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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | Admiral Fallon reports to his superiors in Stormwind on the battle at Serpent's Heart, with Sir Dane Atley's firsthand account and subsequent assessments. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
URGENT, EYES ONLY
Grand Admiral Jes-Tereth, Alliance Admiralty
General Hammond Clay, Alliance High Command
Captain Jocoza Sparkwire and Lord Elohad Ference, Cobalt Company
5 October 29
Enclosed herewith please find the firsthand account and subsequent assessments of Sir Dane Atley, Cobalt Company’s regional commanding officer in Pandaria, pertaining to the battle that took place in Jade Forest earlier today.
From my own understanding, Admiral Taylor at his post in Pearlfin Village received word from the provisional airbase in the north that Horde reinforcements, led by General Nazgrim himself, were on the march south with a force of hozen under their command. Per the Sky Marine who conveyed this news, Sgt. Nanaat, the airbase itself had been taken by surprise and overrun by this advance. Admiral Taylor elected to lead our jinyu allies to meet the Horde-hozen forces.
I was not apprised in advance of his intentions, nor was my aid requested. Cobalt Company’s Blue Squad were made aware of his intentions, but he did not request their direct involvement in his operation, nor were they present for it.
Admiral Taylor and General Nazgrim’s forces met on a river island known as the “Serpent’s Heart.” In the course of what proved a disastrous battle, they destroyed a century-old monument on said island and unleashed a powerful malevolence.
The fallen monument, Cobalt Company have given me to understand, was intended to house the spirit of one of Pandaria’s wild gods as part of a sacred cycle of death and rebirth. Cobalt Company have met the wild god in question, Yu’lon, the Jade Serpent; they confirm that she is near the end of her life and was anticipating completion of the monument. The destruction of said monument is not only an appalling breach of respect but also an actual and substantial harm to the culture and faith of the pandaren. As allies of the pandaren, it behooves us to do everything in our power to make recompense.
As Sir Atley describes, the monument’s fall and/or the conflict at its feet that occasioned it created some manner of rift in the earth, from which emerged one of the legendary “Sha,” a kind of monstrous embodied nightmare. What further harm this creature itself might have engendered in that moment, we are fortunate not to know; Cobalt Company rushed to the scene and were able to neutralize the main threat at least temporarily.
I will not speculate as to General Nazgrim’s motives in electing to engage on Serpent’s Heart. Whether or why Admiral Taylor and the jinyu also failed to take the site’s significance into account, I cannot say; it is possible that the Horde and its allies engaged them such that they had no choice but to answer and no constructive means of disengaging or shifting the conflict elsewhere.
Admiral Taylor and two of his SI:7 cohort were among the very few Alliance survivors, and were retrieved from the battlefield by Cobalt Company and the natives for medical care. Where they were taken has not been immediately disclosed to me, but as Taylor previously experienced excellent care in the natives’ hands, I am confident they are being well-served. I will follow up.
I personally visited the site of the devastation several hours ago in company with Sir Atley and Mr. Costentyn Shine of Cobalt Company, Capt. Marcus Bray and Lt. Dafyd Worthy of the Marines, and Mrs. Lena Shine and Dr. Soren Platt from the crew of the Lady Blanche. Dr. Platt could find no survivors of the battle; this was mere confirmation of the earlier efforts of Cobalt Company and their own healer, Mr. Brannagen Stillwall, but Dr. Platt was able to identify the remains of two of the five Alliance Marines whom Capt. Bray had delegated to Admiral Taylor’s command.
The aftereffects of the conflict are substantial. In addition to the diplomatic and cultural consequences, the jinyu people have lost substantial numbers — significantly, of their strongest and best-trained fighters and healers, upon whom they would ordinarily be able to rely for defense against the hozen — and the land itself remains tainted in some fashion none of us has previously encountered. Mrs. Shine confirms the corruption is not fel in nature. I cannot say whether or not it is reversible; not even the pandaren seem certain at present.
I intend to shift Captain Foyle of the Swift to supervision of the project of dredging the western cove for a harbor, as I believe the presence of a senior officer in Jade Forest is necessary to continue representing the Alliance in an effort to amend the diplomatic damage done.
That said, because of the strong rapport they have built with the local peoples, I also conclude it is in the Alliance’s best interests to allow Cobalt Company to remain our direct cultural liaisons and representatives to the natives. I will offer the navy’s services in a practical support capacity only, as may be required or suggested by Cobalt’s team leaders. At present, Sir Atley intends to speak to the pandaren and their priests regarding what assistance we might lend to any effort to physically salvage the wreckage of the statue.
In the interim, as of this evening I have dispatched a team of a dozen men including Mr. Kettering, boatswain, and Mr. Fox, carpenter, to the jinyu village to render whatever assistance they can as regards physical defense and supply. I sent with them Brother Eli Brisbane; the jinyu practice a shamanic religion which reveres the spirits of water, and I believe Brother Eli is best-suited to offer our respects for the fallen.
I have stationed Lt. Baird and Mr. Cammon of the Lady Blanche on a ridge near the Serpent’s Heart to keep watch over the site for any indication that the corruption might be either spreading or diminishing.
Please advise as to Admiralty orders.
I have the honour to be
Yr. obd’t svt.,
Adm. S. Fallon
To: Alliance High Command, Cobalt Company
From: Sir Dane Atley the Red
Subject: Engagement at the Serpent’s Heart — Full Report
Admiral Taylor had us down at Pearlfin Village overseeing drills with the jinyu militia when word came in from the north. General Nazgrim and his Horde were on the march, bringing their hozen down from the mountains. Admiral Taylor meant to meet them head-on and ordered Blue Squad to make sure our allies and equipment were fit for the fight. We performed skill assessments and recovered additional materials for fortifications and siege engines.
The jinyu were trained, the wounded fit, and our siege engines near ready — all told, Admiral Taylor’s army was as prepared as it could be.
Before the engagement, Lorewalker Cho approached us. He spoke of an ancient omen — the Emperor’s warning against war — and asked that we place a family heirloom at his ancestral shrine overlooking the Serpent’s Heart. We agreed and took flight on his serpent, Mishi. From the shrine, we could see Admiral Taylor’s line advancing against Nazgrim’s, each boasting near two hundred footmen in ordered formation, with Admiral Taylor personally leading the vanguard.
Moments later, the fighting started — and then it all went to hell. Cracks split the jade statue, and the structure fell, crushing both armies beneath it. Out of that ruin rose the Sha of Doubt — a creature of shadow and power the size of a fortress. I do not exaggerate.
Lorewalker Cho was with us. He handed out jade and ivory charms and instructed us to seal the fissures feeding the thing’s strength. We climbed back onto Mishi and went to work, tossing the charms down into the cracks as we circled the monster. The serpent’s flight was rough, the air thick with smoke and power, but we got the job done. The Sha finally screamed and sank back into the earth, though the ground was left blighted and crawling with lesser shadows.
We landed near what was left of the shrine. Lorewalker Cho confirmed that jade from the statue itself weakened the smaller Sha, and we put that to use. With jade shards and steel both, we cleared the field, driving off or destroying what remained. The fireworks meant to celebrate the statue’s completion became our flares for the wounded — we used them to signal Mishi for extraction. We found and evacuated Agents Sully McLeary and Mishka, and Admiral Taylor — all alive, though badly wounded. The rest were dead or gone.
We don’t yet know how many were lost, but the toll was devastating for both sides. We do not have confirmation on the death of General Nazgrim or any of his chief lieutenants.
In the aftermath, Yu’lon the Jade Serpent appeared to us. She spoke kindly, saying she bore no anger toward us — that there was a greater purpose behind what had happened, and that our will to help still mattered. Cho believes this was only the first of such manifestations — that more will rise if hatred and fear take root in this land. For now, the jade shards remain a potent tool to weaken the Sha.
Admiral Taylor, Agent McLeary, and Agent Mishka remain under the care of Lorewalker Cho for treatment. The jinyu fought bravely and followed orders.
We’ll need to maintain a presence in the region to contain further Sha activity and assist the pandaren in recovery.
The land’s wounded, but not lost. The cultural damage done to the pandaren must not be ignored. Yu’lon remains powerful, but she is now more vulnerable than ever. I assess Yu'lon to be roughly on par in power and influence with the Dragon Aspects, or one of the Ancients of Mount Hyjal. Her importance to the pandaren people, and to the spirit of our mission in this land, must also not be ignored.
It was prudent to meet the Horde in combat and drive them from the land, but striking at them in the Serpent’s Heart was a strategic mistake.
The men and women under me did their duty without fault. They’ve been dismissed to rest.
Admiral Fallon now holds senior Alliance command in the region; I’ve briefed him directly.
A dark day — but not the end of it. We’ve come back from worse. I’ve full faith that the situation, grim as it is, remains hopeful.
Very Respectfully,
Sir Dane Atley the Red, Lieutenant of Cobalt Company