Chapter 703

Chapter 703: Windrunner Village

"Belor, Ana, Tie’er."

"Belor, Ana, Tie’er."

"Listen closely, Tie’er."

"Tie’er."

"That still isn’t right." Vereesa smiled and glanced over, saying, "It shouldn’t be so hard to tell apart, Jesse. Is it Brill’s local accent causing trouble?"

Nearby, Greed experimented with bizarre noises—even Language Dwarven—to command the Strider, testing whether the creature would yield to a Gryphon Rider like him. Jesse repeated the phrase several times but couldn’t get it right.

"It’s tricky," he admitted. "People always said I mixed up those two sounds growing up, even in Common."

"Never mind, practice slowly," Vereesa said. "It’s a greeting for friends asking how they’ve been, but don’t use it with elders or strangers."

Jesse asked, "What should I say when meeting Lady Sylvanas?"

"Sinn’u Ammonore," Vereesa replied. "That means ‘pleased to meet you’."

Jesse’s attempt sounded comical. A Farstrider rider ahead turned with an amused grin.

Vereesa shot the rider a stern look and said in Common, "If I were you, Farstrider, I wouldn’t mock a human who fooled a Dragonmaw Warlord with Orcish in Grim Batol—especially when he’s just started learning our language."

"Apologies, ma’am," the rider answered. "Sorry, Mr. Seso."

"Nekros mocked my accent too," Jesse said. "Luckily, Orcs have many tribes with different speech quirks—easier to pass unnoticed."

"You never told me your Grim Batol story," Vereesa narrowed her eyes. "Short version? A few hairs saved my life," Jesse replied.

"Hair?" Greed spun around. "How?"

As they discussed Grim Batol, the Strider convoy left the valley. A sudden radiance washed over them.

Jesse fell silent mid-argument with Vereesa, stunned by an otherworldly twilight…

Before them, Eversong Woods flowed like a golden ocean. Mountains rose like cresting waves, their slopes dappled ruby and emerald—islands adrift in splendor.

Pristine white towers pierced this seascape, their wing-shaped roofs of gold, azure, and crimson steepling skyward. Gilded spires crowned every vista.

The sun sank slowly in the north… North?

No—not the sun. This brilliance spilled from Quel’Danas Isle: the Sunwell. When Jesse recognized its glow, breath fled his lungs.

Now he understood the Quel’dorai’s reverence. Here stood a living god—tangible, visible, fragrant—nourishing all who walked this soil.

"This is my home, Jesse," Vereesa said.

Striders descended the slope, the view shrinking behind leafy canopies.

They’d reached southern Eversong Woods. In other times, this land knew plague—but here, nameless dancer-shaped trees flourished with silver-white trunks and gold-and-scarlet leaves.

Verdant meadows stretched spotless into the woods, pure as prayer…

Yet scars remained. Charred trunks lurked among new growth, nearly swallowed by vibrant flora—relics of the Orcish invasion five winters past.

Striders padded northwest over cobblestones. Dusk thickened until Jesse glimpsed a pale blue light atop a white tower ahead—a beacon through the branches.

"Almost there," Vereesa pointed. "That’s Windrunner’s Tower."

"Will Lady Sylvanas be there?" Jesse asked.

"She awaits you," Vereesa confirmed.

Jesse tilted his head. "Is Mr. Nathanos in Quel’Thalas too?"

"No," Vereesa said. "He returned to Dalaran after the Orcs’ defeat, at least that’s what I knew." Jesse asked in surprise, "So, am I now the only human in all of Quel’Thalas?"

"Probably," Vereesa replied. "It seemed that a Dalaran mage represented the Alliance to visit Silvermoon City earlier; if they weren’t there now, you were the only human here."

"Then I was definitely the only dwarf here," Greed declared.

"That I could be sure of," Vereesa confirmed.

Although the real sun had set and it was night, Quel’Thalas seemed unwilling to fully darken, as the sky kept its dim twilight color, and the Sunwell’s light in the north covered the whole magic kingdom in brightness, making the Eversong Woods feel even more mysterious then.

The trees thinned out, and the white tower’s shape got clearer. Ahead, dome-shaped temples of different sizes stood on both sides of the road.

This had to be Windrunner Village, with Windrunner’s Tower rising on the far hill, its top arcane blue glow shining brightly from here.

In Quel’Thalas, the Farstriders’ status was a bit lower than the Magus, but the Windrunner Family was surely a core part of the kingdom, just below the Sunstrider royal line.

Yet as the Windrunner Family’s home, Windrunner Village looked very quiet. Only a few green-clad elves guarded the old houses and palaces, with many elves seeming to gather near the top of Windrunner’s Tower.

Even back home, Vereesa didn’t look happy. Greed sensed her hidden sadness, as she hadn’t spoken since earlier.

Jesse almost guessed why: Windrunner Village was hit hardest in the Orc War. After Orcs and trolls attacked fast, they broke the defenders and killed the helpless people. Vereesa’s brother died in that fight.

Now, Jesse saw no war scars in the village; everything was peaceful, as if the tribal forces never came. But the faces of the passing folks said it all.

The group got off their Striders by the stables and walked into the village. Soon, they reached a domed hall under Windrunner’s Tower, where a blonde elf woman waited.

"Sister…" Vereesa said. It was Sylvanas.

At Nethergarde, she wore Ranger-General gear and looked strong, but now she only had a silver gown, looking like other elves in Windrunner Village.

Up close, Jesse saw she didn’t resemble Vereesa as much as people said. Her face was more "elven," less gentle than Vereesa’s, and she matched her chronicle image well.

Of course, it was just her face and features. She was still alive, her skin not dead-gray but full and rosy, her eyes not dark-red death but bright arcane blue.

"Vereesa," Sylvanas said softly, then looked at the other two.

"Sylvanas Windrunner, I am Greed Thunderfist," Greed stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Lord Fustain of the Wildhammer clan at Aerie Peak sent me to thank you; our strong alliance from the Hinterlands stayed unbreakable for a hundred years."

Sylvanas nodded a little, "Lord Fustain’s kinsman Kurdran Wildhammer and Captain Alleria Windrunner crossed the Dark Portal to fight in Draenor. Gryphon Rider, our alliance had grown more sacred than ever."

"True," Greed agreed.

After that, he breathed out and stepped back, glancing at Jesse.

"General Sylvanas," Jesse said, "I am Jesse Seso, from Stormwind."

"Of course, Jesse Seso," Sylvanas’s eyes moved from Greed to Jesse. "I thank you for watching over Vereesa; she ignored my orders to sneak out of Quel’Thalas many times. Without you, she might have died."

"Not exactly," Vereesa cut in. "I saved him lots too."

"You know better, Ranger-General," Sylvanas said coldly.

Vereesa stayed quiet. Jesse added, "Without Vereesa, neither Greed nor I would have lived this long."

"He’s right, General Sylvanas," Greed said.

Sylvanas sighed at Jesse. "Let’s not argue. It was late, and you hadn’t eaten."

She glanced at Vereesa’s cold look. "Stop being mad, what do you want?"

"Salmon," Vereesa mumbled.

"Then salmon," Sylvanas said to Jesse. "I had some simple food to fill your bellies. You must be tired and need rest. Tomorrow, after you wake, I’ll get someone to make a bigger meal for you. But it might not suit you, Greed Thunderfist."

"I got used to human food in Stormwind; time for a harder test," Greed said.

Sylvanas smiled a bit. "I doubt it’s much of a test."

"Just joking…" Greed said quickly.

Seeing the Ranger-General turn and that smile, Jesse still felt uneasy.

In his mind, Sylvanas never smiled, always talking of hate, revenge, and killing.

He knew the Scourge Legion hadn’t come yet. Silvermoon City’s Ranger-General wasn’t killed by Arthas or tortured by that Death Knight, nor had she seen her home, people, or Sunwell ruined… She was very different from later.

"At Nethergarde, you still seemed like a child," Sylvanas said. "Even though I knew you fought with Vereesa to beat Teron Gorefiend and saw you wreck the Pit Lord Azgath with that magic, lying there, you looked just like a kid."

"To you, everyone’s a child," Vereesa whispered.

"Ah…" Sylvanas turned back impatiently. "Vereesa, will you really keep fighting with me in front of Jesse?"

Vereesa, full of anger, said, "Jesse went alone into Grim Batol against those Orcs, saved the Red Dragon Queen, and killed Deathwing. Damn it, do you want to be blind to what that means, like those stupid humans?"

"I understood what it meant," Sylvanas said. "The Red Dragon Queen’s messenger came to Quel’Thalas, bringing her regrets that mattered to the whole kingdom. She thanked all three of you, especially Jesse Seso. As for Deathwing, Silvermoon City’s old books still tell of his crimes against the ancient Kaldorei Empire, his horror that blocked the sun in the Well of Eternity days! Do you think I didn’t know this, Mrs. Vereesa Windrunner?"

Vereesa paused, then spoke a long stream in Elven. Sylvanas frowned and argued back in Elven. Jesse and Greed stood there, lost and silent, until the two Rangers’ faces eased a bit, seeming to settle something without fixing it.

"Sorry, Jesse," Sylvanas said. "I wanted this to feel like a family meet, but I ruined it."

Jesse said, "That might have made it feel more like family."

Vereesa laughed softly. Sylvanas shook her head.

"Anyway, your promotion’s the day after tomorrow, Vereesa. At least don’t act this way at the ceremony."

"I’ll try," Vereesa said.

"Don’t just try," Sylvanas pressed. "Last time I told you to try not to sneak out of Quel’Thalas, you promised and then went straight to Kalimdor! After, I had to clean up your mess and explain to the Reliquary. You thought your disguise was perfect, didn’t you, Miss Goldenthorn?"

"Sorry," Vereesa muttered.