Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty Seven

Seeing Anduin appearing unexpectedly right in front of her eyes, Jaina's first instinct was to contact his father.Although Moira has a good control over the means of communication in and out of Ironforge, complete isolation is difficult to achieve.Just one day later, rumors began to spread.Varian immediately sent an urgent letter trying to get in touch with his son.With no reply, he became worried and angry. Jaina has never been a parent, but she understands Varian's mood now, as a father who has recently reunited with his son on the one hand, and a king worried about the safety of his country on the other.But calming a potential outbreak was more urgent than reassuring Varian's concerns.Sometimes politics is just a matter between two people.Although she had never met Bane, he was already famous.And she did know, respect and love his father.Now, Bain willingly risked everything to come to her for help, trusting her to lend a helping hand.Jaina did know Anduin well enough to know that after the initial shock and doubt had passed, productive communication would follow.

So she soothed their fears, and let them talk to her, and to each other.The news they both brought was terrifying in its own way.Baine said his father died at the hands of Garrosh and Magatha, and the peaceful people were massacred in the ensuing massacre, a bloody coup Jaina had never heard of.Anduin tells the story of the return of a princess who, despite her legal claim to the throne, took over the city with a complete dictatorship and took away the liberties of the citizens. Both men were exiles.Jaina promised to keep them safe and support them as much as she could, though she hadn't yet established a detailed plan for how to do so.

Now they're all talking hoarse and lethargic, even Jaina herself.But she is pleased with the progress that has been made.Bane told Jaina that those who followed him were expecting his return, and that if he didn't they might feel betrayed.Jaina understood this, and she would have felt the same way. She opened a portal to a location he had designated, and Baine walked in, leaving only Anduin and Jaina now. "That's really..." Anduin struggled to choose his words, "I feel so sorry for him." "Me too... for Thunder Bluff and Bloodhoof Village, and all the poor tauren wherever they are under attack. As for Thrall... I don't know what he will think when he hears the news." She knew that this would hit the orc's noble heart hard.And it was his decision to appoint Garrosh as acting leader that indirectly led to all of this.Thrall must have been terribly sad.

She put the matter aside with a sigh, and turned to give Anduin a loving hug. "I'm so glad you're safe and sound!" "Thanks, Aunt Jaina," he replied, hugging Jaina back and letting go. "My father... can I talk to him?" "Of course," Jaina said, "come with me." Not surprisingly, Jaina's small, cozy room is lined with books.She walked to a bookshelf and flipped through three of them in a specific order.Anduin stared dumbfounded as the bookshelf slid aside, revealing what looked like a regular oval mirror hanging on the wall.Anduin caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the mirror, dumbfounded, and quickly shut his mouth.

Jaina didn't seem to notice him.She murmured a spell and waved her hand, and Anduin and Jaina, as well as the reflection of the entire room, disappeared.In its place is a swirling blue mist. "I hope he's around," Jaina said, frowning slightly. "Varian?" After a long and tense wait, the blue mist seemed to be gradually taking shape.Brown hair in a topknot, slightly melancholic face, with a scar on his face—— "Anduin!" Varian Wrynn yelled. Despite the dire situation, Jaina couldn't help but laugh at the love and relief in Varian's voice and expression.

Anduin grinned, "Hello, Father." "I've heard the rumors... how do you—of course, you have Hearthstone," Varian said to himself, "Jaina—I owe you a big favor. You may have saved Anduin life." "It was his own ingenuity to think of using it," Jaina retorted. "I merely provided the tools." "Anduin... did that dwarf witch hurt you?" Varian frowned, "If she dared to do that, I would—" "No, no," Anduin hastily assured his father, "I don't think she will either. I am too important to her. Let me tell you what happened."

He told his father everything that had happened, concisely and accurately.His words were almost verbatim what he had told Baine and Jaina earlier.Once again, Gianna admired the young man's level-headedness, especially considering that he—like Gianna herself—was in extremely stressful situations and barely rested. "So, you see, her claim to the throne is legitimate," Anduin concluded. "Self-proclaimed empress is not legal," Varian retorted. "Well, yes. But she's a legitimate princess, and once officially crowned, a legitimate queen. There's no need for her to... keep everyone in check like this."

"No," the king replied, "no, she didn't have to." He winked at Jaina, "Jaina, I'm not going to show Moira that Anduin is safe and sound. Let her Nerve. That means I have a favor." "Of course he can stay with me," Jaina replied before Varian finished. "No one has seen him yet, and it's safe to say that anyone who will. No matter when you plan to let him Just go back and tell us." Anduin nodded.He knew it would be this decision.Still, Jaina saw a look of disappointment flash across his face.She didn't blame him.Anyone would want to go home as soon as possible and get this over with.

"Thank you," Varian said. "Of course, I will continue to act embarrassed in public as she wishes." "Me too. We'll make Moira think she's successfully concealed her coup. In the meantime—" "Don't worry," Varian said with a sneer, "I have a plan." As soon as he finished speaking, his face disappeared.Jaina blinked at the abrupt end. "He looks angry," Anduin said softly. "Well, I'm sure of it. When I heard all this, it made me angry to think you were in danger. And he's your father." Anduin sighed, "I hope I can help the people of Ironforge or the tauren more."

Jaina resisted the urge to rub his hair.He wasn't a child anymore, and though he might not object out of politeness, she suspected he didn't like it.She was satisfied that she just gave him an encouraging smile. "Anduin, please believe me, I don't know why, I'm sure you can find a suitable way." Anduin was surprised and delighted when he learned that Baine Bloodhoof had asked him to attend the meeting with Jaina the next night.Although the living room where they talked last night was an odd setting for such a heavyweight meeting.Anduin didn't object when Jaina suggested talking there again.So was Bane, though that room was out of place for his bulk.Anduin suspected that Baine might have felt the comfort of that room too, even though it was vastly different from the tauren way of life Anduin knew.Friends often gather here to chase away the chilly rainy day with light talk, hot tea and biscuits.Perhaps it was this lingering sound that infected Bane.

It's an odd way to strike a deal.Anduin thought back to the summit of Theramore all those years ago.There were no official communiqués, no weapons to lay down, no guards.There are only three people. He's sure he likes it. When Anduin went, Bane and Jaina were already there.From Anduin's point of view, the tauren looked calmer and sadder than last night.Anduin greeted Bane politely and sincerely, bowing as a reciprocal.Bane paid his respects in his own way, first with his hand on his heart, then his forehead.Anduin laughed.It was awkward at first, but when he looked at Bane, the laughter became easy and sincere. Bane, Jaina and Anduin sat on the floor again.Anduin had his back to the fire, and the billowing heat made him feel more comfortable.Jaina brought a tray of tea sets and placed it between the three of them.Anduin noticed that this time she served extra-large teacups for her guests. Bane noticed too, and he snorted softly. "Thank you, Ms. Jaina," he said. "I don't see the details escaping from you. I believe Thrall made a wise choice in trusting you." "Thank you, Baine," Jaina said. "Thrall's trust means a lot to me. I will never betray it—or your trust." Bane took a sip from his teacup, the oversized teacup still looking small in his huge palm.He stared into the glass for a moment. "Some Forsaken use tea leaves for divination," he said. "Do you know the art too, Lady Jaina?" Jaina shook her head. "No, I wouldn't," she said, "but I've heard that steeped tea leaves are the best flower fertilizer." The joke was cold, but they all laughed. "It's okay. I don't need an oracle to show me the future. I get guidance from Mother Earth in my thoughts and prayers, asking her to guide my heart. Now it's full of pain and hatred, and I don't know if it's still wise. " "What did it say to you?" Jaina asked softly. He looked up at her calmly with brown eyes. "My father was betrayed and parted from me. My heart cries out for vengeance for this despicable act." His voice was calm and almost monotonous, though In this way, Anduin instinctively felt a shudder.He never wanted to be the target of Bane's revenge. "My heart cries for fire for fire. I will have vengeance on the Grimtotems who storm the peaceful cities of their people in the dead of night, smothering or stabbing their sleeping victims. I will have vengeance on their matriarch , she put poison on the blade instead of holy oil. I want revenge on that arrogant fool who dared to fight my father, and if he won it was all by submission—" Bane began to raise his voice, and the calm in his eyes gradually turned to anger.He clenched his fist as big as Anduin's head, and began to flick his tail back and forth.However, his words stopped abruptly, and then he took a deep breath. "As you can see, my heart is not wise at the moment. But there is one thing I agree with it. I must take back the territory of the people - Thunder Bluff, Bloodhoof Village, Sun Rock Residence, Camp Mojache and anyone who was attacked and shed A village or an outpost of innocent blood." Anduin couldn't help but nodded.He totally agrees, for various reasons.The violence and cruelty of the Grimtotem are not to be encouraged; Baine would have been a better leader than this Magatha; besides, the Alliance could see no hope of peace until this young tauren was the leader of his people. "I think you should, too," Jaina said.Anduin, however, could hear a hint of caution in her voice.He knew she wanted to know exactly what Bane was going to do—and what he would ask of her.She must be willing to provide some kind of help, otherwise Baine would not have been allowed to come and talk to her in the first place.Anduin fell silent, letting Bane continue. "But there are things I can't do, never do. Even though I have the urge to do it. I can't do it because my father wouldn't want me to do it, and I have to respect his wish - he fought for it, Something to sacrifice for—better than my own emotions." Bane sighed heavily, "How I long to...but I can't fight Garrosh? Hellscream." Jaina breathed a sigh of relief. "Garrosh was appointed by my warchief Thrall. My father swore allegiance to Thrall, and so did I. My father believed Garrosh was the one who would attack the Sentinels in Ashenvale and a Drew He is responsible for the actions of the Peace Council. Therefore, he challenged Garrosh to a duel for the benefit of the Horde, even though Garrosh modified the rules to make it a true life-and-death struggle. In that case, I Think he did the right thing. His motive was not anger, not hatred, not revenge." Bane's voice choked slightly, "His motivation was his love for the Horde, and his desire to see it away from danger. He was willing to risk himself for it—and sacrificed his life for it." Anduin couldn't help but blurted out, "But no one can deny your right to revenge, especially if you can prove that Garrosh let Magatha poison his weapon! As for the attacking druid—" Jaina wasn't happy about his outburst, and Bane looked taken aback.He turned the huge head to face Anduin for a moment. "True. But what you don't understand—and maybe even you don't, Jaina—is that my father challenged me to a duel to the death. It's up to you. It's Earth Mother's decision." "But if Garrosh cheats—" "We have evidence that Magatha poisoned the weapon, but no evidence that Garrosh consented to it. My father has no doubts, but mine does. If I challenge him, I cannot If I completely believe in the rightness of my actions, then I'm throwing aside the ancient traditions of my people. I don't like the laws, so I don't obey them. Then I reject Mother Earth. Then what am I, young one Anduin?" Anduin nodded his blond head slowly. "You can't apply a double standard to the fairness of things just because they turned out differently." Bane snorted approvingly. "Very well, now you understand. My father challenged Garrosh to restore the Horde. And if I do the same, it will divide the Horde. If I choose to protect them in the wrong way, I will destroy the bullhead The way people live, destroying everything they've worked so hard for. That's not what the son of Cairne Bloodhoof should do. So... I won't do that." Anduin felt a chill run down his spine.He knew a lot of humans, indeed the other races of the Alliance, what the tauren and the Horde thought.He'd heard too many such mutterings—even yelling at times.monster.That's what they say about tribes.As for the tauren, not much better than the beast.Yet Anduin knew that in his short life, he had never seen such integrity under pressure. He also knew that Bane wasn't entirely comfortable with his decision.Bane knew what was right, but he didn't want to.Though Anduin didn't know exactly how he knew, he did realize that Bane... didn't think he could. Bane didn't believe he could be a tauren like his father, and behind his clearly painful words was the fear that he would fail. Anduin knew what it was like to live in the shadow of a powerful father.Apparently anyone who was not blind or deaf knew that Bane and Cain got along very well, which made Anduin feel a hush of shameful envy.As close as he was to Varian once, and longing to be so again, it was no longer.What would Anduin have thought if his father had been taken from him so brutally?How did Varian feel when his own father was murdered?What would Varian have done if he hadn't been guided by the wisdom of Anduin Lothar?After the two Wrynns have felt the pain of the loss of their father - Baine obviously made no secret of this - can they put the well-being of the people above the need for personal revenge? "I'll be right back," Anduin said abruptly.He got up and bowed and ran towards the room Jaina had arranged for him, feeling curious eyes behind him.When he used Hearthstone to escape Ironforge and the golden birdcage Moira had prepared for him, he had a backpack with him, and it was now under the bed.He grabbed his backpack and rushed back to Jaina and Bane.Jaina frowned slightly, which made Anduin realize that she was slightly angry with him.Anduin sat down again, reached out and groped in the backpack, and took out something carefully wrapped in cloth. "Bane... I don't know... Maybe it's a bit presumptuous for me, I don't know if you care about my thoughts, but... I hope you know, I can understand why you choose such a path. And I I believe this is the right choice." Bane narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but didn't interrupt him. "But...I feel..." Anduin struggled to choose his words, feeling his cheeks start to heat up.He just acted on a momentary impulse, and he hoped that he would not end up regretting it.He took a deep breath. "I get the sense that you're not sure you're making the right choice. Your concern is that...you might not be able to overcome it. You might not be the best leader of your clan, like your father was." "Anduin—" Jaina snapped, warningly. Baine held up a hand. "No, Lady Jaina. Let him go on." His brown eyes met Anduin's blue eyes. "But... I believe you. I believe Cairne Bloodhoof would be proud of what you said tonight. You are like me—we were born to be leaders of our people. We didn't ask to be leaders, and those who think People whose lives are light and happy...they don't know the meaning of our lives. What it means to be the son of a leader, needs to think about what it means to lead yourself. Once, there was a man who believed in me and he gave me this. " He untied the item on his lap.The Terrorbreaker shone brightly against the firelight.Anduin stroked the ancient weapon while talking, trying to suppress the urge to hold it. "Just—the night before he died in that ceremony, King Magni Bronzebeard gave me this. It's an ancient weapon, and it's called the Fearbreaker. We're talking about responsibility, and sometimes What people want us to do is not what we really should do." He looked up at Baine, "I think the tauren must be as angry and thirsty for revenge as you are. But you have to know that you made the right choice—for you, and for them. They just haven’t seen it yet. But someday they will.” He raised the Terrorbreaker, holding it carefully in both hands.Magni's words still ring in his ears: he has drunk blood and healed wounds.Here, take it.Take it in your hand and see if it likes you. He doesn't want to lose it.If something is made for someone, this weapon is made for you.Magni said so with certainty. But Anduin wasn't so sure.Perhaps it was destined to belong to him only for a short time.There is only one way to prove this. He raised the weapon and handed it to Bane. "Take it. Take it in your hand—see if it likes you." Bane was confused, but did as he was told.The mace was too big for Anduin, but it looked small in Bane's big hands.Bane stared at the weapon for a long time, then he took a long breath and let it out slowly, letting his body relax a little.Anduin watched Baine's reaction to the weapon and smiled a little. Undoubtedly, after a few seconds, the Fearbreaker began to flicker, albeit rather faintly. "It really likes you," Anduin said softly.He felt a little lost.He hadn't had a chance to use the weapon before he let it go.At the same time, however, he did not regret what he had done.In a way that Anduin didn't quite understand—perhaps he never would—the weapon had chosen Bane, just as it had chosen Anduin. "It also thinks you made the right decision. It trusts you—as I do, as Jaina does. Please take it. I think I got it to put it in your hands." For a moment Bane remained motionless.Then his thick fingers closed around the Terrorbreaker. Anduin felt the light in his chest, surging in his heart.Although he still couldn't believe it, he raised his hand.The holy light shone brightly, and Baine was suddenly bathed in a fleeting soft radiance.Bane's eyes widened. He took another deep breath and calmed down in front of Anduin. Anduin recognized the feeling now—only this time it was he who was putting it on Bane, not Rohan on him.Rohan's blessing had driven away his fear, and now Baine felt the same peace.Bane looked up. "I am honored, Anduin. From you, and from Magni? Bronzebeard. I will treasure it." Anduin laughed.Beside him, Jaina looked at him with an almost surprised expression.She opened her eyes wide, looked at him and Bain in turn, and then showed a gentle and kind smile on her face. The tauren gazed at the shining weapon. "Light," he said, "my people do not see darkness as evil, Anduin. It is natural, and therefore justified. While we have our own light, too. We honor the eyes of Mother Earth, The sun and the moon—Ansher and Musha. They are neither high nor low, and work together to see balance. I feel this weapon has something to do with them, even though it comes from a civilization quite different from ours." Anduin smiled gently, "Light is light, no matter where it comes from." He agreed. "I hope I can give you an equal gift in return," Bane said. "My family also has a legendary weapon, but now it is empty-handed. What I can share with you is my father's instructions during his lifetime. "My people used to be nomads. Only in recent years have they stopped roaming and settled in Mulgore. It's a new challenge, but we've built peaceful, peaceful and beautiful towns. For this The land we live in, we give back with what we are - who are we here for? Why? And that's a tradition I'm now hoping to revive. My father used to say, 'It's easy to destroy.' See Look at the devastation the Grimtotem wreaks overnight. But creating something that lasts - says my dad, is the real challenge. And I'm determined to make sure what he created - Thunder Bluff and the other villages and tribesmen goodwill between them—I would dedicate my life to see them survive." Anduin felt that these words made his heart both excited and peaceful.It was a challenge, but he knew Bane, son of Cairne, was up to the task. "What else did your father say?" From Anduin's point of view, Kane in Bain's mouth is undoubtedly very wise, and he hopes to hear more. Bane snorted softly, with a warm and sincere smile, and a little sadness at the thought that now is not the time for nostalgia. "He also said... eat up the vegetables in the bowl."