by Julilee » January 26th, 2015, 12:10 pm
To say things have escalated would be accurate. But I should start at the beginning so I can record and mull over everything that's happened.
It began, at least for Sanctuary, when Kex'ti called out for help over the hearthstone. He had been attacked by a rogue, and though he had driven her off, he was succumbing to the poison. I was able to reach him in time to administer an antidote, but he nearly died. If my hearthstone hadn't been in range... And then he told me his assailant was a member of the Horde, someone named Syreena – of the Grim.
Before that night, Sanctuary had worked together with the Grim, albeit grudgingly, when the need arose. Assaults on Shattrah or the Pit; delving into enemy strongholds. I'd had an unfortunate run-in with their Commander once previously, but though there was distaste on both sides, we recognized that we both served the Horde, and that at the very least the ends we sought were the same. Peace.
So that night I ordered the guards to allow no Grim within the garrison until further notice, and wrote an admittedly scathing letter to the Commander of the Grim... but that was all I knew at the time. The letter had hardly departed, however, before one arrived for me.
Their commander, Awatu, claimed that one of our had attacked on of theirs. At first I could only assume that it was a defensive, reactionary lie, to justify Syreena's attack; but the individuals they named gave me pause. It was Saphiara, he said, who attacked Filora.
"She's a threat only to herself," I'd told Durk'atar when he expressed his concerns to me about her. I'd seen Saphiara's bitterness, yes... heard her voice her grudge against those who, in her eyes, had abandoned Sanctuary in its time of need. Like Filora. But I couldn't believe she would see going rogue and attacking unprovoked as justice. She had agreed to come back to the banner. She had been the first after me. She had believed so strongly. Even if she had suffered for it, she had truly believed, and nothing can break true belief. Or so I thought.
I couldn't reach her; hadn't seen her in at least a month. I'd thought she needed space. Now her silence sounded damning.
Then, Lilliana and Lupinum, of the Grim, came to the garrison while I was away. As Lilliana was one of those with whom we had worked the most from the Grim, and she had a longstanding relationship with my second in command, Kargron, she had been chosen to make a diplomatic overture. That might sound sensible, but the wisdom of the choice was... debatable, illustrated when she was turned back by the guards, and decided to simply mind control them to get inside. After Cerryan confronted her and the guards sought to remove her and her friend from the premises, the two Grim fought back with force and as a result were thrown in our stockade.
Lilliana was rather shocked when I returned, and, hearing the explanation of events, decided she and her friend could cool their heels behind bars for awhile. But I wasn't going to tolerate such disrespect of Sanctuary's sovereignty within our own garrison. Especially not from someone of the Grim. I gave orders that they were to be released after a few hours, and they were.
Things were quiet for awhile. I notified my guildmembers of the conflict and told them to be wary of Grim. Someone came to join our ranks, who turned out to have a sister in the Grim. He seemed sincere, though, and I ended up turning him away only because he had perhaps not given the ideals Sanctuary stands for enough thought. Then I met with my officers to discuss Saphiara.
Durk'atar had found the site where the alleged attack on Filora had taken place, and through his connection to the elements, he was able to see what they had seen. There was no doubt. Saphiara had attacked, and unprovoked. Filora had even thrown down her mace in surrender.
We would need to bring her in for a trial, and sentencing. Our efforts to find her thus far had turned up nothing, but the shamans, Durk'atar and Grisch, spoke of a ritual they could perform to find her. They're still working on gathering the necessary reagents. While we've continued to search for Saphiara, she managed to hide from Garrosh and the Kor'kron for years, and I doubt we will find her through conventional methods.
Things were quiet... for awhile. I wrote Awatu a second letter affirming our belief in Saphiara's guilt, and our right to be the ones to bring her to justice. I never received a response to that one, either.
Then, the broadsides. I still don't know who was responsible for them, though certainly many of Sanctuary believe it's the Grim. But while investigating, we came across a war party of the Grim in the Arathi mountains. And learned they intended to attack an undefended Alliance town, and slaughter everyone in it down to the little ones.
There was a confrontation.
Saphiara showed herself.
But we got away with our lives, and most of the Alliance families saved. Nothing else, but it was enough.
The next day, their commander finally did reach out to me. He asked for a meeting. With my people gathered, we met them at Bladespire Citadel.
I'm still not sure why he asked for the meeting. To gloat? To make a show of force? We appeared to have almost even numbers... except that we knew there were rogues in their ranks who were not showing themselves. Grumak even detected Syreena there, though Awatu claimed she was "indisposed".
It was a thoroughly unproductive meeting in the end. They named us allies of the Alliance, failing to make any distinction between innocent and guilty, combatants and non-combatants. I told them their philosophy had its chance with Garrosh, and that Vol'jin respected peace as they did not. We left before they could take any action.
So we stand now, with open hostility between our two sides. It was bound to happen, I suppose. We are diametrically opposed.
I can only hope that they take my words to heart and don't attempt any violence against us. If they do... reprisal will be swift. And just.
