Karp
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Chapter 170
🕑 Added 2025-02-13 20:50:11 +0000 UTCGathered on the island of Quel'Danas near the Sunwell, a small city had been rebuilt, and it was here that the majority of the Covenant forces had gathered.
It was the largest army that the Elves had mustered since the ancient wars against the Burning Legion.
Teleported from their homelands, and mustered for this cause were four factions.
The Gilneans, thankful for help in gaining control of the Worgen curse had committed a quarter of their total military for this operation.
200,000 men & women had been trained, and half of them, equipped with Masterworked iron arms & armor. 10,000 rune pistols, 10,000 healing potions, and 10,000 stamina potions had been distributed to them.
This army of Man brought with them 500 cannons, 1,000 repeater rifles, 10,000 muskets, 5,000 cavalry, and 25,000 Worgen.
The army that had gathered in Quel'Danas was led by Queen Tess Greymane. Meanwhile, an offensive from Gilneas into Tirisfal Glades was due to occur at the same time, and was being headed by the Crowleys.
Next on the list of allies were the Kobolds.
As a rat-like population, they reproduced faster than the average humanoid, and had committed 300,000 troops for this endeavor.
Standing on average between 3-5 feet tall, most were about as strong as an athletic Human 14 year old.
However, what they lacked in stature, they made up for in fervor.
The wax provided in the trade from Quel'Thalas to the underground increased the Great Candle in size by many times.
When their idol became more powerful, it, acting as a Wild God, bestowed more powerful blessings.
The Kobold force was composed largely of fanatics devoted to the Light. Life or death meant little to these tiny pink ratmen.
Armed with a mixture of guns, spears, and hatchets, each and every one of them could manifest the Light to boost their physical capabilities enough to contend with a grown man. In some cases, their belief was so strong, the Elites may even be able to match strength with a Tauren.
Lead by Karwl and his 100 Paladins-trained within Silvermoon-the Kobolds, while unimpressive at first, were surprisingly robust.
Next were the Blackfuse Goblins.
The little Green Men hadn't had much time to produce much, but they did build one thing.
By cobbling together the 4 broken warships that the time traveling Alliance had brought with them, Siegecrafter Helix Blackfuse had crafted an absolute beast of a zeppelin. Stored on board was a colossal 20ft tall mythril shredder, piloted by Blackfuse himself.
Stowed with hundreds of Mana Stone bombs, this aerial fortress thrummed above the gathering with a strong amount of power.
Lastly, was the race that acted as the glue of the Covenant. The Blood Elves.
Combining Varrus's personal forces with the King's, there were over 110,000 Elves in attendance (among which were Spellbreakers, Dragonhawk Knights, Mages, Paladins, Priests, Arcane Warriors, Rangers, etc). A total of 15,000+ golems of varying metallurgy, 10 autonomous floating Towers of Jenga, and 30 manned levitating buildings brought up the auxiliary forces.
With the return of the Sunwell, countless Elves surged with power. When they were lacking mana, and could not sling spells without a care in the world, many Heroes had diminished into Elites, and many Elites were no better than Common tier.
Now that the font of unlimited power had returned, so too did the Heroes and Elites of Quel'Thalas.
A staggering 72% of the entire Elven host was comprised of Elites!
In total, the Covenant forces assembled for this invasion were distributed as such:
Demigods: 5
(Varrus, Nightsong, Syra, Omen, Kael)
Legendary Heroes: 6
(Jan'alai, Tess, Blackfuse, Lor'Themar, Rho'dan, Knight-Lord Dranarus)
Heroes: 440 (Blood Elves)
Heroes: 60 (the rest)
Elites: 80,000 (Blood Elves)
Elites: 30,000 (the rest)
Common: 510,000
Witnessing the mustering of the troops from within a massive-skyscraper sized-central tower, Varrus, along with the other leaders made plans, and argued amongst one another.
“They are broken, like leaves scattered on the wind. Some 10,000,000 Undead are mindlessly roaming the land of Lordaeron. Let us smite them from this realm before they have the opportunity to regroup.” Koren aggressively pushed forward his idea.
“Yeah, crush them all! We girls, Syra, Nightsong, Tess, Liadran, we can take the eastern flank, and kill everything in our path!” Jan'alai loudly proclaimed.
Tae'thelon wriggled his nose, and loudly coughed in dismissal at the idea. Not from any sound military perspective, but due to Jan'alai's participation in this meeting.
“Perhaps one of our military experts has an opinion on this matter. General Nightsong, Ranger General Lor'Themar?” Tae'thelon said, speaking down at Koren for his youthfulness, and at Jan'alai for her race.
Nightsong and Lor'Themar shared a look, clearly neither of them wanting to take center stage.
Nightsong, happy with Lor'Themar's sound advice to Varrus, was all the more happy to let him have his moment. Inclining her head, she subtly gestured for him to go ahead in the sign language of the Rangers.
Withholding any annoyance from showing on his face, Lor'Themar stepped forward into the limelight. Before all the members of this meeting was a large map, that depicted the entirety of the Eastern Kingdoms sub-continent. On it were the believed locations and numbers of Heroes, armies, and important strongholds, passes, and cities.
“Our forces, while seemingly large, are in fact small when in comparison to the enemy. However, as the young lady, and the Skymardhal have pointed out, the majority of the Scourge forces have lost control-”
“We should strike now! Give the command, and my Draganhawks can be mobilized within the minute. Members of the Covenant, I beseech you! With my speed, none shall survive!” Koren eagerly pressed.
The death of Thaladred, and return of the Sunwell had granted him a new perspective on life. Seeking to emulate his mentor, the young Dragonhawk Knight had become more aggressive in his stance. He never again wanted to suffer the loss of the Sunwell, and would be proactive in making sure it did not happen again.
“Yeah, what he said!” Jan'alai laughed along, and thumped her giant club on the stone floor.
“...skirmishing to eliminate the dregs is a viable option. However, that can be done at any time. The real threat are the Warlords.” Lor'Themar inclined his head, and pointed towards several key locations on the map.
“Capitol City, located in Tirisfal Glades, it was the largest population center of Lordaeron. It is believed to be led by a force of over 7,000,000 Undead by a trio of Burning Legion Agents, the Dreadlords. One of their armies is, at this moment, assaulting the last remnants of the Alliance in Hearthglen as we speak. These three brothers each command millions, and are believed to hold the power of a Demigod.
The other major force is just south of Deatholme over the mountain pass. It is the arch traitor to the Kirin Tor, the Necro Lich, Kel’Thuzad. It is believed that he has over 5,000,000 souls in his service.
Between these two juggernauts, a hundred Heroes have broken off, and formed their own factions. Every day, their numbers swell, either taking from the pool of 10 million, or scouring the land for its final survivors.
It is estimated that of the 24-32 million people that once made up the Kingdom of Lordaeron, only 2-10 million have survived. Most are in hiding, holed up in fortified towns, or have fled south to other kingdoms.” Lor'Themar succinctly explained the current situation to all those present.
“These poor people. We must rescue them, the Light demands it!” Liadran looked everyone in the eye, and impassionately implored.
“Y-yes, big light lady is r-right! The Great Candle preaches harmony!” Karwl, the Kobold stepped forward, and supported Liadran's plan to focus on rescues.
“Gilneas wants its land back, we support whichever direction will end the Scourge threat the swiftest.” Tess, clad in Rogue's apparel, loudly proclaimed, directly dashing the notion of focusing on rescue efforts.
Liadran and Tess squared up against one another, and glared across the meeting hall with the kind of scorn only a woman could have for another woman.
“If it pleases the members of the Covenant, I have 500 Elite, borderline Heroic Rangers armed and ready to act as hunter-killer units. They are familiar with the land of the Eastern Kingdoms, and could act swiftly to end the lesser Warlords that are cropping up. Similarly, they can act as rescuers, coordinating any survivors they find towards a safe haven.
I suggest this compromise, because, as we are limited in number, it is my suggestion that we follow one of two paths.
1) Play defensive, and hold the Thalassian Pass-the only land entrance between Lordaeron & Quel'Thalas-then send out skirmishing forces of powerful Elites + Heroes to dismantle the enemy piece by piece. By making the enemy come to us, we shall be all but impenetrable thanks to the power of the Sunwell, and proper geographical advantages. Once the leadership has been assassinated, then it will be our time to strike.
2) We launch an all or nothing invasion on either Capitol City, or Stratholme. Leveraging the element of surprise, we are likely to easily destroy one of them. However, once we are known, then the other base will surely be prepared for us.” Lor'Themar said, pointing at specific places on the map, and the targets he would like to strike.
The room went quiet for a moment, as everyone processed Lor'Themar's plans.
“A fair proposal, Ranger General. What would be the timeline, you think, of the first plan?” Varrus finally stepped forward, and questioned.
“This method is estimated to take upward of 1-6 months to complete, but is the safest option. This is my primary recommendation, First Seat, as we are small in number. A full frontal assault carries with it grave risks.” Lor'Themar heavily stressed.
Many people present slowly nodded along with Lor'Themar's proposal. They didn't want to admit it, but a slow, assured victory was more palpable to the danger of an all or nothing assault.
“Grave risks? The last 6-8 months have been nothing but grave risks! It was our inaction, and defensive nature that saw us ignore Lordaeron during the outbreak of the plague! It was our risk aversion, and fear that saw the Elf Gates fall, and our people turtling up behind our walls!” Varrus looked angrily at both the Elves of Quel'Thalas, and the Men of Gilneas.
“I am one for caution, but I say we must take the fight to the enemy! To hit them whilst they are at their weakest! We have gathered the army, we should use it!” Varrus addressed the room, and seemed like a magnet. Every word of his drew the listener in, his voice, posture, and confidence were dripping with charisma.
Lor'Themar felt a tug on his shoulder, and saw the approving nod of Nightsong.
The Ranger General felt his heartstrings tug when the General gave him such a beautiful look. Barely withholding a gulp, Lor'Themar turned to the King, as his opinion was the last to be heard.
“And what does His Majesty think?” Lor'Themar questioned.
Sitting on a throne, Kael’Thas Sunstrider had his sword, Felo'MeLorn resting on his lap.
The brooding King stood from his throne, and pulled Varrus in for a side embrace, and held up his fist.
“It is as the First Seat has said. Too long have we siffered under the yoke of inaction. Fear has paralyzed our people into inaction, leading to the suffering of countless innocents. No longer! No longer shall we sit still as the Undead ravage the land. No longer shall we abide by a policy of weakness and cowardice!
I say we fight.
I say we go on an all out assault.
To war!” Kael’Thas's voice magically boomed at the end, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
The room was electric, and any doubts or secret fears were cast aside as the course was set.
They were going to war!
This shout of Kael's was heard outside, and the various Humans, Elves, and Kobolds all roared alongside him in excitement.
The sheer volume of their voices shook the giant tower that they were in, and deafened all in attendance for but a moment.
“But who shall we target, where will we go?” Koren spoke up, snapping everyone out of their war fervor.
“Stratholme.” Varrus said immediately, and with great conviction.
“The Lich, Kel’Thuzad was resurrected from the Sunwell. His birth heralded the destruction of the High Elves. It is only natural that he be the first to suffer our wrath.”
“Then it is to Stratholme we shall go! Ranger General, clear the roads, ready the men, we march!” Kael’Thas ordered.
Lor'Themar nodded his head, and was about to take the teleportation relay within the tower, and muster the troops. However, he was stopped by Varrus.
“This city was not constructed to replace the colleges of Quel'Danas.” Varrus said with a sly smile.
“Theatrical as always my boy, what have you and Telonicus been cooking up, hrm? Well, go on now, don't keep us waiting in suspense.” Tae'thelon rolled his eyes, and scoffed.
Varrus nodded at Telonicus, then walked to the balcony overlooking the assembled army.
His voice boomed as he addressed the crowd.
“A new power is rising in the East! The Covenant stands to bring security, peace, and order to a world torn by war and division. Behold your power, RISE!!!”
Upon Varrus's command, Telonicus activated several spell matrices, and the city began to rumble.
Moments later, the all the buildings began to shake as the city rose into the air.
Gasps of shock, and amazement filled the square beneath the tower.
“Prepare yourselves, sons and daughters of Azeroth, prepare yourselves for you are the saviors of this realm! We are to face the untold horrors of the Scourge, but I have faith in you, so have faith in me. BEHOLD!”
Varrus then cast all of his Illusion skill tree buffs upon the entire army. The enhanced 300% spell power buff by the Sunwell temporarily made each soldier 3x as strong as he had previously been.
Not stopping there, Varrus pulled out a hundred massive slabs of Mana Stones, and copying the Elemental spell of his father, Vandercross, created 50,000 Mana Wraiths, which floated in the air, and howled with fury.
Returning to the council chambers, Varrus signalled Telonicus.
Nodding once more, the chief engineer of Quel'Thalas activated several more matrices.
A second later, this massive floating city-and all the Towers of Jenga flying in its vicinity-teleported from the isle of Quel'Danas to just outside the city shield range of Stratholme.
“Onward, to VICTORY!!!” Varrus shouted.
All the armies of the Covenant roared back at him.
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AN: I'm going on vacation Monday/Tuesday, so don't be surprised if I don't release those two days. March 10th/11th.
Comments
Michael DiVelbiss
Carrier has arrived.
Sam
Come to think of it, they were fully isolated until the city flew off. It'd be even funnier if they emerged with a flying city only to find out theirs was the /second/ one.
Karp
Ancient of War creeping all day out here.
Karp
Technically, Dalaran doesn't become a floating city for 5-6 more years canonically.
Sam
I wonder what Dalaran will think when they see the second flying city.
Kasikan
Good thing they can teleport. Would hate to see how badly things would have gone if they had to slowly float around on something that massive and eye catching. You'd never be able to pull off an ambush with it.
Sarratugga Rites
Wait Varrus you stole the Night Elf strat of Mobile base combat
