Daughter of the Sea: A Warcraft Quest

[X] Keep the Expedition's fleet together and take the southern route - there's a possibility of land beyond the smattering of rocks, for the seagulls nest nearby.
[X] A diary of the journey - from here to there.
 
Chapter III


Daughter of the Sea:
III

It is the fortieth day of the voyage West.

When the decision was made to head southwards along the edge of the Reef, Captain Evencane took the Wavecutter forward in a brisk manner to map out a safe journey through the treacherous outcroppings. Jaina had authorized the use of the Tidesage's magics, whose magicking proved vital in maneuvering past the jutting rocks, that seemed to have been fashioned with hands. Her mages opened communication between the ships of the Human Expedition to better navigate the dangers of the Reef's southern edge and the journey proceeded as it had once before: safely. Jaina, herself, fashioned little warriors from water - Elementals of Water - to steer sluggish vessels from hitting the stones, or breaking themselves apart on the dangerous, lecherous stone underneath the surface. Her cheeks reddened from the exposure to the sun, her hair bleaching and taking on a whiter tone. It was becoming warmer and warmer each day, and the wind brought the scent of cloves with it from the West.

They turned West, when the Reef parted from their path. An opening large enough for the whole Fleet to gather hull-to-hull with bountiful colony of fish - coloured brightly with red, green and yellow - underneath their very feet. Jaina smiled wryly, when her sailors began pulling up nets brimming with the fishes. Across the ships, she heard the cries of joy of her people - for they'd survived to see this day: this bountiful day. She called for an early night, anchoring the Wavecutter only few hundred meters from the city-of-ships - the eighty-seven ships of the Human Expedition had formed a city of their own with the sea remaining calm and peaceful for the night. Planks were thrown to allow access from one ship to the next. Children from Lordaeronian families ran and played with children from Kul Tiras, Stromgarde and Dalaran. Families met their relatives on the other ships and convened in large throngs of people, celebrating their luck and praising both the Light and Lady Proudmoore. Jaina watched the celebrations spring across the ships from the Wavecutter, smiling to herself.

She chose to make the Elementals of Water dance in the shape of lovers across the small space between the Wavecutter and the City-of-Ships. She saw them all watching with hopeful eyes, sparkling as the night began to darken and the lanterns came lit. She veered the dancers across, made them leap to a controlled wave of frothing water to give the female shape a fluttering dress. Cheers erupted across the City-of-Ships, and Jaina felt she had accomplished - no - saved the rest of their voyage. She unmade the Elementals with a flourishing sparkle of arcane magic, that crackled across the starlit sky. Captain Evencane bowed low as his knees allowed, and Jaina took the cup of soup from her. It was warm, lacking salt and flavour - but it was better than stringy meat and ricecakes.

"They are coming in an hour, my lady.", Evencane was punctual even without a Gnomish Handwatch. Jaina spied with her emerald eyes the ships of her nightly attendants already being put to water.

"I will meet them outside, on the deck, tonight.", she smiled and drank the milky broth of the soup. Where did he get milk?, she wondered. "Prepare a table and enough seats for us. And mulled wine, yes, I'd like that."

"As you command, my lady.",
Evencane took his leave and preparations began.

"And some music. I would like to hear someone singing tonight."




They were all in good mood, tonight.

Halford Wyrmblade had brought his leftenants with him. All twenty of them, dressed impeccably in their military regalia. They were a stark contrast to Dungalion's Trollhunters who came dressed in loose shirts, simple breeches and sailor's boots. Christof Dungalion had the decency to apologize, but soon remembered his Arathi roots, when the wine was served - he challenged Knight-Captain Emery to a singing contest. Jaina feared they'd come to blows, but nearly choked on her wine when the men matched verse for verse. Brash and with militaristic undertones, but they had decent voices. It was made even better when the Emery's Dwarven companions joined in with their booming voices, drums and lutes:


[]
The celebration lasted deep into the night. Jaina chose to withdraw to her chambers early on. She magicked her door and summoned one of her Water Elementals watch over, for whenever Men drank - they became fearless. I do not need some drunk sailor banging on my door tonight, she laughed and made for bed. She stopped at her desk, peering over at pages needing guidance, needing someone to write on them. She took up her quill, and added flourish to the date.

"Day 40 of the Voyage West.


It has been a day of laughter and a day of rest for all of us.

We found a way through the Reef today at Noon. To our surprise, for the first time in weeks, the sea was wild with fish instead of the Tidemother's whim.
We anchored early and called it a day. Sailors brought in netful after netful of fish coloured in a hundred different ways - rainbows. I saw rainbows, today.

We celebrated our survival and drank to our health. We drank to those we lost, and we drank to the journey ahead.

The other still continue the celebrations, but I must rest. Tomorrow is important, as is every day.

Your truly, as long as Stars do Shine:

Jaina Proudmoore."





It's the forty-first day of the Voyage West.

Jaina was the first awake and on the deck. Besides those who'd forgotten themselves and slept off their drink. She woke them with a gentle word and took them below deck, where the sun would not burn their skin and drink not soil the plank. The day began slowly across the City-of-Ships with people still pulling netfuls of fish from the sea, and Jaina called for another day of rest to stock up their food reserves, that would be triumphed with a:

[ ] A race of the fastest ships of the fleet towards the West. Twenty nautical miles West, where the first would be given the honours of being the first to make landfall.

[ ]
A competition of both martial prowess and mental might. The winner of both bouts would be named champions of the Human Expedition and given the honour of being the first to make landfall.

While the preparations for tomorrow's event were underway, Jaina called Captain Evencane over. She instructed him to take three ships and head:

[ ] West before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.

[ ] South before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.

[ ] North before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.










 
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[X] A competition of both martial prowess and mental might. The winner of both bouts would be named champions of the Human Expedition and given the honour of being the first to make landfall.

[X] North before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.
 
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[x] A competition of both martial prowess and mental might. The winner of both bouts would be named champions of the Human Expedition and given the honour of being the first to make landfall.

Throw a bone to the non Kul Tirian factions.

[x] North before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.

South is going to likely be the deserts of Tanaris or Dustwallow Marsh, the canonical location of Theramore. Both are kind of shitholes. We can do better

West directly is probably gonna lead us to either the Barrens, where Ratchet is, or Durotar. Both are also shitholes and one has a fuck load of Orcs. Best to be avoided again.

North is likely Azshara, which has a bunch of cool ruins and actual trees for us to mess with. Also close to Ashenvale, a grand source of lumber if we can convince the Nelfs that we aren't hideous monsters who need to be stabbed. For those who want to play diplomatic kind girl Jania, this also puts us in a great spot to mediate between the Nelfs and the Horde
 
[X] A competition of both martial prowess and mental might. The winner of both bouts would be named champions of the Human Expedition and given the honour of being the first to make landfall.
[X] South before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.
 
If we're going to have a lot of questions of whether we should go with this faction or this other one, it would be good to have more understanding of consequences. What were the constitutional arrangements of the expedition? It happened before the fall of the Eastern Kingdoms so presumably they established something. Jaina is in charge, but Lordaeron is about. Gilneas and Stromgarde are distinctly minor factions, it's really between Kul Tiras and Lordaeron. If we're making decisions its important to be able say 'if we do X, Y will probably happen'
 
[x] A competition of both martial prowess and mental might. The winner of both bouts would be named champions of the Human Expedition and given the honour of being the first to make landfall.
[x] North before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.
 
The Expedition was hastily assembled in Kul Tiras with the Lordaeronian attachment joining them near Tol Barad. They're all following a prophet's mad words, that they've only a chance to survive in the distant Kalimdor.

Jaina was elected as the leader of the Expedition with the Lordaeronian and Kul Tiran factions being the most populous. The Gilnean-Stromic are smaller detachments of highly skilled soldiers - something the Expedition will have dire need of.
 
The Expedition was hastily assembled in Kul Tiras with the Lordaeronian attachment joining them near Tol Barad. They're all following a prophet's mad words, that they've only a chance to survive in the distant Kalimdor.
Ok, that's certainly beginning an explanation, but again if you're going to look at the themes of constitutionality and management of communities etc, we're going to need more details, otherwise we can't engage in such themes. I'm not sure what you have planned, but for example, in 5 years if the Gilneans want to do a particular thing and we don't want it then that's a issue, that would create a decision point. We know in canon that Theramore dealt with lots of deserters/Daelin loyalists. You've named this quest 'Daughter of the Sea' for a reason I assume rather than it just being Jaina's title. The song is about constitutional issues and authority as much as it's about family tragedy. I don't think anyone is requiring you to write out a constituion, that's not necessary, but all these people, in character, would have been thinking about these issues. In a relatively similar expedition, the First Crusade, there were exactly these sorts of discussions. The Byzantines though the Latins would obey them, some people wanted to be reporting back to Francia and similar, others were all for being some sort of vassals to the Pope, and so on and so on.

So lets look at the timeline:

  • Orcs steal ships and head to Kalimdor, Daelin at some point sets off after them, given that's y'know, his job, or maybe he does it later because of
  • The Cult of the Damned are messing about, Stratholme burns, Arthas heads to Northrend, Jaina heads to Kalimdor.
  • As far as I'm aware (though this is a bit iffy given the unspecific canon), Jaina somehow gets a significant force of ships, presumably Kul Tiran ones, and soldiers, and sets off with them and a lot of Lordaeron refugees, and some random other people like high elves, the Gilnean Brigade and so on.
  • Arthas returns and Scourges Lordaeron
My point here is that this isn't a flurry of evacuation with everyone just running about, there was planning that went into this. They've also been sailing for ages, there's going to have been a reasonable amount of discussion among the various people about who's in charge etc. There'll have been some ideas about governance at some point, it's not just a load of people wandering off. You could compare this to First Crusade vs the People's Crusade, that sort of thing, given the later was indeed a big mess.
 
Decided to go in depth on each of the potential landing sites for us, and why I think that Azshara is the best one in the long run.

First off I want to get two points out of the way. 1) We will be a costal nation. Our leadership is Kul Tirian, there is going to be a heavy bias among our officers and leaders to be on the coast. Also the religion we, Jania Proudmoore, follow requires a coastline of some kind. If we moved our capital inland we would likely have to keep an outpost on the coast just to protect the Tidesages, which would split our forces up massively. So the best and easiest way to go is to stick to the coast.

2) We are going to land on the west shore of Kalimdor. We do not have the stores or popular morale to go around the southern tip of Kalimdor. To do so would be to invite mutiny even more than rationing does. If we see land, that land is where we are going to make our home. We cannot put off landfall for more than like, a day or so after we reach Kalimdor.

Okay so, next let us look at the main body of our population. Since we are mainly Lordaeronian that means that most of our population are going to be European Style Peasant Farmers. They are used to working fields of crops and living in small villages. Their skillset is based on doing this. The Gilnean and Kul Tirian populations are likely mostly the same. Some of the Arathi might be herders, used to moving between two regions with flocks of sheep or goats or cattle. This is, however, going to be a small part of the population. Only a small subsect of the Stormics, who are already a small subection of our total pop, are likely herders. Thus we can draw the conclusion that style of agricultural production most well known to our people is European style field farming. We need to keep this in mind when picking out a location to settle down, as it takes a long time to retrain someone from one style of agricultural production to another, and they tend to not be that good at the new style.

So, in no particular order, here are our choices.

1. Durotar: A pretty terrible choice, if I'm being honest. The ground does not seem that fertile and the climate is swelteringly hot and dry. Thrall settles here out of some weird guilt 'we must prove ourselves' complex. If it is rough for Orcs then it is going to be miserable for humans. The main agriculture seems to be the herding of pigs, aka not out strong suit. It is also already inhabited by the orcs and trolls. This will instantly throw us into the 'do we restart the Race War or not' debate that plagued Jania in canon, and without the few months of her building up that let her actual defy her father. If we do settle in and make peace with the Horde we'll be close to our allies, though our population is gonna be low and we're in danger of just getting culturally swallowed up by the Horde.

2. The Barrens: Durotar but without any redeeming qualities. Its a dry shithole that seems to only be capable of barely sustaining herding, with most settlements here being military outposts or resoruce extraction sites. There are some minerals and lots of oil, but Kul Tirian ships don't use oil and all of Kalimdor is rich in minerals. If we had to settle here, we should pick were Ratchet is in WoW. Even then we'd be pretty much stuck on that stretch of coastline, with no real way to expand out into the Barrens proper. Also a good way to get involved in an endless hellwar with the Quillboar, who are unlikely to be psyched that we just showed up on the doorstep of their most holy place. Only not the worst option on the list because Tanaris exists. Also no trees for shipbuilding

3. Tanaris: Its a fucking desert. No trees, no arable land, no potential friends nearby. Tanaris is a hellscape and I don't understand how Gadgetzan survives post fall of Kezan. The only good qualities is that it has salt flats, some minerals and is close to Ungoro. On the other hand, landing here basically means that we are locked in a closet with the Farraki and we don't get to leave until one of us is dead. The Sand Trolls are xenophobic in the extreme and any peace will come because we fucking destroyed Zul Farrak and chose to not wipe out a vassal population of them. I don't think that getting into a massive, life or death war literally right off the boat is the move. Also its right next to the Caverns of Time, and while in modern WoW the Bronze are nice boys, those who have played Classic will remember that they start off attacking strangers on sight. Also we're kissing cousins with the Silithid. Its a hellscape and we should not land here.

4. Dustwallow. Surprsingly second best, but that is damning with faint praise. Dustwallow is kind of a hellscape. For one thing, its a goddamn swamp. Its a pit of disease and filth that we probably don't wanna deal with. Also its full of goddamn giant spiders and the fucking Black Dragonflight. Onyxia is literally Right There, just Vibing. We cannot defeat Deathwing's Daughter. At BEST we'll get a phyrric victory if we fight her. She is a ticking time bomb to any attempts to settle Dustwallow and could blow up at any second. However its not all bad. First off: holy shit trees. This is one of the few places on the western coast of Kalimdor that actually lets us rebuild our fucking fleet. Trees are insanely nice to have on Kalimdor, and we don't have the fistfight the Nelfs to get them. And while Dustwallow, being a swamp, is shit for agriculture right now, it doesn't have to be. Draining the swamp around OTL Theramore will result in very productive farmland. A properly managed and controlled Dustwallow is very easily an amazing nucleus for a large, expansive empire.

Eventually. The main issue is that, while Dustallow is best in the long term, its fucking terrible in the short and medium term. Swamps are awful to live in and it will cost insane amounts of time, money and manpower to drain the marsh and create fields and orchards in its place. I know SV loves going for the super long term solution, but in the long term we're probably dead of fantasy cholera. Or killed by FUCKING ONYXIA. Holy shit. If you'll forgive the pun, we do not want any of that smoke. Dustwallow comes with a loaded gun pointed directly at out temples. ONyxia waking up means that either our city gets burnt to the ground OR a hot lady with a nice rack makes use of any social fissures in our new society to rip us apart from the inside. And, if you'll remember canon, Theramore was plagued by massive societal fissures based around Jania deciding that race war was cringe. We do not want Onyxia doing what she did to Stormwind in canon to us. Dustwallow could be nice, but in my opinion the negatives outweigh the positives.

5. Azshara: Finally, some good fucking food. Azshara is the best we are going to get. Reason one: Trees! While not as thickly forested as the Marsh, Azshara has goddamn trees we can use to make ships and housing. As I said earlier, the culture of our ruling class will make us drift heavily towards being a naval power, so having access to timber is amazing. Also Azhara seems to be relatively fertile. Not amazingly so, and certainly not as good as a drained Dustwallow would be, but we can farm it without doing the back breaking labor of draining a swamp. Azshara is also littered with cool ass Night Elf ruins. These are both amazing as arcehological finds and also are Very Very Nice to use as temporary shelters and housing for our people. If I'm gettting my Warcraft timeline right, the Naga have not surfaced in real force yet, so all we need to do is clear out some Murlocs and Mukara and we have a prebuilt city to use.

To continue on, Azshara is amazing for future diplomatic endeavors. We're a comfortable distance from Durotar, mountains make great borders, so if we go the canon route of Jania deciding that race war is bad we can easily access our Horde allies without being in danger of getting absorbed by them. We're also right next to the Furbolgs. They do start out as unfriendly, but unlike the Dragons it should be slightly easier to treat with them. And since our leader is Jania 'I Love Making Friends' Proudmoore I have high confidence that we will succeed. With Furbolg help we can probably get access to talking with the Nelfs and work on getting a good rapport with them. Both so that we can maaaaaaaaybe start to log Ashenvale just a little bit, and also so that we can leverage our geographic position to make Thrall and Tyrande sit down and talk out their issues like adults. Azshara is perfectly positioned for us to act as a bridge and meeting point between the Night Elves and the Horde.

Of course, it does have its downsides. For all the good things that come from being right next to the Night Elves, a lot of bad comes as well. Until we actually get them to talk to us, venturing further west is gonna be dicey. And Azshara isn't free of threats. The Legion is coming, and Azshara is closeish to the frontlines. As well we have Satyrs about, and possible Sea Giants as well. Neither are insanely dangerous threats, and won't fucking engage in a death war the second we touch down like the Farraki will, but we will come into conflict with them sooner than later. However, I think that the positives outweigh the negatives. Azshara is the best landing zone, due to its natural resources, fertility and geographic position. It has a chance to be nearly as good as Dustwallow long term, without us having to put in herculean effort to make it so.
 
[x] A competition of both martial prowess and mental might. The winner of both bouts would be named champions of the Human Expedition and given the honour of being the first to make landfall.

[x] North before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.
 
Azshara is well argued, but there are still plenty of dangers there. It's close enough to the NEs and near their ruins to annoy them and have them attack us as in canon. Yes trees are cool but they will kill us for taking their trees.

Also there's the Naga, the old gods are already aware of kul tiras so that might not be a thing to push too much

Jaina's religion is the Light, at best I'd call the kul tiran tide stuff a cultural practice. She's not a tidesage, and I also don't think we'd have to worry much about things like splitting our forces. We have cannons and stone working, what are the centaur or quillboar going to do? They're also not automatically aggressive, they can be allied with.
 
Azshara is well argued, but there are still plenty of dangers there. It's close enough to the NEs and near their ruins to annoy them and have them attack us as in canon. Yes trees are cool but they will kill us for taking their trees.

Also there's the Naga, the old gods are already aware of kul tiras so that might not be a thing to push too much

Jaina's religion is the Light, at best I'd call the kul tiran tide stuff a cultural practice. She's not a tidesage, and I also don't think we'd have to worry much about things like splitting our forces. We have cannons and stone working, what are the centaur or quillboar going to do? They're also not automatically aggressive, they can be allied with.


The Night Elves in general, have never really cared for Azshara, they even think it cursed from what I read. Oh yes, there some villages which in canon, Illidan and the Naga razed them to the ground, but that's haven't happened yet. Friendly contact with those same villages could be very useful in the long run in contact and relationships between us and them. And I doubt they care for cutting trees down in Azshara, or claiming ancient ruins of their old empire. (Which Kailmdor is lousy with. No really, you can't walk more than five feet without tripping over something from the Kaldorei Empire.)

If nothing else, getting lumber from Ashenvale is the hard part that would get us filled with arrows, but we could always trade for it.

For Jaina, she would I feel at least understand the basics behind Shamanism, and we do have one Tidesage, Decedra Willham, and we shall always be an naval power first. If nothing else, I love to see Thrall reaction to Jaina who actually understand orcish religion, or an Human Shaman, Tidesage Willham.
 
For Jaina, she would I feel at least understand the basics behind Shamanism, and we do have one Tidesage, Decedra Willham, and we shall always be an naval power first. If nothing else, I love to see Thrall reaction to Jaina who actually understand orcish religion, or an Human Shaman, Tidesage Willham.
I mean that'd be entertaining! Introduce the Elves to some human druids and shamans from Kul Tiras.
 
Jaina believes in the Light, but I will be incorporating various details of Kul Tiran culture and religion into the quest. As I will be peppering the game with details revealed in BFA and Cata. There might be religious conflict in the horizon, but currently all factions are playing it safe! Playing snuck and well with each other, until the sea's behind them and that looming sense of dread diappears from everyone's minds.

Who knows, some factions might break off if things become dire?
 
[X] A competition of both martial prowess and mental might. The winner of both bouts would be named champions of the Human Expedition and given the honour of being the first to make landfall.
[X] North before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.
 
[X] A competition of both martial prowess and mental might. The winner of both bouts would be named champions of the Human Expedition and given the honour of being the first to make landfall.

[X] North before the rest of the Fleet to avoid another incident such at the Drowned Reaches. If he finds lands, he's to send a ship back - forthwith.
 
Chapter IV

Daughter of the Sea
IV



Day 41 of the Voyage West.

I could not sleep well last night.

In my dreams, whenever I closed my eyes, I found myself returning to Lordaeron. To those moments before Dalaran's fall. To Kael's panicking words and master Antonidas' commands. 'Go west, and save our World', he said. I did not want to believe that Arthas was coming, nor that Quel'thalas had fallen. Kael took the news far worse than I had anticipated - he became like a different Elf. Sulky, brooding. I had asked him to come with me, lead his people West and to safety.

But all he could do was judge me with those green eyes of his: full of hate. Only because of Arthas.

There are days when I think I should have stood beside him at Stratholme. Perhaps, then, Uther and I could have persuaded him away from this path of damnation.
Perhaps, I would have fallen with him.



Jaina Proudmoore sat down on an elevated bench reserved for her in the largest of the Kul Tiran dreadnoughts beside her attendants and leaders of the other factions - Christof Dungalion and Halford Wyrmblade to his right, Knight-Captain Emery and Rober Ron to his left. Duke Lionheart sat a bench down together with the leftenants, captains and soldiery. The Dwarven delegation sits smack-dab in the middle of the second tier - Lord Cyrik Blackforge flanked by Twinbraid and Hammertoe. Jaina had wished to see Cyrik's flying machine today, but the Dwarf had declined. He wished to save the fuel for Kalimdor, for he wished to be be first Dwarf ever to fly across its' plains.

The sails had been brought down together with the three masts to make room for the
Games. The Games would begin with a wrestling match, continue after to a small melee with padded swords and be finished with an archery contest. Jaina had chose not to play favourites for the games, remaining a smiling figure for all to aspire. The booming thrum of the drums caught Jaina off-guard, as the first wrestlers took their place. For the next twenty minutes, the lesser officers wrestled each other. Twenty of them against twenty - every man starting with the left feet against their opponents with one of their arms held behind their back. The crowds gathered around cheered for their champions - name such as Barleybrew, Szigeti, Sprucebrook and Aden rang above the rest. Men groaned, the crowd cheered and Jaina gossiped with his fellow leaders - Dungalion had betted on Aden only to see him drop on the ground during the last match. Lord Cyrik Blackforge hopped on his bench and called foulplay, when Barleybrew lost to Szigeti. When Sprucebrook finally faced Szigeti in the last match, and lost, Jaina named Szigeti the Master of the Deck and the Champion of the Expedition. Cheers erupted across the ships and some sent stashed fireworks spiraling for the sky.

The melee continued shortly after, once the deck had been cleaned and the knights and marines had donned padded armour. Emery had personally chosen to participate in the melee to which Halford only laughed at. "His own men will not dare hit him.", Jaina heard him quip, only to see him get knocked out by a duo of Gilnean swordbearers. "You can see the Alteraci blood in them working wonders, Halford.", snorted out Rober Ron. The melee continued as these bloody occasions did, with men overextending themselves: arms were broken, legs came twisted and the sole Gnomish warrior among them, Caz Twosprocket in his makeshift armour and strange, sprong-esque hammer stood above the rest. Jaina named him the Master of the Melee and the Second Champion of the Expedition. The Dwarves on the benches cheered louder than the drums that thrummed and beat. Jaina felt dizzy from sitting too long in the sun, and from the wine she had drank. She called for an early end to the games and for the celebrations to begin. The archery contest would be held the next morning, before the fleet was to depart North. She spent the rest of the evening below deck, discussing with the victors of the wrestling match and the melee of the better parts of valour and their techniques. Twosprocket gave Jaina a Gnomish pocketwatch as his thanks for having been able to participate, and having won her favour. Jaina smiled and laughed with them for a time, before returning to her chambers for the night.

The morning came quick with a bloody sun. The archers were lined threefold abreast as teams - each representing their own group or kingdom within the Expedition- on the points of their ships and their targets were the leaping, winged fishes of the Reef. Everyone was given arrows to denoting their own colours - blue for Lordaeron, black for Gilneas, red for Stromgarde and green for Kul Tiras. The contest began with a shout and a cannon being fired. The Dwarves fired once into the waters to disturb the fish and they began leaping. They resembled a rainbow, each representing one colour on the beautiful thing, Jaina mused.

It was not long, before the Lordaeronian faction came on top. Sailors dragged in their nests and the Lordaeronian had two for each one shot by the other teams. Their archers was a mix of peasants and soldiery - two of them were called Adam and the third was named Edd. They took to their knees before Jaina and the assembled crowd, offering their score of splintered, arrow-ridden fish out. Jaina named them the Masters of the Bow and named them the Champions of the Human Expedition - the Third, the Fourth and the Fifth. She winked, letting them sort out between themselves who was who.



Evencane had not yet sent word, but Jaina called for the fleet to dissemble and continue North. They formed into four squadrons and began pushing northward with the wind at their backs. It was easy going, despite the Reef remaining an everlooming threat to their east. For four days, they continued north. For four more, until something loomed in the horizon.

A great cliff with daggery rocks at the base.
The sea smashed against it.
And there was a wreckage among them.

They had found land.
And had they found Evencane?


 
Land, ahoy!

Next chapter will be unveiling shortly. We've found land, gentlemen!
I will also be posting a rudimentary map of the area to give you an idea of where we are, but I shall say there are trees with red leaves!
 
Chapter IV: Landfall

Daughter of the Sea:
IV
Landfall

Captain Evencane was not among the survivors. Two of the ships sent North had ran on rocks, and keelsided. Wavecrest's Pride and Lady Arom both had met their end against these jagged rocks of Kalimdor. Jaina had ordered the Expedition to anchor miles from the shore and sent a rescue party to fetch the survivors on the rocks. Some had been stranded for days, others had gone mad from the sun and the sea: speaking of the Tidemother's daughters taking them into the night to sleep underneath the waves. Jaina Proudmoore listened to the survivors' tale on the Wavecutter with the land looming in the distance. Like a sore thumb, mountains rose in the West. The coast was jagged stonecropping for miles on end.

Lord Blackforge took flight nearly an hour after the land had been spotted. Three times, he took flight and returned with a rudimentary map for the Expedition's leaders to puzzle over. He had flown West, where the mountains turned red and the land dry, East where the land splintered and a strange colossus - a statue of pure marble rose broken from the ground. The land is hilly there, with small lakes and ponds dotted across the islands' width. He recalls having spotted ruins among the trees to the North. A suitable cove, he pinpoints with a large thumb on the map for Jaina.



Rough definition of the shore, provided by Cyrik Blackforge.


Jaina knows her people are anxious, and even moreso now, with the Land in sight. She remembers her champions and the promise she gave them, and informs her captains, that:

[ ] They shall head east for the cove mentioned by Cyrik Blackforge. The Fleet shall anchor in the bay while a rudimentary settlement is established on the northern point of the cove.

[ ] They shall head east, past the cove mentioned by Cyrik Blackforge - For the island with the colossus. The Expedition shall anchor on the southern point of the island, while a rudimentary settlement is established on its' southern point. Among the archipelago.

[ ] They shall turn southwest, past the mountains mentioned by Cyrik Blackforge - For this land has already been accursed by the deaths of Evencane's sailors. They shall find a suitable stretch of coast for landfall and establish a rudimentary settlement there while the Fleet anchors some miles away.

With the course set, she must make the decision on who shall be the first on the ground. Dungalion's trollhunters are accustomed to rough terrain, spotting out the possible enemies lurking in the woods, while Emery's soldiers carry weapons with dwarvenpowder. They would be easily able to ground, once the settlement has been established. Halford's 7th Legion is awaiting commands, and so are Proudmoore's marines. Who shall have the honour..?

[ ]
A mix of all to better make use of everyone's expertise. Dungalion shall scour the woods, Emery's men hold the ground and prepare with the Dwarves and their cannons - the 7th Legion will establish a perimeter and the Marines will organize the whole ordeal.

[ ] Dungalion's trollhunters will be first on the ground. Emery's men next together with the Proudmoore marines, while the 7th Legion organizes the whole ordeal.

[ ] Emery's warriors with Dwarven and 7th Legion support. Dungalion's trollhunters will be the last, and sent directly for the woods, while the Proudmoore marines organize the whole ordeal.
 
[X] They shall head east for the cove mentioned by Cyrik Blackforge. The Fleet shall anchor in the bay while a rudimentary settlement is established on the northern point of the cove.

[X] Emery's warriors with Dwarven and 7th Legion support. Dungalion's trollhunters will be the last, and sent directly for the woods, while the Proudmoore marines organize the whole ordeal.

this looks good
 
[x] They shall head east for the cove mentioned by Cyrik Blackforge. The Fleet shall anchor in the bay while a rudimentary settlement is established on the northern point of the cove.

[x] A mix of all to better make use of everyone's expertise. Dungalion shall scour the woods, Emery's men hold the ground and prepare with the Dwarves and their cannons - the 7th Legion will establish a perimeter and the Marines will organize the whole ordeal.
 
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