\u201cLord Verath!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHalduron!\u201d her father called as Halduron, Jirri, and the dragonhawks approached. Although she was clearly trying to control her emotions, the normally smiling Jirri was pale and almost . . . frightened?<\/p>\n
\u201cMy lord, you must return to the spire at once,\u201d Jirri said \u201cLady Lireesa has gone into labor!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sylvanas had never seen her father look so distressed. \u201cBut the child isn\u2019t due for several weeks\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently, someone neglected to inform the child,\u201d Halduron retorted. His effort at lightening the mood was received with worried silence as Verath handed Vereesa to him. He settled the girl safely in front of him while Jirri slipped off her dragonhawk and Verath and Sylvanas climbed atop it.<\/p>\n
Sylvanas was not particularly interested in children other than her younger sister; nor had she given much thought to having children of her own. Alleria was the only one who needed to produce the future ranger-general. She sat behind her father, arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his back. Verath\u2019s reaction had unsettled her, and she was doing her utmost not to worry. Her mother had doubtless summoned some of the finest healers in the land the moment it became apparent that the newest addition to the family was determined to join it ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n
Sylvanas and her father leaped off the dragonhawks almost before the creatures were close enough to land. Halduron handed Vereesa back to her father, and Verath and Sylvanas raced up the stairs. A sensitive child, Vereesa had picked up on the tension and started crying the moment they departed, much to Halduron\u2019s consternation, and she now was sobbing at full tilt. There was no sound from above, of another child crying its first breath. Sylvanas did not think she had ever been truly afraid of anything in her life, but suddenly fear locked her in its cold grasp. She was clumsy as she ran.<\/p>\n
Despite his weeping burden, Verath reached the room before Sylvanas, vanishing into the quarters he and his wife shared. Sylvanas stumbled in a second after, bracing for the worst.<\/p>\n
She saw instead a sight so beautiful it could have been a painting hung in Sunfury Spire. Warm sunlight streamed in through the open casement window, bathing her mother and the bundle she bore in white-gold. The transom at the top was made of stained glass, casting its own rainbow hues. Verath cupped Lireesa\u2019s flushed face in his hands, and as Sylvanas stepped inside, relief making her weak, her parents kissed for a long, sweet moment, then pressed their foreheads together. Tears were on Verath\u2019s cheeks, yet Sylvanas had never seen him smile with such joy.<\/p>\n
Alleria leaned against the wall, smiling herself, and another worry Sylvanas hadn\u2019t realized she\u2019d been carrying fell away. The new arrival, it would seem, had already worked a minor miracle if Alleria\u2019s test was all but forgotten. Lireesa pulled back from her husband\u2019s embrace, her hand still on his cheek.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything\u2019s fine,\u201d she reassured her children. \u201cThis little boy simply couldn\u2019t wait any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
A boy. A brother for the three sisters. Sylvanas realized she\u2019d simply assumed the baby would be a girl, but she was glad he wasn\u2019t. Four girls would have been boring.<\/p>\n
Vereesa had stopped crying and now wedged her way between the parents. \u201cLet me see, let me see!\u201d Had only half a day passed since she\u2019d said that to Sylvanas, wanting to see Alleria? It seemed like a lifetime ago.<\/p>\n
Sylvanas stepped from the doorway quietly to stand at the foot of the bed, wondering if this giddy elation filling the room would extend to her. Lireesa turned her eyes toward Sylvanas, and her smile was warm and genuine. \u201cWould you like to hold him, Sylvanas?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sylvanas nodded. The lump in her throat stopped her from speak- ing. She reached down as Lireesa reached up, and gathered the small, warm bundle in her arms.<\/p>\n
The infant fidgeted, turning his head and dislodging part of the blanket that had been tucked around him. Sylvanas took a swift breath as she finally beheld his face, her eyes wide and suddenly stinging with tears.<\/p>\n
He was perfect. Wisps of gold hair, bright as newly minted coins, adorned his head. His cheeks were pink as roses, and his deep blue eyes were fixated on her.<\/p>\n
Joy and fierceness flooded her in a sudden burst as the world narrowed to this moment, this small being, and Sylvanas did not think she had ever cared about anything more than this confoundingly tiny bundle. Carefully, she shifted him so she could touch his face, his skin so soft, so perfect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s his name?\u201d Her words came out in an awed, hushed whisper.<\/p>\n
\u201cLirath,\u201d Lireesa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLirath,\u201d Sylvanas repeated, trying it out. As Vereesa\u2019s was, so was the baby\u2019s name an amalgam of his mother\u2019s and father\u2019s. It rolled pleasingly off the tongue, and though it was of course impossible, Lirath gurgled as if responding to it. \u201cLirath, one day, I\u2019m going to show you our favorite spot. You can splash in the water, or dance with us, or just sit and watch the world like Father does. I can\u2019t wait to show you fireflies.\u201d<\/p>\n
She leaned over and kissed his smooth forehead, unmarred as yet by sun or sorrow. As she drew back, the baby waved a chubby arm and tiny fingers grasped a few strands of her hair.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe likes your hair, Lady Moon,\u201d Alleria said. Her voice was warm and soft. Everything, Sylvanas thought, was warm and soft right here, right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d Sylvanas replied, her voice still low and tinged with won- der, watching the infant\u2019s fascination with a simple lock of hair, \u201che is golden-haired, like you, Lady Sun, so I think he should be Little Lord Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo suns, two moons!\u201d Vereesa crowed, bouncing slightly. \u201cHold him carefully, Sylvanas,\u201d Lireesa said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to hurt him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sylvanas recalled her father\u2019s words.<\/p>\n
I will never hurt you. Ever. And no one else will, either. With love and courage, I will keep you safe.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s safe to say Sylvanas Windrunner is among the most beloved characters in the vast Warcraft universe, so it’s only fitting that she becomes the subject of the latest World of Warcraft tie-in novel. IGN can exclusively debut an excerpt from writer Christie Golden’s World of Warcraft: Sylvanas ahead of its March 29 release date. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10647,"featured_media":92249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20,4],"tags":[4600,2891,8283,287],"class_list":["post-92248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buch","category-gaming","tag-buch","tag-lore","tag-sylvanas","tag-wow"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
WoW: Eine Leseprobe zu dem kommenden Sylvanas-Buch - Stevinho.de - Ein ausgezeichneter Blog!<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n