World of Warcraft: Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde (38 page)

“I understand. You be braver than most in doing this.” Vol’jin stepped back, folding his arms over his chest. “And I trust you gonna be there with that arrow when I be ready to use it.”

“Just as I trust you’ll get the one who gets me.” The man levered himself unsteadily to his feet. “And I am hoping your discharge of that obligation will yet be many years coming.”

• • •

Vol’jin stood on the island where he’d slain the mogu, and looked out toward the Grove of Falling Blossoms. Snow blanketed everything. He couldn’t be certain if lumps were rocks or frozen corpses. It didn’t matter. The white flakes, some of which rose on swirling winds, hid everything with their innocence.

Vol’jin willingly let them seduce him into believing the world, at least for a moment, was at peace.

Taran Zhu appeared at his side. “Peace is a natural state. You may enjoy it here for as long as you wish.”

“You be very kind, Lord Taran Zhu.”

The pandaren smiled. “But you will not enjoy it for as long as you should.”

“To be doing so would be selfish.” Vol’jin turned toward him.
“The peace you be offering me, though welcome be it, would be as much a trap as a skull or a helmet.”

Taran Zhu’s head came up. “Do you really understand?”

“Yes. The parable be not about skulls or helmets; it be about the limitations one accepts when you define yourself. A crab that sees itself as a crab be defined not by the shelter it seeks but by its very need to seek shelter. I be not a crab. My future be not depending on what I can find to act as a shell. I have many more choices.”

“And many more obligations.”

“Very true.” The troll drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Garrosh had betrayed the Horde and would continue to do so. That was in his nature. He allowed himself to be defined by his selfish desires and fears. He would never change, and would resort to many things, terrible things, to solidify his position. In doing so, he would shed rivers of blood and get washed away in the resulting flood.

“You, Lord Taran Zhu, have your family to care for here. So does Chen. Tyrathan gonna return to his family.” Vol’jin’s eyes tightened. “The Horde be my family. Just as Tyrathan can’t let his family believe he be dead, nor can I do that to the Horde. They deserve peace, too, and my accepting it here would deny it to them.”

“This a shadow hunter cannot do?”

“Can or cannot doesn’t matter. Shadow hunter or troll doesn’t matter.” Vol’jin slowly nodded. “Vol’jin Darkspear not gonna do it. That be not who I am. Time come that I be reminding my enemies of that fact and making them pay for the evil they’ve wrought.”

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank the following people for their contributions to this book. Without them, this never would have been done. Paul Arena, for suggesting I do a
World of Warcraft
novel; Scott Gaeta of Cryptozoic, for making introductions; Jerry Chu of Blizzard, for asking Scott to make the introduction; Micky Neilson, Dave Kosak, Cameron Dayton, Joshua Horst, Justin Parker, and Cate Gary of Blizzard, for working so hard to keep my coloring within the lines; Ed Schlesinger, my editor, who has the patience of a saint; Howard Morhaim, my agent, for making the deal work; and my friends Kat Klaybourne, Paul Garabedian, and Jami Kupperman, who conspired to keep me sane through the process of writing. (Which wasn’t that bad. After all, when I needed a break, I could drop into Azeroth and consider it research.)

N
OTES

The story you’ve just read is based in part on characters, situations, and locations from Blizzard Entertainment’s computer game
World of Warcraft
, an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. In
World of Warcraft
, players create their own heroes and explore, adventure in, and quest across a vast world shared with thousands of other players. This rich and evolving game also allows them to interact with and fight against (or alongside) many of the powerful and intriguing characters featured in this novel.

Since launching in November 2004,
World of Warcraft
has become the world’s most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The latest expansion,
Mists of Pandaria
, takes players to a never-before-seen continent filled with new quests and adventures. More information about
Mists of Pandaria
, upcoming content, and previous expansions can be found on
WorldofWarcraft.com
.

F
URTHER
R
EADING

If you’d like to read more about the characters, situations, and settings featured in this novel, the sources listed below offer additional information.

* Through war and hardship, Vol’jin has led the Darkspear tribe with unparalleled courage. Details of the troll leader’s life before he and his people joined the Horde can be found in the short story “The Judgment” by Brian Kindregan (on
www.WorldofWarcraft.com
). Vol’jin’s more recent adventures, including his tense relationship with Garrosh Hellscream, are depicted in
World of Warcraft: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War
by Christie Golden.

* Famed brewmaster Chen Stormstout has traversed the world of Azeroth and beyond, braving forgotten dungeons and other perilous locales (often in search of the perfect brewing ingredients). A window into his thrilling life is offered in the graphic novel
World of Warcraft: Pearl of Pandaria
by Micky Neilson and Sean “Cheeks” Galloway. His journey to the mysterious continent of Pandaria is chronicled in the online four-part novella
Quest for Pandaria
by Sarah Pine (on
www.WorldofWarcraft.com
).

* For millennia, the Shado-pan order has stood watch over the wondrous lands of Pandaria. You can learn more about this mysterious organization and its closely guarded secrets in the
short story “Trial of the Red Blossoms” by Cameron Dayton (on
www.WorldofWarcraft.com
).

* Further insight into Warchief Garrosh Hellscream and his previous exploits can be found in issues #15–20 of the monthly
World of Warcraft
comic book by Walter and Louise Simonson, Jon Buran, Mike Bowden, Phil Moy, Walden Wong, and Pop Mhan;
World of Warcraft: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War
and
World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm
by Christie Golden;
World of Warcraft: Beyond the Dark Portal
by Aaron Rosenberg and Christie Golden;
World of Warcraft: Wolfheart
by Richard A. Knaak; and the short stories “Heart of War” by Sarah Pine, “As Our Fathers Before Us” by Steven Nix, and “Edge of Night” by Dave Kosak (on
www.WorldofWarcraft.com
).

* Chen Stormstout’s precocious niece, Li Li, has always dreamed of following her uncle’s footsteps and wandering the diverse lands of Azeroth. More information about this curious pandaren is presented in the graphic novel
World of Warcraft: Pearl of Pandaria
by Micky Neilson and Sean “Cheeks” Galloway, the online four-part novella
Quest for Pandaria
by Sarah Pine, and the eleven-part journal series “Li Li’s Travel Journal” (on
www.WorldofWarcraft.com
).

T
HE
B
ATTLE
R
AGES
O
N

Shadows of the Horde
offers a chilling glimpse of the ruthless measures Warchief Garrosh Hellscream is employing to silence his detractors. Yet these savage tactics have only stoked the fires of discontent among his proud faction, driving many of its members to the brink of open rebellion.

World of Warcraft
’s fourth expansion,
Mists of Pandaria
, chronicles Hellscream’s brutal assassination attempt against Vol’jin and the mounting unrest that threatens to tear the Horde apart.
You
can take part in these historic events as you adventure through Pandaria, a never-before-seen continent filled with new allies, enemies, and thrilling quests.
Mists of Pandaria
also allows you to play as a noble pandaren (
WoW
’s latest playable race) and join the Horde or the Alliance, depending on which faction aligns more with your ideals. Regardless of the side you choose, your adventures will impact the destinies of both the Horde and Azeroth itself.

To discover the ever-expanding realm that has entertained millions around the globe, go to
WorldofWarcraft.com
and download the free trial version. Live the story.

MICHAEL A. STACKPOLE
is an award-winning novelist, game designer, computer game designer, podcaster, screenwriter, and graphic novelist. He’s had more than forty-five novels published, the best known of those being the
New York Times
bestselling
Star Wars
books
I, Jedi
and
Rogue Squadron
. He has an asteroid named after him and, since undertaking to write
Vol’jin: Shadows of the Horde
, spends a lot of his spare time “leveling up!”