World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm Page 0,130

and said quietly, “Cairne, my old friend … are you still here?”

Both tauren and orcs believed that the spirits of the beloved dead sometimes spoke with those they had loved in life. They imparted warnings, or advice, or simply blessings.

Thrall would have been grateful for any of these.

But his words were taken by the soft, fragrant breeze and borne away, and nothing, no one, stirred to answer him. Thrall lowered his head for a moment.

“And so I truly am alone, and you truly have departed, my old friend,” he said. “And so I cannot ask your advice, or your forgiveness, as I should have been able to.”

Only the soft sigh of the wind answered him.

“We parted in anger, you and I. Two who should never be angry at one another, two who should have been old enough to know that this is a bad way to part. I was frustrated in my inability to solve my own challenges, and I turned from you when you spoke wisdom. Never had I done so before, and now see what has happened. You lie here, slain by treachery, and I cannot look you in the eye and tell you how my heart is breaking at this sight.”

His voice, too, was breaking, and he took a moment to regain his composure, although there was no one here to see him save the birds and beasts of the land. The armor felt heavy and hot on him.

“Your son … Cairne, I would say to you, you would be so proud of Baine, except that I already knew how proud you were of him. He is truly your son, and will carry the legacy of all you fought for to another generation. He did not let his pain rule his head. He has kept your people safe, at the cost of his own burning desire. The tauren are at peace once again, which I know was all you ever wanted for them. Even in the depths of horror, such as that dreadful, dark night—even then, your people, and the spirit of the Horde survived.

“The Grimtotem are now open enemies, instead of deceivers you held to your heart, who took your trust and still coldly planned to strike. The tauren will not be taken unawares by them again—ever. As for Garrosh … I truly believe that he did not know of Magatha’s treachery. He’s many things, but a deceitful, scheming murderer is not one of them. He’d want to know he’d won fairly, so he could legitimately revel in the honor. He …”

His voice trailed off. Thrall was terribly distraught at the murder of his friend and the slaughter that had followed Cairne’s death. He was glad the tauren were again at peace, under such a fine leader as Baine. But other than that …

“Cairne,” he said slowly, “I built this Horde. I inspired them, gave them purpose, direction. And yet … it seems as though this duty, this purpose … it is no longer the one that calls to me. How can I lead them well when my focus is elsewhere?”

His instincts, once so certain, were no longer as sharp as they once were. He buried his face in his hands, the black armor creaking with the gesture. He felt—lost. Torn. He again saw himself standing in the mist of the vision quest, his armor cracking and falling off him as he stood in the grip of fear and helplessness. He realized with a jolt that if he continued to lead them thusly, with his mind and heart and attention elsewhere, that he would eventually take the Horde down the path of civil war. Whatever his disagreement with Garrosh about what had happened in his absence, it had been he who had appointed young Hellscream acting warchief. It was his responsibility as much as Garrosh’s, and, in the end, all that could be proven was that the youth had done nothing worse than accept a challenge and up the consequences. He would not force the Horde to watch him and Garrosh struggle over that.

“I never told you this before. I wish I had. Do you know,” he continued quietly, “that to my mind, you always held the heart of the Horde, Cairne? You, and the tauren. When many others in the Horde hungered for war and darker paths, you listened to the wisdom of your Earth Mother, and counseled us to try other ways, other ideas. You reminded us of forgiveness and compassion. You were our