Chapter 54

Chapter 54

In a conference room that had been prepared by the Kirin Tor, some of the most powerful individuals in Azeroth had gathered to decide what should be done with nearly a million sapient beings. The representatives from each relevant nation or organization sat around a massive circular table. The general mood was solemn as they waited for the delegation from Gnomeregan to arrive. All of them knew that the upcoming discussion would be a contentious one, and would have a significant effect on the political landscape.

Krivax couldnt help but note that this wasnt his first time being at the center of an event that would be written about by historians.

Only a few weeks ago, he received an interview request from one of Dalarans scholars to talk about his first meeting with the Explorers League in Moa'ki Harbor. Krivax had also been a part of the nerubian delegations first meeting with the Council of Seven Nations, another event that people would be talking about for a long time to come. That meeting had set the stage for Azjol-Nerubs future relations with the Eastern Kingdoms.

Krivax believed that the ongoing political summit could be just as influential on Azeroths future as either of those examples. Alexstraszas presence had already removed any possibility that the orcs would be wholesale slaughtered, but Krivax knew that how they were dealt with would have enormous consequences.

In the original timeline, the orcs were sectioned away into internment camps and left to rot as they suffered the effects of Fel withdrawal. They became increasingly aloof and lethargic, and the Alliance had gladly used their docile behavior to keep the orcs contained. The security around the internment camps inevitably grew lax, which eventually led to an event that would ensure the reformation of the Horde under a new Warchief.

Thrall, the first orc to reconnect with his peoples shamanist roots since Guldan corruption of the Horde, would use his new abilities to free the orcs of their lethargy and break them out of the internment camps. He would lead his people across the sea to Kalimdor, forge alliances with several other races, and reform the Horde as a power that could face off against the Alliance on equal footing. Of course, there were many more important details to that story, but that was essentially what had happened in the original timeline.

It was also a future that Krivax intended to do everything he could to prevent.

While conflict might make Azeroth strong, Krivax had to believe that there was a better way of preparing the world than dooming it to a state of constant war. Given the animosities already formed, it was extremely unlikely that the Alliance and a newly formed Horde would be able to coexist in peace. If Krivax wanted to successfully prevent that kind of future, there were several different things that he could do.

The most straightforward plan was to rescue Thrall from his slave owner and ensure he never grew to be the Warchief of the Horde. With only a few bags of gold, Krivax had been able to find a goblin sneaky enough to confirm that Thrall was currently in the custody of Aedelas Blackmoore. It would be a relatively simple matter for him to rescue the young orc, but he decided to wait until after the Alliance decided what to do with the remainder of the Horde.

Still, even if Thrall wasnt the one to free the Horde, there was no doubt that just leaving the orcs in the internment camps was a disaster waiting to happen.

Krivaxs ultimate goal was to rehabilitate the Horde into people who could live peacefully with the rest of the world and help protect Azeroth, but that was easier said than done. Regardless of his goals, the people of the Eastern Kingdoms didnt intend to forgive the Horde for the many atrocities they committed during their invasion. Fortunately, Krivax had a few prospective allies in his goal of turning the Horde from monsters into responsible denizens of Azeroth.

Krivax glanced to the side and studied the figure of High King Anubarak, who was currently away from Northrend for the first time in his centuries of life. Alexstrasza had paid for the cooperation of Azjol-Nerub with a map of Kalimdor, but the High King truly didnt care what happened to the Horde. It didnt matter to him if Horde was killed, enslaved, or welcomed with open arms. As long as they werent serving the Old Gods, threatening Azjol-Nerub, or settling on Northrend, the Horde simply wasnt their problem. The only reason that the High King was even attending this summit was due to diplomatic necessity, and because it gave him the chance to evaluate his fellow rulers.

Krivax suspected that King Anasterian Sunstrider, ruler of the high elves of Quelthalas, was also here for similar reasons. When he had first seen the high elf, Krivax was surprised that the man actually showed signs of aging, which was not something he was used to seeing from perennially ageless beings. Despite this, the ancient king seemed to move with supernatural grace and his gaze reminded Krivax of the many other timeworn beings that he had met so far.

Beings such as Alexstrasza, who was simultaneously the most powerful person in the room and also the most unpopular. Everyone understood that the Dragon Queen would be pushing for leniency toward the Horde, and nobody liked her for it.

Krivax dearly hoped that Alexstrasza wouldnt push her agenda too forcefully. It was one thing for the Alliance to reluctantly reach a particular conclusion on their own, and something else entirely when an absurdly powerful being forced it on them.

The only other group that clearly favored leniency was the Church of the Holy Light, which was pretty much obligated to push for rehabilitation by its religious ideology. Gnomeregan, Lordaeron, and Dalaran were all on the fence to various degrees, but pretty much everyone else would prefer that the Horde be exterminated. Even if that possibility was taken off the table by Alexstrasza, it would be a herculean task to convince the various kingdoms to spend the taxes of their citizens on maintaining the Horde internment camps.

This summit would be a difficult one, especially given the hardships and food crises that they were already facing. Plans had been made to cleanse the land, bolster food production, and repair the ravages of war, but all of those things would take a lot of time and effort. Unlike the original timeline, Lordaeron was certainly not in a position to heavily fund the camps themselves.

Glancing over at the hardened expression of Lord Admiral Proudmoore, Krivax knew that this wasnt going to be easy.

Aside from the Horde, they also needed to make a decision on the Dark Portal and Draenor. Krivax had no idea whether or not Draenor was salvageable, but he was pessimistic on that front. Still, the Dragonflights would probably have a better understanding of where things stood given that theyd already had enough time to learn more about the situation. There were several important plans that Krivax had in regard to Draenor, so he hoped the Alliance would decide against immediately destroying the Dark Portal.

Krivax was pulled from his thoughts as High Tinker Mekkatorque entered the conference room with his entourage following close behind. The High Tinker looked much the same as when Krivax had first met him, an older gnome with a cleanly shaven head and a bushy gray mustache. Even while attending an important political summit, he carried a wrench around his waist and wore a pair of engineering goggles.

Although his apparel was rather strange, Krivax had long since learned to ignore the eccentricities of Azeroths people.

Once the High Tinker took his seat next to King Magni, Grand Magus Antonidas stood from his seat and addressed the room. Given that Dalaran was hosting the summit, it went without saying that the Grand Magus was expected to serve as the moderator for the discussions.

Antonidas cleared his throat and began, Esteemed leaders and representatives of Azeroth, I would like to welcome you all to Dalaran on such an important day. As we all know, the matters we discuss today will have far-reaching consequences for our world and the future of our various peoples.

Antonidas swept his gaze through the room as they all remained silent, We have gathered here to determine the fate of the captured members of the Horde. The enormity of their transgressions is not something that bears repeating. We all know what they have done and all of us are still suffering the consequences of their decisions. Yet our war against them has been won and we leaders must decide on a path forward. Let us be guided by wisdom as we seek to do what is best for our respective nations.

Krivax could already tell by the reactions of those present that some of them had very divergent ideas of what was best for their nations.

In addition to the Horde, we must also decide what is to be done about the Dark Portal and the foreign world that lies beyond, Antonidas continued solemnly. The portal itself has reportedly been secured by the Dragonflights, and its magic has been examined by the leader of the Blue Dragonflight, Malygos. According to him, destroying the Dark Portal would successfully destabilize it, but a permanent link between our world and theirs will always remain. After being destroyed, the Dark Portal could be reopened on either world by any powerful enough force.

As for Kalimdor, the night elves are unwilling to allow the orcs to settle on their continent so long as they remain corrupted by Fel magic. They would also be likely to come into conflict with the centaur, who have already killed much of the continents native tauren, said Alexstrasza, her voice growing sad toward the end.

Admiral Proudmoore scoffed derisively before speaking, For someone who considers themself to be the guardian of life on Azeroth, you certainly have no problem allowing savages to kill innocent people.

Contrary to Krivaxs expectations, Alexstrasza didnt grow insulted or defensive at the accusation. Instead, she simply looked at Admiral Proudmoore with immeasurable weariness in her eyes. My duty is to the living beings of Azeroth, and that includes the centaur, the trolls, or any number of people who you would consider to be savage, Admiral Proudmoore. If not for the extraterrestrial origin of the Horde and the Burning Legions involvement, then I would have never intervened in a mortal war. As much as it might have pained me, I would have allowed them to continue sweeping over this continent, because I cannot allow myself to favor one race over another. From the perspective of my duties, none of your lives are any more valuable than that of a random murloc.

The Dragon Queens words were enough to bring everyone up short, including Krivax. He had no idea what it must be like to look at the world from that kind of perspective, and it made it harder to predict Alexstraszas actions. All of the Aspects seemed a bit warped from the weight of their responsibilities, but the Dragon Queen had always come off as the most normal and empathetic.

Perhaps she still was, but her duties compelled her to take actions that Krivax couldnt comprehend.

So to summarize, we cant send the orcs to Draenor without them either dying or rejoining the rest of their kin and launching another invasion. We cant send them to Kalimdor without angering some strange elves that Ive never heard of, and we cant kill the animals off because you wont allow it, asked Admiral Proudmoore, his voice level as he summarized the situation. Therefore we need to clothe, feed, and shelter them while also going through the effort of rehabilitating them from their demonic corruption. Is that correct, Dragon Queen?

It is. I would not normally intervene in mortal affairs, but I have no intention of allowing a genocide now that I have, said Alexstrasza, her voice firm as she made her position clear.

Could the Horde perhaps be kept on Northrend while they undergo their rehabilitation? asked Queen Regent Menethil.

No, they cannot, said High King Anubarak, speaking up for the first time before Krivax could respond. The only territory capable of safely sustaining such a large population would be the Howling Fjord. Azjol-Nerub will not allow any outside power to settle that land so long as there exists a risk of them awakening the vrykul.

The possibility of that happening was admittedly very small, but nerubians still held very strong feelings toward the vrykul even after so much time. When they learned that there was actually a significant vrykul civilization on the Broken Isles, Azjol-Nerubs leadership had not been happy, to say the least.

The best course of action would be to construct camps within the Eastern Kingdom to hold the orcs while we seek to free them from their curse. Orgrim Doomhammer and the rest of the Horde leadership should be tried by a council of nations, said Krivax, deciding that it was time to put forward a proposal now that everyone fully understood the situation. We can choose where to resettle them after weve done that, whether it be on Draenor, Kalimdor, or elsewhere. In addition, it would be in all of our interests to fortify the area around the Dark Portal and also make efforts to learn more about the situation on Draenor.

Discussions on Krivaxs proposal became intense as everyone argued over the details. Everyone easily agreed that the Alliance should construct fortifications around the Dark Portal to prevent any further invasions and was willing to contribute money and guards. However, the rulers disagreed on how to fund the internment camps and where to establish them.

Alexstrasza was not so subtly pushed to help pay for the camps herself, to which she eventually agreed. Much of that gold could be used to purchase supplies from the goblin cartels that hadnt participated in the war, greatly alleviating the burden on everyone.

There was also a lot of disagreement over where exactly these camps would be built. Nobody dared to ask Supreme Commander Lothar if Stormwind would be willing to host the orcs, and several other kingdoms were obviously off the table.

KulTiras, Stromgarde, and Gilneas hadnt seemed to soften their positions in the slightest and Lordaeron was too damaged from the attack on Capital City to offer much help. Much to Krivaxs surprise, King Anasterian remained mostly quiet during the discussion, but the elves were also opposed to hosting the orcs near Quelthalas.

After much discussion, Alterac eventually said that they were willing to host the internment camps in the Hillsbrad Foothills for a significant amount of gold. That wasnt much different from the original timeline, so Krivax wasnt particularly surprised. Despite that particular hurdle being cleared, they still needed to decide how to provide the guards needed for the camps.

Honestly, it was all very frustrating to Krivax. Azjol-Nerub could easily field the manpower to guard the internment camps but things would be much easier if everyone was willing to pitch in. Unfortunately, many of the rulers seemed to have an ideological opposition to helping the Horde. No matter how much he tried to frame it as something that would be in their own interests they remained immovable.

Thankfully, Gnomeregan had agreed to help once everything was laid out, and Ironforge reluctantly chose to side with their ally. Aerie Peak was also swayed once their fellow dwarves agreed and Dalaran eventually came around as well, but nobody else was changing their minds. Everyone else was only willing to give a minimum amount, and it was clear to everyone that they would prefer to not contribute at all.

They didnt really have much of a choice given the way things had progressed. Admiral Proudmoore could storm out in anger and refuse to cooperate, but that would just mean that KulTiras wouldnt have any say in the matter.

In the end, it was decided the orcs would be kept in internment camps within Hillsbrad Foothills. Unlike in the original timeline, the Alliance would separate a group of orcs into a separate camp and attempt to cure them of the blood curse. The Church of Holy Light and the Wildhammer Dwarves would be the ones primarily responsible for doing so. If they both failed, then Krivax always had the option to expose the existence of the Frostwolf Clan, as they should have a few orcish shamans of their own.

Once that separate group was successfully cured, a subsequent discussion could be had about curing the rest of the Horde and resettling them somewhere else. Krivax could already tell that such a conversation would be more than a little complicated

Now that a preliminary agreement has been reached on these camps, I believe there is another important matter for us to discuss, said King Anasterian, directing his gaze toward Alexstrasza. QuelThalas will endure your desire to spare the lives of the common grunts, but my people demand justice. The leaders of the Horde must answer for their decisions.

Trials must be arranged for the Horde leadership and any individual orc identified by the survivors of their massacres, Krivax readily agreed. If someone was able to find the specific orc that killed their family members, then there was no reason to deny them justice.

He knew that people would need someone to point their anger toward if they were ever going to tolerate the rest of the Horde, and frankly, Krivax felt the same. Any trial would be little more than a way to document all of their crimes before executing them, but Krivax couldnt muster the will to be concerned about treating the orc leadership fairly. Originally, Orgrim Doomhammer and many of the other chieftains had either escaped or died in battle. Krivax hoped that the public spectacle of putting them on trial and executing them would help people find closure.

The summit would last for several more days as they went over the minute details, but Krivax was fairly satisfied with how things were going. As long as a new hostile Horde wasnt allowed to be recreated, Azeroth would truly be on the path to solving many of its future problems by the time he returned from Uldaman.

Assuming that everything went to plan, of course