[Spoilers] New Shadows Rising Excerpt

[Aucald]

Alliance-focused featuring Anduin, Genn, and Turalyon:

“How many?”

The king of Stormwind listened to the final cathedral bells tolling. The afternoon’s last rays of sunlight speared the stained-glass windows above, casting mournful shadows across the high altar. It was a melancholy image, one that only widened the pit in Anduin’s stomach. He waited in the echo of the bells while the soft-spoken Bishop Arthur, clad all in cream, black and gold, unlocked the door leading to the crypts beneath the Cathedral of Light.

“Six.” The answer came from Anduin’s close friend and trusted advisor, Genn Greymane, King of Gilneas. “Or rather, SI:7 discovered six. No one can say how many were washed away by the tides.”

“More could be in hiding,” High Exarch Turalyon pointed out. He stood tall and broad, his Light-forged armor a polished and impressive silver and gold. Bearded, scarred, Turalyon looked every inch the tried and hardened warrior. The two men followed Anduin down the winding path that snaked into the catacombs. “Shaw sent at least a dozen to monitor the waters between the Zandalari coast and the Eastern Kingdoms.”

“Let us go where there are no curious ears.” Anduin told them in a whisper.

Though the cathedral had largely emptied out after the evening service, a few brothers and priests remained. Of course they looked; who would not be eager to see the king of Stormwind present, and accompanied by two such illustrious warriors? To the people of Stormwind, Turalyon in particular was practically myth. His noble likeness had been forever commemorated as a statue in the Valley of Heroes rising above the bridge leading into Stormwind. He had helped forge the Knights of the Silver Hand, companion to heroes of legend and song like Uther the Lightbringer and Tirion Fordring.

All three stowed their conversation, making the long, sober descent into the crypts. Anduin hurried, though he dreaded what awaited him below. Still he went, for it was his duty to see what had befallen troops dispatched in his name.

The air grew colder, the scent of mud and brick reminding him of rainy autumn days. The fetor of stale air and dust followed, then a light perfume of dried flowers and herbs—a weak defense against the unmistakable odor of fresh rot. Fresh death.

At the very bottom of the crypts, where it was chill enough to bother even a man dressed all in furs, they found a row of bodies. Each was laid out and still in their sodden clothing, skin discolored, lips twisted in the agony of a mortal scream. Turalyon snatched a torch off the wall and charged ahead, sweeping the light over the corpses, his stoically handsome face pinched with concern.

“Look at the precision,” he said, standing before one young dwarf, his reddish beard full of sand and bits of seaweed. “One shot directly to the heart.”

Greymane joined the paladin at that body, carefully inspecting the arrow left sticking from the dwarf’s chest. “They are all like this. A single deadly shot. Mark the fletching on the arrows here and here: it has been shaved down.”

“That was why Shaw ordered them brought here,” Turalyon continued, his eyes fixed on the deceased dwarf lying between them. Anduin had never seen the war-forged paladin look afraid, and it was not fear in the man’s eyes then. Not fear, but rage.

“What am I not seeing?” Anduin asked, frowning.

“Zandalari arrows,” Turalyon replied. “But these are not Zandalari tactics.”

“I should think not! This is some mischief . . . some dark mischief I do not yet understand.” Greymane paced, lips curled as if a low worgen’s growl might emanate from his throat at any second. “There are few archers in the world that could make these shots, my king. The only sort I know are allied with the infernal Banshee Queen.”

“Dark rangers?” Anduin murmured, eyes darting between the two men. “Can we be certain?”

“Certain? No, but I’ve seen a damned mess of their arrows in my time and the style matches, and so does the accuracy,” Greymane huffed, pacing faster, every bit the caged and furious wolf.

“What would the dark rangers be doing in Zandalar? The Zandalari are allies of the Horde, and that would not make them friend to Sylvanas or her rangers.” Anduin had nearly put his hand down on one of the soldiers’ boots. Distracted, he had forgotten they were in the presence of the dead. But now he looked closer and felt keenly the stab in his chest. By the Light, they were all so terribly young . . .

He took small, cold comfort in the thought that at least the soldiers were home and protected in a sanctuary of the Light.

“It could be a warning from Sylvanas. Perhaps she sent her rangers to punish the new queen. The Dark Lady was still warchief when they made their alliance, but our spies believe Queen Talanji has pulled her support and remains largely independent. We all know how well Sylvanas takes betrayal.” Turalyon said gravely.

Anduin nodded, considering the paladin’s point of view, but Greymane had other ideas, tossing up his hands in frustration.

“This is our opportunity, Anduin, don’t you see it? Where Sylvanas goes her dark rangers are sure to follow. She may be close at hand, and these murders her critical mistake. We should gather what forces we can spare and sail west. Whether she is in league with the Zandalari or moving against them matters not; we must not squander a chance to finish this.”

He ended with a resounding note to his already galvanizing baritone, but Anduin didn’t move. Instead, he stared resolutely at Turalyon, who appeared unconvinced at best. The paladin shifted in his heavy golden plate armor, a crease of worry between his brows.

“Now is the time to think, my king, not the time to react. There are still spies unaccounted for in the field, and we must not forget the armistice. Zandalar is a vast continent, certainly, but the eyes there are friendly to the Horde, not to the Banshee Queen.” He tucked a fist under his chin thoughtfully. “The Horde wants her dead as much as we do. The armistice you signed is meaningless if we cannot rely on the Horde to share intelligence of this nature.”

“The armistice,” Greymane hissed, obviously unenthused. “We can rely on the Horde for nothing. How many times must we learn this lesson, Anduin? I know you know better.”

Anduin did. He did not necessarily trust the Horde, but he did weigh their actions. Were they untrue to their words, they would have assassinated him and his Alliance generals outside the gates of Orgrimmar before or after the mak’gora.

He waited a moment, hoping Greymane would calm down, but the man’s face had turned red with fury, his thick white whiskers bristling.

“Genn . . . ” Anduin tore his eyes away from his advisor and friend, instead raking his gaze across the bodies laid before them. “Rash action has harmed us far more often than care and caution. I will not overcommit to what could be a diversion.”

High Exarch Turalyon nodded his agreement.

“We must ask ourselves: Why would Sylvanas go to Zandalar? What would she want there?”

“What does it matter?” Greymane thundered. “You said it yourself, Turalyon. The Zandalari queen pledged herself to Sylvanas first. Perhaps that vow remains true. Perhaps she has turned her back on the Horde and even now shelters the traitor and her soldiers.” He gestured to the fallen spies. “Perhaps these brave few were killed for discovering the truth.”

Anduin had a duty to the truth, whatever it might be. Both men provided opinions he valued, but he could not deny that Turalyon offered the more tempting take. Still. Still.

“I am reminded, my noble friends,” Anduin began softly. “Of a day not so long ago, and not so far from here. A placid place in the Arathi Highlands. A gathering meant to be peaceful, a gathering meant to reunite families torn asunder by forces they could never have foreseen . . . ” He sighed, leaning forward, resting his knuckles on the edge of the stone slab. “Human and Forsaken families met in good faith, trying to find common ground and common love—and many did. For their trust, for their grace, they received only slaughter.” He lifted his gaze to Greymane, who had gone mercifully still, the flush in his face fading. “I give your recommendations equal weight. Turalyon, take Alleria Windrunner and investigate these deaths.”

Standing tall again, Anduin pressed his hand over his heart, finding that Turalyon regarded him with a sure smile. He approved. “I name you High Commander of the Alliance forces. Your task—your only task—is to find Sylvanas Windrunner so we might bring her to proper justice. Hunt her day and night, use whatever means you must.”

Turalyon bowed his head with practiced gentility, accepting the honor and the charge with a humble, “My heart and my sword to the cause.”

[Combatbutler]

Oh my this is going to be such a nice consistent novel ........

I name you High Commander of the Alliance forces

So, Anduin is no longer the leader of the Alliance

Turalyon, take Alleria Windrunner and investigate these deaths.

Turalyon would never know Alleria is his wife and mother of his son, had to add Windrunner

Zandalar is a vast continent

I mean it takes like what two minutes to look up that it is an Island, not a continent.

There are few archers in the world that could make these shots, my king. The only sort I know are allied with the infernal Banshee Queen.

Dark Rangers are Rangers that use shadow magic, but they are still Rangers, it makes no sense for their archery skill to increase in undeath, especially since according to new lore the senses are dulled and their bodies break down.

[Varodoc]

Maybe make him High Commander before the super important world war and not right after it's over? Sometimes I wonder if Anduin is a troll.

[Combatbutler]

- Anduin is the leader of the Alliance. He's delegating, it's pretty obvious having a 1000 year veteren as the commander of your forces is a good idea.

Anduins position is literally the commander of the Alliance army, the high king title was all about it and nothing else, he is no king or ruler to the other races.

https://wow.gamepedia.com/High_King

- The Alleria Windrunner thing is just nitpicky, it's a formal order - and we know Anduin is a formal person - is it really that strange to you that he addresses her with her full name?

Of course it is, this thing costs quite a bit of money and this is but a single excerpt and it is already littered with little consistency errors and very awkward wording, that a quick search of 5 minutes could have solved.

- There is nothing to suggest Zandalar isn't a continent

Sure that is why it is always addressed as such and not once named a continent.

- Again, there is nothing to suggest Dark Rangers aren't the most skilled group of archers in Warcraft, and even then - Genn could just be being hyperbolic as he often is

Why should they be? Their bodies grow weaker by the day, so their living counterparts are just as skilled, with the ability to improve, since their bodies do not end up mummified and useless in a few years.

[Fetus Rex]

Writer's purple hair is all over this text. I'm surprised Anduin didn't massage his chest after the senpai noticed him. Come on, it's tumblr fanfic.

[Eggroll]

Lol, Turalyon "taking" Alleria, wtf... like she was his servant or something.

Good job making Turalyon High Commander of the Alliance forces AFTER the big ass war! /s

[TheFirstOnes]

Don't really care. Just lemme kill people already!

[BaumanKing]

it's tumblr fanfic

Read a lot of tumblr fanfics?

[Fetus Rex]

Read a lot of tumblr fanfics?

Yes I did.

[Maxilian]

I imagine that Sira is going to meet her doom in the novel, and doubt that the same will apply to Bwonsamdi (though i hope so), but the fact that his realm becomes a dungeon in the new expansion, i assume that he, at least, is going to lose "control" over that zone. (And he will try to retake it in Shadowlands)

[Aucald]

Sure that is why it is always addressed as such and not once named a continent.

Both Zandalar and Kul Tiras are a bit beyond simple islands - each has multiple biomes, pretty substantial landmass, as well as varied topography. The distinction between island and continent is generally one of size, and I'd say both Zandalar and Kul Tiras straddle the line of that determination. Like Australia, I'd say it's appropriate to call them islands and continents as the same time. Zandalar specifically is varied enough to contain a lush jungle, a fetid swamp, and a large desert region. Given that much of Zandalar is mysterious and devoid of civilization I'd also argue Anduin's position on it is quite correct - it would make for an extensive and exhausting locale to search.

[Darknessvamp]

I'll just repost the stuff that immediately stood out to me as off when I read this on wowhead last night:

Isn't Anduin like 20? double checks No he's 18, how young does the SI7 recruit agents then and then send those youngest agents after Sylvanas of all people that Anduin makes a comment about how young they are? Like wat. Also all these handsome descriptors are really telling who the author has got a crush on. (It's Turalyon).

Annnddd we've got Anduin still lying about the part he played in the betrayal of terms at the Arathi gathering I see. Additionally what is with the confusion about whether the agents were killed by Dark Rangers or not? I know that they apparently used Zanadalari arrows but wouldn't Genn of all people know their handiwork the best? Plus I still don't get why Turalyon is being the focus of the hunt on Sylvanas as well other than it being an excuse to have some interaction with Alleria after such a long time and Genn angry it seems. And are they really trying to say that Anduin wouldn't know what Zanadalari arrows look like after they've been at war with their continent for about a year?

Halford Wyrmbane is going to be pissed. Oh and the Lightforged continue to be useless/not exist as a force when needed.

[Combatbutler]

He still is, he obviously has the final say - but if he's sending Turalyon on an official Alliance operation- Turalyon needs to have an official position - Turalyon High Commander doesn't mean Anduin isn't still commander of all Alliance forces. There's just more voices involved now, which is a good thing in this case.

Poorly worded then, not much better

- Zandalar by definition is a continent, look up the definition of a continent - there's absolutely nothing to suggest Zandalar doesn't fit the criteria

Fact remains Zandalar has never been addressed as a continent in all of wow history, including chronicles it was always said to be an island, calling it a vast continent is just sloppy research, I'd wager she looked at the ingame worldmap, after all the broken Isles are way bigger and those aren't a continent either.

- Not all undead get weaker - Sylvanas clearly isn't getting weaker, death knights aren't, Arthas didn't - there are levels of undeath. Dark Rangers are more sophisticated undead than ghouls or zombies etc

Sylvanas doesn't get weaker, due to her pact with the valkyr, which is something she shared with Nathanos, who was a dark ranger and was in the process of loosing his ability to use a bow.

- - - Updated - - -

Both Zandalar and Kul Tiras are a bit beyond simple islands - each has multiple biomes, pretty substantial landmass, as well as varied topography. The distinction between island and continent is generally one of size, and I'd say both Zandalar and Kul Tiras straddle the line of that determination. Like Australia, I'd say it's appropriate to call them islands and continents as the same time. Zandalar specifically is varied enough to contain a lush jungle, a fetid swamp, and a large desert region. Given that much of Zandalar is mysterious and devoid of civilization I'd also argue Anduin's position on it is quite correct - it would make for an extensive and exhausting locale to search.

Different biomens mean pretty much nothing in wow, especially since many are the result of magic and in terms of scale, Quel'danas is 2/3 the size of Kul'tiras and the broken Isles are as big as Zandalar and Kul'tiras combined.

Heck the Pandaren turtle is roughly the same size.

[Varodoc]

Lol, Turalyon "taking" Alleria, wtf... like she was his servant or something.

Good job making Turalyon High Commander of the Alliance forces AFTER the big ass war! /s

Lol, I hadn't even noticed that. That's pretty sexist. Here's hoping they don't turn Alleria into a useless waifu... they were doing so well with writing her as a badass, independent woman.

[Combatbutler]

-It's not really poorly worded, it's just gone over your head. There's a difference

Oh it is very poorly worded, since there isn't a clear distinction Anduin names him high commander of all Alliance forces, basically giving the exact same job description he has. There is no distinction between the two.

- What's in game =/= always canon, by definition Zandalar is a continent. It's really that simple

Except it was referred to as an Island exclusively in every piece of material in and out of the game

- And we know dark rangers aren't standard forsaken like Nathanos was before he was changed, they look like Elves, they aren't decomposing. Whatever is keeping them alive is clearly stronger than the magic keeping regular forsaken alive

Dark rangers are not exclusively elves you know, quite a few of them are indeed regular forsaken, why should they not decompose, especially, since they were not raised as higher undead in mind. Dark Rangers are an invention of the forsaken, the scourge does not have them.

[Florena]

Lol, I hadn't even noticed that. That's pretty sexist. Here's hoping they don't turn Alleria into a useless waifu... they were doing so well with writing her as a badass, independent woman.

This is just reaching. Giving someone an assignment and saying 'Take X person with you' is not sexist.

I get it, wow story is bad, we like to make fun of it, but let's not just make crap up to make it look worse than it is.

Unless you were joking in which case I guess my internet sarcasm detector needs a fixing.

[BaumanKing]

Also all these handsome descriptors are really telling who the author has got a crush on. (It's Turalyon).

He is also quite handsome in game tho. And he is described as such in other books too. So the author is just being consistent here.

Halford Wyrmbane is going to be pissed. Oh and the Lightforged continue to be useless/not exist as a force when needed.

Why should he? Halford is high commander of the 7th Legion, which is just an elite special ops. Besides he is Turalyon's number 1 fanboy.

[Varodoc]

This is just reaching. Giving someone an assignment and saying 'Take X person with you' is not sexist.

I get it, wow story is bad, we like to make fun of it, but let's not just make crap up to make it look worse than it is.

Unless you were joking in which case I guess my internet sarcasm detector needs a fixing.

Perhaps, but I became paranoid ever since the infamous "Hush, Tyrande!" line some years ago. Blizzard sucks at writing romances, so a novel focused heavily on the relationship between Alleria and Turalyon will either be great or annoying.

[allawyn]

“It could be a warning from Sylvanas. Perhaps she sent her rangers to punish the new queen. The Dark Lady was still warchief when they made their alliance, but our spies believe Queen Talanji has pulled her support and remains largely independent. We all know how well Sylvanas takes betrayal.”

Hopefully this is yet to be editted, since this text is a mess. I mean, Talanji "pulled her support". Well, she supported the Horde (either Sylvanas or Baine), though all of BfA?

So is he saying that Sylvanas is holding a grudge becasue Talanji doesn't turn out to be a Sylvanas loyalist? But there describes 90% of the Horde and is just a statement that Sylvanas is now the enemy of the Horde.?

Is he saying that after Sylvanas left, she started acting independently from Baine's Horde? If so, why does the pledge to Sylvanas even matter? And why would Sylvanas care?

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Annnddd we've got Anduin still lying about the part he played in the betrayal of terms at the Arathi gathering I see.

What lie? He didn’t know Cali and some undead were gonna be stupid and try and defect.