Warcraft: An Alternate Timeline

Year 24 - Cycle of Hatred / Pre-WoW

Go'el still cannot believe what Chromie is telling him. Not only a friendship but real love? A true and trusting relationship between a human and an orc? There has to be dark times. Times in which this love is on the brink. Problems. Disagreements. Racial or cultural arguments. Many arguments speak against this unusual love.

He turns around and takes his seat on the log again. His mouth opens but the words get stuck in his throat. A self-conscious laugh instead.

"What about... the next step? You know what I mean," he says and looks down his body.

Chromie already expected this question. She blinks with one eye, smirks and then looks through the shard.

"Of course there is more than just kissing after some time. In the summer, you have some beautiful nights by and in the Southfury River, in the marshes near Theramore or somewhere along Durotar's beaches. Good food, a bottle of wine,intense but humorous talks about anything and everything and sometimes... no clothes. In one of those nights, an orc guard is about to catch you. You hold Jaina very close to you and you both swim beneath a salient rock formation where nobody can see you. You both desperately try to avoid loud giggling."

"Very pleasant images. One can feel the love," Go'el admits.

"Let us leave it at that. I have a little surprise for you now. Certainly, you want to know who of your friends and advisors know about it. Your old tauren friend, the late high chieftain Cairne, is the first you tell about Jaina."

"My beloved Cairne. Who else would I trust this much? I miss his father-like advise and the wisdom he shared with me," a truly sad orc comments and sighs.

"Look at the shard, Go'el. That Thrall even shares his secret love with Cairne. And you know how the old bull reacts? He joins that happiness and beams with joy."

The big orc laughs when he sees the alternate Cairne cheering. His love for the deceased old friend is still strong.

"Does anybody else know about Jaina?"

"After Cairne warns you to not tell other loyal allies and friends, you still tell more people about it. The old orc Eitrigg, your venerable advisor, knows it and remembers his bond with Tirion. That old paladin knows it because Jaina sends him a secret letter. Vol'jin, of course, as your close friend. You even tell your shaman master Drek'thar but he does not like the idea at all. Some of your workers and warriors speculate about it behind your back, making it difficult for you to keep it secret.
As you can imagine, not many are pleased with your relationship. They fear it will break the Horde or the Alliance, that one should not deal with each other's enemy, and that it may result in even more trouble in Azeroth."

Go'el nods. One love cannot vanish two decades of hatred and war.

Suddenly, Chromie is taken by surprise by the following events.

"Oh... that is sad. Jaina does not want to marry. She is afraid of this step because she fears hostile reactions from both the Horde and the Alliance. You try to solace her. Some weeks pass. Then you have an intense conversation about it in the evening. You just had a dinner together and she feels happy. Comforting her has an effect. She looks at you and demands a human wedding."

Go'el immediately shakes his head.

"A human wedding? I am an orc. How can that Thrall even accept that?"

"She tells you about the planned wedding with Arthas. And then, she cries. You accept it because you do not want her to feel sad when she thinks about endorsing your bond. You just do not want to see her sad anymore. On the other hand, she accepts that you will choose the location. Both of you agree it will be the foot of Mount Hyjal. The place where it all began."

"I can see why they chose this place. Orgrimmar is too dangerous for humans, Theramore too dangerous for orcs. So they needed a neutral place."

"You are correct, Go'el."

"Let us change the subject. Now that this Thrall has dated Jaina for two years, how does it affect Durotar and the events which took place in that year?"

Chromie scans the shard for a while and then looks up.

"That is interesting. Due to your better relation to the humans, the alternate Orgrimmar does really well. Due to calm times, there is technical advancement. You and your advisors agree to invest in some human, gnome and goblin technology to help Durotar become less dependent. As far as I can see, your home town is better connected to water supplies."

Go'el looks concerned.

"Everything feels better... This is unexpected. I feared dealing with the humans does only harm my home more than it could have been helpful."

"You still have to deal with a lot of problems. But in this timeline," Chromie adds while pointing at the glass, "you have Jaina on your side. Remember?"

Go'el touches his brow and closes his eyes to remember the events.

"The Thunder Lizard resettlement?"

"Jaina still helps you to find a new place for them."

"The Barrens?"

"The Horde still agrees to build camps there."

"King Varian?"

"Is still found by your gladiator master, Rehgar. And Rexxar still defends Jaina in a dispute. He seems to like her."

"While we are on it, the corrupted orc Brux and the demon?"

"You crush the orc's skull because of his corruption and you still banish the demon with Jaina's help. You do not only kill him to protect Orgrimmar and your people but also your fam... oh."

Both glance at each other with big eyes. Go'el's jaw drops again. The gnome lady gets fidgety and joyfully shakes her fists.

"This is so wonderful, Go'el. Look at Jaina. Look at her."

"A baby," Go'el whispers. His breathing gets heavy as he stares at the slightly rounded belly and adds:

"And so, the cycle of hatred is broken."