From The Desk of Erethas Greywing

[Erethas]

Is long-term cooperation with the Horde feasible?

This was something I was not planning on writing about this week, but last week's article inevitably brought the issue up again. Alliance-Horde relations is something that must not be taken lightly and should concern every citizen. Now, this is an issue whose detailed analysis would require a whole series of articles, but for now I will concentrate on a particular aspect: The possibility of the two sides setting away their differences and living in harmony.

I am not a warmonger. It is my dream as well that someday our children will live in a world where they won't have to give their lives on the battlefield. But will that happen by naively thinking that peace with the Horde races might work? The so called "Blood" Elves may come to their senses one day, the tauren are generally a peaceful and not territorial people, and the Darkspear trolls, while as savage and cannibalistic as any other tribe, are too few to pose a threat by themselves. If this was the Horde, then we wouldn't have even been at war in the first place. No, it is their other two members that we have to concern ourselves with.

Some people say that today's orcs are not the savage, bloodthirsty brutes who not long ago laid waste to our beautiful kingdom. That, back then, they were under a "demonic influence", and their new leader, Thrall, is testament to their change. I am willing to believe that the bloodlust was not their true nature, especially since this theory has been backed by respectful scholars. And I am willing to admit that if they decide to back down on their ridiculous claims on Alliance lands, we could develop peaceful relations. But could that situation last?

Their own leader Thrall doesn't think so. For all his "peaceful ways", he has chosen a warmonger for his second in command. The young Hellscream epitomizes everything an orc stands for, and that is fighting for battle's sake, until all other races are either subdued or destroyed. Thrall may seem to disagree with him during their public meetings with our leaders, but really, this is not unlike the owner of a large and vicious dog tugging the chain that holds it. He may seem to keep the beast in check, but the message is clear: Mess with me, and I will unleash him.

And speaking of the Hellscream bloodline, there is an incident that must be brought to your attention. Our Kaldorei allies have reported that during their first battles with the orcs, they displayed symptoms of the "demonic influence" again. So great was their bloodlust, that not even Cenarius, a being of supernatural power, could stop them. Which raises an interesting point: Are orcs, as a race, so susceptible to the influence of the Burning Legion, that they pose a constant threat? Personally, I feel this shouldn't even be a question. It might happen in ten, fifty, a hundred, or even next year, but an orc clan not held in an internment camp is the same as a psychotic individual not inside an asylum. It will explode one day, and I pray that your children are not near when that happens.

And as for the late citizens of Lordaeron, who have come to call themselves the "Forsaken", let me say this: It is them who forsook the Alliance. Maybe if they had given us a chance to help them, they wouldn't have turned into the depraved and malicious society that they are now. It saddens me to say this, but I fear that with their recent attack on the Wrath Gate and the assassination of Lord Fordragon, they have reached the point of no return. We have all heard the rumors of disappearing individuals ending up as test subjects to horrible experiments within the bowels of Lordaeron City (or what they call, "The Undercity"), but it wasn't until this event that became apparent how twisted the undead mind could be. It seems that even without being a servant of the Lich King that created them, the undead can be nothing but a force of evil and destruction. I used to look at them with the pity that those who have fallen ill to a plague deserve, but now I look at them with fear and caution. I am not saying that there aren't any peaceful or rational individuals among them, but can someone look at their society as a whole and honestly say that we can live peacefully with them?

In closing, let me repeat that I absolutely understand why there are so many people who desire peace with the Horde. But it is something that can never happen, not because of our war-like intentions, but because of the very nature of the people we try to reach to.