Chapter 7 Chapter Six

The day was cool and overcast, with a drizzle of rain as Jaina Proudmoore walked up the blue-and-gold carpeted steps of Stormwind Cathedral.A portion of the steps were cut off to repair damage from the Nightmare War, and the rain made them slippery.Instead of pulling up her cloak to hide her long, bright-blond hair, she let the raindrops fall gently on her head and face.It seems that the sky is also weeping for the mourning service that is about to take place. Two young priestesses at the door bowed and bowed to her, smiling. "Lady Jaina," the human girl on the right stammered, a blush crept across her swarthy face. "We didn't know you'd come too—would you sit next to His Majesty? I'm sure he'd be delighted to be with you."

Jaina smiled as kindly as she could at the girl. "Thank you, no need. I can sit next to whoever I want." "Then please go this way." The dwarf priest handed over an unlit candle. "Take this, ma'am, and come in and take a seat. We'd love you to come." Her smile was genuine, though a little suppressed by the solemn moment.Jaina took the candle and walked in, casually dropping a handful of gold coins into the donation tray next to the priests. She took a deep breath, thanks to the moist air.The smell of incense was stronger than usual, and the Cathedral of the Holy Light was darker than she remembered.The candles were smoking, and Jaina glanced quickly across the rows of pews, looking for a place to sit, wondering if she should decline the young priestess's offer.Ah, there's a spot for that.She walked down the passage, nodding toward a middle-aged dwarf couple who had made room for her.This position had a good view, and she couldn't help smiling when she saw the familiar figures of King Varian Wrynn and his son Anduin.They lined up in a separate room as inconspicuously as possible.

Varian, however, has never been an "inconspicuous" person.More than a year ago, the orc Rhaegar Earthfury found Varian unconscious and half dead, thinking he would make a good gladiator.Varian, who has no memory of his past, has adapted well to this brutal way of life.Little did he know then, that he had actually been split into two individuals—Varian, held in the hands of the black dragon Onyxia, and the mighty and fearsome gladiator Lakash.The name means "ghost wolf" in Tauren, in honor of a ferocious legendary creature.Varian has all the habits, knowledge, and manners of the Primarch; Rakash has the combat skills of the Primarch.Varian is polite, Rakesh is violent; Varian is educated, Rakesh is brutal.

In the end the two came together as one, but not perfectly.Sometimes Rakesh has the upper hand in this tall, muscular frame.Most of the time, it is controlled by King Varian? Wrynn.His dark brown hair was pulled back in a bun, and his handsome face bore a horrific scar. Anduin was a stark contrast to his father.He was fair-skinned and blond-haired, slender and taller than the last time Jaina had seen him.Although nothing like his father's burly, imposing build—Jina guessed Anduin was more like his slender mother, and would never grow into Varian's bulk—he was a teenager now and Not a child anymore.Anduin smiled and nodded with Brother Sarnu and Little Thomas as he followed his father to his seat.Perhaps sensing her gaze, he frowned slightly and looked around—and met her eyes.He was well educated in royal etiquette, so he didn't grin in public, but his eyes lit up and he nodded slightly at her.

All eyes turned from the king and his son to Archbishop Benedictus who had just entered the door and slowly walked towards the altar.He was of medium height and stocky, looking more like a farmer than a priest.The tight gold and white robe looked out of place with him, awkward even.But when he opened his mouth to speak, the calm and clear voice resounded throughout the cathedral, obviously he had received the grace of the Holy Light. "Dear Friends of the Light, welcome to this beautiful cathedral that is open to everyone with an open heart and a humble soul. It has witnessed countless joys and countless sorrows. We gather today Come together to remember the dead, remember them, mourn them, and honor the sacrifices they made for the Alliance and Azeroth."

Jaina looked down at her clasped hands in her lap.This is one of the reasons why she does not want to sit in a prominent position in the cathedral.People hadn't forgotten her romance with Arthas Menethil - not when he was a prince, certainly not when he was the Lich King, and still not after he was defeated.This sad memorial service today is entirely thanks to him.A few heads turned this way, they recognized her, and they all showed sympathy.Not a single day passed without Jaina not thinking about him, wondering what she could have done and said to stop the promising paladin from going down the dark path.During the Nightmare War, her emotions became her enemy, trapping her in a haunted nightmare where she did indeed succeed in preventing him from becoming the Lich King... as she herself became the Lich Queen in his place ...

She shivered, and forced herself to put aside thoughts of that horrible nightmare and return her attention to the Archbishop. "...the frozen land in the far north." Benedictus was speaking. "They are facing a terrible enemy. No one thought that we could really defeat his army of death. And thanks to the Holy Light Thanks to the blessings of these heroes and heroines and the courage of these heroes and heroines, our homeland is safe again—thanks to the heroes of humans, dwarves, night elves, gnomes, and draenei; yes, even members of the Horde. People are shocked, and new reports of deaths are coming in every day. To give everyone an idea of ​​the number of victims, we have distributed a candle to everyone who came to mourn, and each candle represents not one, Ten... but a hundred Alliance lives lost in the Northrend campaign."

Jaina gasped, staring at the unlit candle in her hand, and suddenly began to tremble.She looked around... There were at least two hundred people in the cathedral, and she knew there were many more gathered outside.Even though the cathedral has limited space, they have to participate in this memorial service.Twenty thousand, thirty thousand—maybe forty or fifty thousand... died.She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked towards the Archbishop, noticing painfully that the dwarf couple beside her were staring at her and whispering. So Jaina was almost relieved when she heard the raised voice and the startled gasp from behind the cathedral.She turned around and saw two dusty sentinels having a heated conversation with the priestesses.When she stood up to walk out quietly, she saw Varian had come.

The dwarf priestess looked a bit embarrassed, but the human priestess obviously disagreed with her attitude, leading two sentries into a room in the left wing.Jaina followed quickly, meeting Varian at the door of the room.Now is not the time to exchange pleasantries, but they still exchanged a knowing glance. Varian turned to face the paladins who were coming towards them. "Sir Grayson," he said to the tall, dark-haired figure in the half-blindfold, "get some food and drink for these two soldiers." "As you order, Your Majesty," replied the paladin, and hurried to handle it himself.This is the attitude of the paladins: to serve others is to serve the Holy Light, and do not do little good.

"Sit down, please," Varian said. The taller of the two night elves, a lady with white hair and purple skin, shook her head. "Thank you, Your Majesty, but this is no easy errand. We have dire news and must return immediately." Varian nodded, slightly tensing his nerves. "Then tell me." She nodded. "I'm Sentinel Valaya Torrent. This is Sentinel Ellie Yeyu. We've brought a report of the Horde's attack on Ashenvale. They violated the treaty." Jaina and Varian switched colors. "We knew when we signed the treaty that there were some diehards on both sides." Jaina said hesitantly, "The border has long been in a kind of—"

"I don't need to come here if it's just a small conflict, Ms. Jaina Proudmoore." Valaya said coldly, "We are not newborn babies, and we know what accidental emergencies are. That's not the case. It's a massacre! A massacre, and the Horde claims they want peace!" Jaina's eyes widened as Jaina and Varian listened to her recount the bloody tragedy, while Varian slowly clenched his fists.A party of Sentinels was ambushed while escorting a convoy of harvested herbs and metals through the lush forests of Ashenvale.None survived.Their deaths were not learned until two days after the convoy's scheduled arrival.All the supplies were gone along with the wagon. Valaya paused, then took a deep breath, as if to calm herself down.Her sister came up to her and stroked her shoulder gently.Varian frowned, but Jaina pressed on. "It's a violation of the treaty," Jaina said, "and needs to be reported to Thrall. But still—I'm afraid I still don't understand why you're calling this a massacre, rather than an unfortunate accident." Allie flinched and turned away.Jaina glanced at them both in turn.They were all warriors, probably having fought long before Jaina was even born.What is it that makes them hesitate so much? "Let me put it this way, Ms. Proudmoore," said Valaya through gritted teeth, "we can't get their bodies back." Jaina took a breath, "Why?" "Because they were deliberately dismembered into several pieces," Varaya said, "and the pieces were picked up by scavengers. Of course, they were all skinned before that. We are not sure if they were skinned when they were skinned. Still alive." Jaina quickly covered her mouth with her hand, a bitter taste in her throat.This thing has come out of impurity, out of cruelty... "Their skins hung like rags from a nearby tree. On that tree was the symbol of the Horde painted in the blood of the elves." "Thal!" Varian yelled, turning to stare at Jaina. "He must have ordered this! I had a chance to kill him, but you stopped me!" "Varian," Jaina said, resisting the urge to vomit, "I've fought alongside him, and I've made treaties with him—he's always kept them. It doesn't look like him at all, anyway. We don't have any proof that he directed the attack, and—" "No proof? Jaina, they're orcs! He's an orc, and he's leading the bloody Horde!" Her stomach was no longer churning, and she knew she had reason. "The Defias gang are humans too," Jaina said softly. "Are you responsible for their actions?" Varian twitched violently, as if she had hit him on the head.For a moment she thought she had touched him.The Defias gang has a personal vendetta against Varian, and they have cost him a lot.Varian's brows were furrowed together, and the terrible scar on his face made his scowl terrifying.Now he doesn't look like himself anymore. He looks like Rakesh. "How dare you mention that to me," he growled under his breath. "Yes. Someone always reminds you to remember the past." Lakash is Varian's cold, fast and violent side. Jaina didn't use her own anger to return his anger, but instead saved her and others. Pragmatic countless times. "You lead the Kingdom of Stormwind, the most powerful country in the Alliance, and Thrall leads the Horde. You can make laws, rules, and treaties, and Thrall can do the same. And he, like you, cannot control the freedom of every subject. Every move. No one can." Rakesh glared at her. "What if you're wrong, Jaina? What if I'm right? You've never been a good judge of people." Now it was Jaina's turn to be stunned by the words.He paid her back with Arthas.This is the way Rakash fights, the way he wins arena fights—by means of indiscriminate means, using any tool at hand to win, no matter the cost.Jaina's nightmare returned, and she struggled to shake it off, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Varian, many of us know Arthas well, including yourself. You lived with him for many years. You didn't expect the monster he would become. Neither did his father, nor did Uther. " "Yes, I didn't. But I won't make the same mistake again, and you're different. Tell me, Jaina, if you foresaw that Arthas would become...would you try to stop him? Would you Have the guts to kill your loved one, or just stand by and do whatever it takes to make peace, a little pacifist who can only cry—" "Father!" The words came out of a boy's shrill voice.Varian whirled around. Anduin stood at the door.His blue eyes widened, his cheeks flushed, and the expression on his face was not only shock, but also bitter disappointment.Before Jaina's eyes, Varian changed.Rakesh's cold rage was gone, his posture changed, and he was now Varian again. "Anduin—" Varian's firm voice carried a hint of worry and regret. "Forget it," said Anduin in disgust, "you stay here—keep doing what you're doing. And I'm going back outside to look like royalty so our people know there's someone else Concerned about their loss. Even if he's a little pacifist who just knows how to cry." He turned on his heels and strode towards the door.Jaina watched him hold the door frame for a moment, straightening his back and crossing his hair to calm himself, putting on a calm face, the one about to take over the crown.He has had to grow up as fast as possible.The two sentries looked at each other, and Varian stood there in a daze, looking over where his son had been, and sighed deeply. "Jianna, you should go back together." He smiled at her puzzled expression. "Don't worry. I'll work with the Sentinels on what to do next." Jaina nodded. "So after that—may I have a moment of your time?" "Of course," he turned back to the two elf ladies. "Now, please tell me when the attack took place." The discussion continued in whispers.Varian listened carefully, but he no longer had fits of rage.Jaina turned and quietly left the room.However, she didn't look for the bench she was sitting on before, but leaned against the back wall of the cathedral, standing quietly in the shadows, silently watching, listening, and doing what she was best at... …think.