Thursday, April 21, 2011

Alive



Streets erupted with life and joy when the news of the Lich King’s fall at last reached Dalaran. It spread through the streets, a rumor that gathered believability with each passing second until at last the Kirin Tor made the announcement from the Violet Citadel, their weathered voices shaking with relief. Lanterns shone bright in the evening streets as the people rejoiced, knowing that their city had at last been avenged.

A more muted celebration took place in the sterile halls of the Sunreaver’s Sanctuary. A substantial portion of the Scourge armies remained, to be sure, but they posed little threat to those outside of Northrend or the Plaguelands.

“A fine thing that the Argent Crusade and Steamwheedle Cartel fought and bled so well,” remarked one aging Sin’dorei diplomat. “Their sacrifice has given us time to consolidate, to better fight our true foes.”

I did not need to ask him to identify those foes.

The zeppelin had carried me from the Lich King’s doorstep to the embattled base camp at the edge of what had once been the Fleshwerks. Otuura, the draenic death knight, had survived her battle against the dragons, and seemed impressed at my continued existence.

Healers repaired my wounds with laudable skill, though my hand was too damaged to save. The Crusade ferried me to Dalaran once I’d regained some strength, and I spent the rest of my recuperation in Sunreaver’s Sanctuary. It was there that I heard of the victory against the Scourge. My service to the Horde in Dalaran’s Underbelly had not been forgotten, and the emissaries there arranged for me to receive a prosthetic hand.

Even today, I admire the craftsmanship of this new left hand, an elegant assembly of steel gears, rune circuits, and copper wires. The finer motor functions are too complex for the machine to emulate, but it can curl into a fist and extend into an open palm.

I stayed in Dalaran perhaps longer than necessary, rarely venturing outside of Sunreaver’s Sanctuary. It was not a proud time for me. I struggled to understand my actions at Icecrown.

In many ways, I had believed myself above the Lich King’s corruption, and I had disdained those Forsaken who used his evil to excuse their own. Even now, I am not so mad as to compare myself with Undercity’s worst. Certainly I have never brewed plagues or sought to end all life. Yet I had still used others to save myself, though in so doing I had saved them as well.

Are we all cowards in the face of damnation? Aletta and Lennister had defied their beliefs to save each other and their child, though they did not truly understand what was at stake. When they fled, he slowed to help her down those treacherous steps, even though the Chosen ran close behind. I turned around to fight the Chosen, but had I done so for any reason beyond hatred? I strained my memories, seeking some grain of courage or sacrifice in that attack. I could not decide if any had existed.

I have always thought that it is too easy to say that the ends never justify the means. Good intentions matter little if they only bring death and destruction. If Lennister, Aletta, and their child all escaped, who am I to judge?

Perhaps the doubts stem from the shame of slipping under the Lich King’s sway a second time. Had the Argent Crusade not commenced that bombing raid, I am sure I would have returned to the Scourge. I, who had thought so highly of my own mind and spirit, had come close to losing them again.

Contacts in the Argent Crusade informed me that Lennister and Aletta had been transported to Hearthglen. Formerly ruled by the Scarlets, the burgeoning township is now under the Argent Crusade’s protection.

“Aletta gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Vestra,” explained the Argent liaison, a blood elf. “She’s a very sickly child, I’m afraid. Aletta’s malnutrition took its toll on Vestra’s body, and perhaps her mind as well. But she will live, and she will be safe.”

I nodded, a mixture of feelings welling up inside. Suffering does leave its mark. Yet I am sure that there is no better place than Hearthglen for Vestra and her parents.

13 comments:

  1. Bravo and well done for sticking with it, Destron. You've given the story volume and an ending. Not only did you finish a chapter of the Travelogue, you also closed a chapter in your life, I think. The Travelogue must undoubtedly have been on your mind throughout the many, many years you've spent on it. And at the end of the road all that remains to be said and done is applause. You pulled it off splendidly.

    Now is probably a good time to take a little time off from writing (or go into a totally different writing mode for a while, if you prefer that wording :)) and start dreaming of other stories. I'm sure we all, on the forums and here in the blogosphere, can't wait to read more from you.

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  2. Woot! I'm glad you found such a good ending the travelogue. Been a long time coming, hasn't it?

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  3. A well imagined, thought out, and written work. Congratulations on finishng it, Destron, and I hope all of your future writing is this successful!

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  4. Is there a place where all of the travelogues can be d/l'd at once? Rather than paging through?

    Thanks!

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  5. @Styopa

    Not at the moment. Unfortunately, I don't think that this blog program supports downloadable PDFs. Do you know of anything that can store documents online for free? If so, I could make a link to that. Google Docs used to do this, but stopped this year.

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  6. I have greatly appreciated the critiques and corrections I have received over the years. It is thanks to you

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  7. Only the tauren continue to completely shun the arcane. Some of their wise ones have incorporated the Holy Light into the Shu’halo belief systems. The Light offers a moral guidance that I suspect the Horde will need in the trying times ahead.

    Wowpedia says that the Tauren priests and Paladins get their power from An'she, the personification of the Sun instead of the Holy Light. There's also speculation that both him and Elune are actually Naaru in disguise. Something new for the Cataclysm discussion?

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  8. For some reason I remembered it as being that the tauren saw An'she as the source/representation of the Light, and that the Light had validity as a spiritual force. I might have misremembered this.

    And thanks for reading the Cataclysm Discussion! I might be moving that (since the travelogue forum is more or less dead), but I'll post an announcement here about its relocation if I do.

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  9. I see. There was no mention of An'she in your post or the Cata Discussion, which may have caused my confusion.

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  10. I didn't specifically mention An'she, though perhaps it would have been more clear if I did. Let me research the issue a bit and I'll make the relevant change to the epilogue. Thanks.

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  11. A more humble/sobered ending monologue this time, I guess. But at least, an innocent baby was saved during all this mess...

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  12. I always did harbor a hope that years in the future Vestra and a mag'har boy with clubfoot would go looking for a certain Forsaken mage.

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