.He needs to rest for a while, but he knows that he can only fall asleep after taking the medicine made by the alchemist.At least that way it won't be a nightmare. Varian frowned.The medication seems to be working.But would it also keep him away from things that put him to sleep?He didn't think about it.The king knew he knew nothing about alchemy, but she seemed more spirited than the others.Could there be some connection between the nightmares of the sleepers and his complete absence of dreams?

Varian suddenly understood this thought, and he quickened his pace.He wants to quickly summon the alchemist and others who support him.If they believed him, putting other people on the drug might reduce the number of victims— He almost took on a soldier who was rushing, panting, up the battlements.Varian guessed she was a late soldier, but there was no time to scold him now, and turned away from the soldier. "Your Majesty! I'm here to look for you!" the soldier gasped, "Your Majesty is in need!" Varian instinctively thought of the phantom moving in the fog. "Invasion—"

The helmet covered most of the man's face, but there was great panic in his voice: "No, Your Majesty! We—we just found him lying on a chair in the big house! He—he didn't go out !" A strong sense of fear filled the king's heart.Varian grabbed the soldier by the shoulder and asked loudly, "Who? Who?" "Yes—it is His Royal Highness! Prince Anduin—" Varian felt as if blood was running down his face. "Anduin—my son—is he dead?" He shook off the soldiers and rushed down the steps leading to the door.Everything is blurred for Varian, who just regained his memory and his son!What vicious assassination took Anduin?

Varian rushed into the big house with the high roof.It used to be the most important place to hold balls and receive guests.Now, Varian saw a group of anxious guards, servants, and others. "Get out of the way!" cried the king. "Go aside!" The crowd parted, and Varian saw his son. The young man was the perfect union of his father and mother, with shinier hair and a softer face than Varian's, not only from Tiffin, but also from a man who had never suffered Life.However, compared to other young people under the age of 13, Anduin still looks more mature. At this moment, Anduin was as spotless as ever, at least in Varian's eyes.

Anduin was still half lying on the chair.The captain of the guard, a grumpy veteran with a scraggly brown beard, seemed to be trying to adjust the prince to a more comfortable position, but was afraid of accidentally hurting the royal heir. Varian had only his son in his eyes now, nothing but his son on his mind.He stumbled past the captain of the guard to Anduin. He actually saw this young man's chest rise and fall!There was hope in the king...he heard a whimper from Anduin. His son became a sleeper. "No..." the king of Stormwind murmured.He shook Anduin, but the boy still didn't wake up. "No……"

Finally Varian stood up and roared, "Put him on the bed, be gentle, and I'll come back later." The two guards carried the prince to bed as the king had ordered.The king turned to the captain of the guard and said: "Call the alchemists! I want to see them immediately—" A horn sounded.All looked up at the king, and Varian could tell from the sound of the horn that it was coming from the battlements he had just left. "Take care of Anduin!" He reminded the guards, "Captain, summon the alchemists immediately!" Before the guards could respond, the king had turned back the way he had just come.On the battlements, some soldiers were looking in the direction of the mist. When one of them turned around, he saw the king and immediately informed the other soldiers.The sentries stood at attention immediately. "It doesn't matter." Varian looked through the sentries towards the edge of Stormwind. "What are you doing—" He froze.Still further away in the haze can now be clearly seen moving forward.There were probably a few hundred of them... no... at least a thousand... "Move all forces immediately to—" Again, Varian stopped abruptly, but this time for other reasons.Though the mist was still far from Stormwind, for some reason the king was sure he had recognized all of them.In a way, it's not too shocking, the group is made up of the same two people, everything else is phantom. Those two people are Anduin... and Anduin's mother. But this person was not the Tiffin whom Varian remembered so dearly.Everyone who looked like Tiffin limped towards the city. White bones appeared on their legs, as well as light green carrion.Tiffin's once-beautiful face is now being eroded by worms and other scavengers.Spiders were crawling through her torn hair, and the robe she was buried in was already in tatters.This eerie and horrifying picture keeps repeating, repeating. But Anduin next to her was intact, standing very close to his mother, who wrapped a bony skeleton arm around his neck, which didn't look so intimate but full of emotion It means control and possession.To Varian, the terrifying ghost seemed to be telling the king that their son was now hers alone. "No..." Varian hoped that this picture was just a nightmare at this moment.How he wished he was one of these sleepers too.There was little that could shake him, but this picture of horror and darkness was one he had never imagined.It must be a nightmare, it must be... But Varian realizes that, unlike his son, he lives in the real world, even if it's a path that leads to a nightmare.The king had taken the potions before the first sleepers appeared, and he was sure that they protected him in some way from his nightmares.Unfortunately, Varian didn't have the time to insure his own son from doom. But now, whatever lies behind those sleepers and those dreadful dreams, those things are approaching the capital of the kingdom with the last of their own fears. This reality gave Varian some courage and strength, and he turned to the nearest guard—the female guard he had just talked to—and asked, "Did you see anything in that mist?" Her trembling voice showed how horrified she was at what she saw, "I saw...my father...dead on the battlefield...Thomas...taking up arms and preparing to fight...I saw—" The assembled guards of King Varian shouted: "What you see is nothing but your hallucinations! It's just your inner fear! He or they know your fear and feed on it Keep growing themselves! These are nightmares, none of these are real..." The guards regained consciousness from the powerful voice of the king and came to their senses.Varian buried his uneasy thoughts about Anduin and Tiffin deeply.If even he was affected by the fact that it was all a fake, what was the rest of the city to do? From beyond the city walls, from the outskirts near the mist came the sound of horns.This is a member of the night patrol on duty.Varian had ignored them for the moment.There are about six or so patrol soldiers patrolling in the dark... "Send the order!" he ordered to the nearest bugler. "Immediately order! Tell those patrolling soldiers to withdraw into the city immediately!" The soldiers immediately sounded the siren.Varian waited. A patrol on the west side of the city responded with a trumpet call, as did a patrol farther south.Sentinels on the northwest side also responded. The fourth signal came from the soldiers closest to the fog.When the horn sounded, Varian breathed a sigh of relief— But the sound suddenly stopped. To make matters worse... the other two never responded either. "try again!" The trumpeter blew again.King and soldiers are waiting. Still no response. Varian watched the moving figures in the mist.This time, his vision seemed to be magnified, allowing him to see more clearly.He knew it wasn't accidental, someone must have invaded his city, deliberately let him see what was happening, and made him feel scared... What the Stormwind king saw made her shudder, as it answered more questions.Anduin and Tiffins are no longer alone.Their ranks were joined by more members, shambling and clad in Lion of Glory armor.Varian could also see people lying prone on the ground, their mounts lying with them.In fact, these gaunt-faced soldiers all rode hollow-eyed, deformed mounts. "It is a natural disaster that will take our lives!" Someone shouted. The king didn't see who was speaking, but commanded "Quiet! It's just a hoax, and there's no life left!" And then... The Mist and its band stopped in front of the wall.Anduin and Tiffins looked up, their dark eyes fixed on Varian.Other figures behind them also stared at the battlements. Without any warning, Anduin and Tiffins watched this group of evil figures eagerly.Varian couldn't help following their gaze, too. At first he saw only soldiers mingling with them.Then, some other vague figures became clear.Although their appearance is not different from life...it is like a nightmare...their faces are hideous, which makes people feel frightened. And then... a figure loomed large among them.A woman's face, with long, yellow hair.If she wasn't dressed like a wizard, Varian might have dismissed him as a shadow. She is Lady Jaina Proudmoore. Her expression was as horrific as anyone else's, an expression of horror and death.Varian stepped back, realizing that things were worse than he'd expected.As if to confirm this, another figure emerges from the mists and the king doesn't recognize the face, but that doesn't matter.He saw another figure take shape, and then another. "Why don't they attack?" asked one of the soldiers with whom he spoke initially. "Why?" He didn't answer, although he knew why.They are attacking, bit by bit.It had occurred to him earlier that there was another reason why people fell asleep.The enemy is not only reducing the ranks of the resisters, it is increasing its own.For each Sleeper—especially one who, like Anduin, was suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion—their numbers increased by one. King Varian knew the only thing to do now was wait...the victory would be theirs. Tyrande prayed... the goddess Elune was responding to her disciple. Like the silvery light of a full moon suddenly filling the entire room, the light of the goddess is infinitely magnified, bathing everything under its glory.For the High Priestess, Blore and Lucan, the light was comforting.Instead of burning their eyes it soothed them. Not so with Eranikus.The green giant leaped backwards, his soft but huge body hitting the cave wall and ceiling behind him.The cave shook, and huge boulders fell from the walls.But the light of the Moon Goddess can protect the three of them from harm. The dragon made a furious sound.But it didn't jump forward suddenly this time.Eranikus continued to take a few steps back.At the same time, he began to shrink and deform. "You're lucky enough!" he growled. "At least luckier than me..." The giant dragon has now returned to its pseudo-elf form.Only the traces left around can tell its true identity. Blore was ready to fight, but this time he no longer used physical attacks.He cast a spell. Eranikus exhaled heavily.The false elf blinked, and he looked at the high priestess. "It's powerful." He praised. "And almost succeeded...but I could never feel comfortable, even in the light of the peaceful loving Elune...for my heart was tormented too much..." The man in disguise neither re-attacked nor fled.Instead, he sat down against the rock wall and closed his eyes.Eranikus shuddered. "I failed her, I failed her and everyone else." Tyrande begged Elune to dim the moonlight enough that Luken could see everything. Eranikus slumped down in a chair-like protruding part of the city wall. "Very well," she whispered. "Even if you were corrupted once, that's not the case anymore. If you think you've made a mistake, now's your chance to change it." Eranikus laughed bitterly at Tyrande's suggestion. "You are so naive! How long have you lived, night elf? A thousand years, or five thousand?" She stands proudly, "I defeated the Burning Legion when they first arrived in Azeroth. I braved the upheaval of Azeroth, and I was there when the Well of Eternity was destroyed." There." "That was more than 10,000 years ago." Eranikus replied, not sounding very concerned. "That was but a point in time for my kind and especially for my year. You still judge my pain in a poor way. Can you think of your most painful failure?" "Of course, of course I remember..." That makes it multiply and grow as tall as the Yggdrasil.You might understand a little bit then..." Eranikus glared, trying to keep his emotions under control. I've done bad things, and the worst thing is that I might do it again. " Blore and Tyrande glanced at each other.The High Priestess finally said "You are safe from corruption...with me...with the light of Elune, in fact, you can cleanse yourself through me and the other priestesses! If you are not transformed, I Should have recognized it was you!" "So I also believed... But as the nightmare became stronger and stronger, I discovered a fact! As long as it exists, its shadow will accompany me... And because of me, it can spread throughout the queen's kingdom... he growled. "That's why I don't wear night elf clothes, and that's why I disguise myself as a black dragon when forced to fly out for food! I hope no one recognizes me! I hope no one finds me!" "But Ysera and the Emerald Dream—" said the high priestess. "Call it what you will! Call it the Emerald Nightmare! Our Nightmare!" cried Eranikus, jumping up and down.It changed shape, half elf and half dragon.But he still looks graceful, like he's a dream himself. Then the guy in disguise settled down.Eranikus stared, his expression slightly horrified. "No, I almost... I shouldn't have done that... The line between the two realms is disappearing... But it shouldn't be this bad..." Behind Tyrande, Lucan stepped into the shadows.Blore noticed him moving, and Eranikus caught Blore watching him. "Human..." The appearance of the green dragon was still a strange mixture of the two races, and it strode towards Lucan.The elf's face grew a mouth and sharp teeth that were too hard for mortal creatures.The small wings flapped back and forth, and claws with sharp nails grew where the long hands used to be. "He comes from the human race..." The high priestess took a defensive posture in front of the cartographer. "With all respect, he is under Elune's protection." Blore walked towards her. "Also under the protection of this druid." Eranikus shook his hand. The two night elves found themselves moved in opposite directions, leaving Luken alone to face the green dragon. Gathering up his courage, Lucan took a few steps forward. "If you want to kill me, do it! Anyway, I am always worried that I will be eaten by a monster one day." "I like simple food." Eranikus replied bluntly.His expression turned even more sinister when he saw the gaunt human. "I just want to get to know you better..." Tyrande stood up, ready to draw her sword.However, Blore stood up as well, motioning for him to stop.He could sense that the dragon wasn't ready to hurt him... at least for now If anything, Blore was ready to attack. Eranikus is far taller than Lucan, he is no ordinary human being.The cartographer bravely looked up at the half-transformed dragon, which was stretching claw-like fingers toward his chest. "You humans are always the most fascinating visionaries," Eranikus whispered, sounding even calmer. "Imagination so rich, so full of desire, that your dreams can create both beauty and horror..." "I don't like to dream," replied the man. This answer suddenly drew a burst of laughter from the dragon. "I didn't like it at first either...me too..." The claw-like fingers were only a few millimeters away from Luken... All the fingers shone like emeralds. Blore shook his head. "That's impossible! He's a human! There are no human druids." "What do you want to say?" Tyrande asked the dragon. "Another kingdom suits him, is a part of him, and may be open to him," Eranikus replied, pulling his fingers back. "I know you, not only know your name, but also met you, when you guessed it was just born..." Luken swallowed his saliva, unable to understand. "I'm just a cartographer." "A map maker, a student of landscape painting, and your closest human thoughts will make you recall and accept things that you should not do..." Eranikus made a faint sound. "It's not her business either." "Her?" the human repeated. "The one who bore you, little one! Your mother was brought into this nightmare by a scumbag who seduced a woman who was abandoned by her husband just as he was about to give birth! While he was waiting for the baby to come to declare his terrible When I arrived, I just happened to witness everything. The bastard ran away after I came, leaving behind a dying mother and a lonely and weak boy..." Luken looked at Blore and Tyrande, as if hoping they could speak more clearly, but he was disappointed. "You are not a nightmare, and you do not belong to a nightmare. The queen gave you to a member of the race who understands humans better, although he is of our kind—a red dragon named Kleostraz." "I remember that name!" Tyrande blurted out. "Yes, you should know! He is the consort of Alexstrasza the Keeper of Life - Eranikus frowned angrily - he is more capable and worthy than I am to my consort trust……" Tyrande began to understand something. "You brought him out of the Emerald Dream." "At the queen's behest, I healed his weakness with a spell—a strange spell though it seemed to me—and it took me a moment to keep him alive..." "That explains why he sees you as you really are, but we see you as you want others to see you - a black dragon being chased." Eranikus hissed. "Hunger is driving me farther and farther, and that seems to be the best disguise for anyone but him." He looked at Lucan dubiously. "I never thought my previous actions would create a connection between me and him..." "So that's why he can slip in and out of the nightmare without realizing it?" Blore asked. To the surprise of the two night elves, his question filled the mighty dragon with fear again. "Really? Can he?" Eranikus bared his teeth at Luken, making Luken and the night elves prepare for the worst. "Has he entered a nightmare?" "We think so," replied Blore, his spell restored. "And managed to get out of it unscathed, as if it hadn't been touched at all." "It shouldn't be like this... But it was there, and the voice came from there. And Azeroth is calling him." Eranikus took a few steps back, his gaze never leaving Lucan. "How long have you endured, little human being?" "My name is Lucan Foxbrood." The cartographer found himself daring to stand in front of the dragon, and he didn't like being called a "little human being." "You have the right to reveal this phenomenon." Eranikus replied, with a tone that seemed to say to humans that "there is no such right elsewhere."No matter how reasonable it may seem for a dragon to converse with creatures of other races, most dragons do so with the innate stance of their race being the best children of Azeroth. "Now tell me! When did you first encounter these? Do you remember?" "I've always dreamed of having an idyllic land, undisturbed by time and humans..." Luken said, with a longing look on his face.Then his face darkened. "But the first nightmare... the first bad dream..." he paused for a moment, then told them. Eranikus frowned, "Insignificant years are just a blink of an eye for dragons. But for humans, it is extremely long, I know..." "It's been a long time," replied the cartographer. "What a coincidence!" growled Blore, and his words drew the others to look at him.He gave Tyrande a cold look. "In other words, the time when Lucan's nightmare started happened to be when you found Malfurion's body..." In terms of racial identity, orcs are extremely secretive.And Sola is one of the most secretive orcs.She had just managed to stalk the Tyrande trio without being noticed, close enough to even hear their voices.Not all words can be understood, some are difficult to understand, but there is one word that stimulates her. The name of an elf.Night Elf Malfurion. Sora didn't listen to the words behind the name, or she seemed to know if her prayers were useless, so she only knew - or thought - one thing.Soon she will meet Brox's killer, and he will destroy Azeroth... The orc sneaked back, and the dragon wasn't there, just a mage-looking guy.She also didn't hear well enough to know what was going on over there.For Sola, mages are not worth paying too much attention to, they are cowards who often attack from the rear of the battlefield in ways that real warriors would not be ashamed of.But shamans give people a completely different feeling, and as for druids, it varies from person to person.In her eyes, it meant just another small obstacle to face in avenging her kindred. The orcs crawled along the ridge, seeking a vantage point from which they could overlook the entire range.That way she could see no matter which hole they came from, and as she used to sit, Sora would follow their trail and eventually find Malfurion. The sound from above made Sora cling to a hill.She stared at it for a long time, then snorted softly.Now she knows all her enemies.The last enemy revealed itself, though the orc had no idea how it had slipped away without her noticing. The disguised dragon glides across the area.Sola watched him wandering around the top of the mountain, and she felt that there might be his lair.In the night sky, the silhouette of the dragon is huge.Indeed, it was difficult to distinguish the dragon in the dark.But fortunately, Sora saw the beast in a place with better light, otherwise she would have doubted her eyes long ago.The dragon looked much bigger than before.In fact, it was so huge that it couldn't possibly be the one she had seen before.This is truly a monster of a monster. Sora held the ax tightly, ready to use it if necessary.But the dragon stopped circling, flapped its wings violently, and flew away. If Sora had known the land better, she would have known that the dragon was flying to Ashenvale.