WARCRAFT by Christie Golden

Author:Christie Golden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: POCKET STAR BOOKS
Published: 2007-04-12T16:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

Ner’zhul … Gul’dan. Two of the darkest names ever to sully the history of my people. And yet, Drek’Thar tells me that once Ner’zhul was admired, even beloved, and truly cared for the people whose spiritual leader he was. It is hard to reconcile those words with what Ner’zhul has become, but I try. I try because I want to understand.

And yet, try as I might … I do not.

“What?”

Ner’zhul’s shriek of outrage made his apprentice Gul’dan wince. Durotan did not bat an eye.

“I released the Prophet Velen,” the chieftain of the Frostwolf clan said calmly.

“Your orders were to take him and the others prisoner!” Ner’zhul’s voice climbed with each word. It had been so plain, so easy. What had Durotan been thinking? To toss away this opportunity like bones when the meat had been devoured! How much information could they have extracted from Velen? What kind of bargaining power over the draenei would he have bought them?

But that thought was dwarfed by the overwhelming horror of how Kil’jaeden would react. What would he do when he learned that Velen had not been captured? The beautiful being had been seemingly well pleased at the prospect, when Ner’zhul told him of the plan. Flushed with pride at his cleverness, thinking victory already assured, Ner’zhul had even dared to offer Velen to Kil’jaeden as a sort of present. Now what would happen? The realization that he felt fear rather than chagrin at bringing disappointing news was not lost on the shaman.

“You put me in charge of the capture, and capture them I did,” Durotan replied. “But there is no honor in a prisoner taken willingly. You want us to be strong as a people, rather than as individual clans, and we cannot do that without a code of honor that is inviolable, that is—”

Durotan continued speaking in his gruff, deep voice, but Ner’zhul was no longer listening. At that instant, that frozen space in time, Ner’zhul had a sudden realization that Kil’jaeden might not be the benevolent spirit he presented himself as. Durotan, lost in his own voice speaking words to explain his decision, did not notice the shaman’s shift in attention. But Ner’zhul felt Gul’dan’s gaze upon him, and another fear welled up inside him that Gul’dan was bearing witness to his master’s first hints of doubt.

What is the right thing to do? How can I best serve?

Why is Rulkan no longer coming to me?

He blinked and came back to himself when he realized that Durotan had ceased speaking. The large chieftain was regarding Ner’zhul intently, waiting for the shaman to speak.

How best to handle this? Durotan was well regarded among the clans. If Ner’zhul punished Durotan for his decision, there would be many who would respond with sympathy to the Frostwolf clan. It could cause a rift in the fabric Ner’zhul was trying to weave, the tightly knit fabric of a united orc nation … a Horde, if you will. On the other hand, if he condoned Durotan’s actions, it

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