The Sin’dorei had allowed him passage through what was now claimed ‘The Ghostlands’. They had even armed him, albeit with an air of reluctance. For now, Lirath was viewed as ‘neutral’. He had even been told he’d be given escort to Silvermoon, if he so wished it. Quel’dorei was all he’d ever known, but no one could hold his lack of knowledge against him… for now.
All he wanted, however, was to see his home. Or what was now left of it. Ghostly ruins now, as haunted as they looked. The foundation was broken, crumbling… much the way the very Windrunner lineage seemed to be. The undead, in all its forms, stalked the lands. ‘Ghostlands’. How fitting. There was nothing left here now but literal ghosts of the past.
Where was he supposed to go? He asked of his sisters, though their fates were not all easily handed over. Perhaps it was pity in their fel fused gazes. Sympathy for a young boy lost, only to return a young man equally lost. Vereesa’s ‘whereabouts’ were spoken on a tone of distaste. ‘Ranger General of the Silver Covenant’. She could be found in Dalaran.
His heart sank when the rangers admitted to not knowing Alleria’s whereabouts, nor fate. She had been missing, just as he had, nearly for just as long. Hope was offered, that if he too had survived, perhaps she was still to be found as well. ❝ And Sylvanas? Is she still with the Farstriders? ❞ She had to have been. She was their Ranger General. She would never abandon her post… ❝ …Lady Sylvanas can be found in the Undercity. ❞ ❝ …I do not know the place you speak of. ❞ ❝ The remains of Lordaeron. ❞
Lirath was only given answers to questions he spoke aloud. There was no warning of the true status of Sylvanas. There was no tale of how the Quel’dorei had been outcast. Their beloved Prince was not mentioned, he did not know the story of this ‘Lich King’ they spoke of in passing reference to the plague of scourge in their lands. But he would come to learn in the months to come. He sought the wisdom of the old mage that had brought him home, when he had moments to spare from the growing threat of The Legion.
But not once did he seek his sisters. Khadgar kept his recovery secret, speaking not a whisper of him as Lirath moved through Azeroth unrecognizable to his brethren. Lirath’s memory was a fair faced boy chasing after the shadows of his sisters. Sisters that would be the only ones who could still see that jubilant smile in a now weathered face of a young elf that had been raised into adulthood by the elements. He took comfort in his own anonymity as he adjusted to the harsh and broken history of his people divided. Of his people… slaughtered. His friends, his family. The more he learned, the more he felt unable to face what was left of his blood.
Alleria was the one he found himself aching to see. She had always been his confidant, and he hers. At times she had felt more a mother to him than Lireesa. At other times, his best friend. Now, it was more than that. Khadgar had told him they had found her – her and her husband. A human paladin who’s name Lirath had never heard. Another Windrunner lost and found. She would understand how he felt better than any other… or so he hoped.
There was still a seed of fear that bloomed in the center of his chest. Rejection. He was not the brother they’d lost, not now. They had been apart for so long, and he had been so young when he’d been torn from them. What if they no longer recognized him – accepted him. He couldn’t even say how much or how little he’d changed in another but appearance. His eyes were still the same, yes. They still glowed a haunting shade of blue unique to him, albeit it more wary and reserved than before. His hair still mirrored her own, a brilliant bright gold – shorter now, but still pulled back in a style reminiscent of his youth.
A childish part of him wondered over frivolous things, like if he were taller now, than her – than all of them. How would his bowmanship compare to theirs when so much of his own had been self-taught. He had always dreamed of becoming a ranger. He supposed in a way, he had achieved that, but never in the way he’d wished.
It had taken him days to work up the courage to even step foot in Stormwind. Their young king was gracious and welcoming. He was given an escort as to not find himself lost in the sprawling human city, and told when Alleria returned, she would be given the news of him… and where to find him.
The Valley of Heroes. It was not unsurprising to see the massive likeness of his sister looming over him, carved of stone and poised in memory of her prowess. He was left to his thoughts, alone to wait a reunion at times he had not thought he’d ever be gifted. Standing there beneath a statue erected in her honor was nearly surreal…
It was as if she’d truly died. As if they both had.