WOOOOOOOOSH!
Llane and Anduin, followed by two dozen Honor Guards, raced through Elwynn Forest toward the crash site on their jetbikes.
"Your Majesty, we are approaching the crash site," an Honor Guard transmitted through his communicator.
"Got it. Stay on course and keep your eyes peeled for any surprises."
Anduin opened a private channel through his own communicator.
"Any idea what this is? One of the Gnome's or Science Guild's experiments going wrong as usual?"
Llane remained thoughtful even as they sped through the forest landscape.
"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll know for sure once we get there."
Finally, they arrived at the crater.
The group stopped their jetbikes and dismounted as the Honor Guards surrounded Llane, with Anduin taking point as they cautiously approached the smoking impact site.
Within the crater sat a metallic pod marked with the Roman numeral II.
"Your Majesty, this doesn't look like something any Gnome, Dwarf or Forgemaster would make, nor do I see any markings tying it to another kingdom or faction,"
Anduin said seriously as he descended further into the crater to inspect the pod.
Llane and the rest of the guards followed behind him.
"I had a suspicion earlier, but now I'm almost certain. This didn't come from Azeroth... it came from beyond the stars."
Not only Anduin, but the rest of the Honor Guard as well looked surprised by their king's words.
"Your Majesty, permission to speak freely?" one of the Honor Guard captains asked.
"Permission granted."
"My king... are you certain? Azeroth hasn't had contact with anything from space for thousands of years due to the twin moons' gravity wells and the World Ring. Forget leaving the planet—even meteorites are destroyed before they can come close."
"I understand your skepticism, Sir Jules. But the fact that this thing entered our world through space is already proof enough. Not to mention, while I'm no certified Forgemaster, I can clearly tell this technology is nothing like anything Azeroth has produced."
Llane's reasoning was not without merit, but he understood why his men were skeptical.
For thousands of years, Azeroth had remained isolated due to the unnaturally powerful gravity wells of its twin moons and the immense planetary shield generated by the World Ring, a colossal structure that encircled the entire world itself.
While those defenses offered significant protection against threats from beyond their world, they had also effectively trapped Azeroth in isolation.
Llane stepped closer and swiped his hand across the pod's surface.
Immediately, the pod lit up.
In a blur of motion, Anduin stepped protectively in front of Llane while grabbing the hilt of his legendary runeblade, Quel'Zaram.
The rest of the Honor Guard also drew their power swords as the pod slowly began to open.
And what lay inside was enough to shock both their commander and their king.
Llane approached the now-open pod and locked eyes with...
An infant.
Yes, a literal infant.
The baby stared back at him with the innocent curiosity characteristic of all infants, reminding Llane of years ago when his son Varian had first been born.
"...Not exactly what I expected to find tonight," Anduin muttered, equally shocked at seeing a baby inside the pod.
Behind him, the Honor Guards now had a clear view as well and looked utterly dumbfounded.
"What kind of bloody madman puts a baby inside a space pod!?" one of the guards blurted out in disbelief.
Llane, however, kept his attention on the naked infant.
For some reason, he could feel a strange sense of power and instinctive reverence emanating from the child.
Carefully, he reached down and gently picked up the baby, holding him in front of himself as the infant responded with a toothless smile.
Llane smiled back despite the strange feeling surrounding the child.
At the end of the day, he was still just a baby.
"Hello, little one. Welcome to Stormwind."
Removing his cloak, Llane wrapped it around the infant as a makeshift swaddle.
"Well, we've seen enough. Let's head back to Stormwind City. Alyn, Jules, cable the pod to your jetbikes. We'll bring it back with us and have the Science Guild examine it."
"Yes, my king!"
"What are you planning?" Anduin asked as he looked down at the swaddled infant, still sensing the strange power emanating from him.
"For now? We're taking him home with us."
------------------------------------------------
The return journey did not take long.
Once they arrived back in Stormwind City, Anduin departed with the Honor Guard so a Forgemaster from the Science Guild could inspect the pod, while Llane returned to the palace.
There, he was met by his wife and queen.
Taria Wrynn was a beautiful woman with long black hair and blue eyes, but she was far more than merely a pretty face.
She was also an exceptionally gifted administrator who greatly assisted her husband in ruling the kingdom.
She met Llane within their bedchambers, still awake.
"You left in such a hurry that you didn't even tell me why. Did something happen?"
Then she noticed what he was carrying.
"Llane... why are you holding an infant?"
Llane laughed softly as he sat on the bed and carefully settled the sleeping infant beside him.
"My love, you would not believe where I found this little one."
Taria crossed her arms skeptically.
"Try me."
And so Llane explained everything that had happened and how he had found the child.
"What kind of insane fool puts a literal baby inside a frakking space pod!?" Taria whispered furiously, careful not to wake the sleeping infant.
Llane couldn't help but smile inwardly.
'Yup. That's my wife. More focused on the lunatic who put the baby inside the pod than the fact the pod somehow entered our world in the first place.'
"I don't know. But something tells me this little one isn't exactly normal," Llane admitted while curiously watching the sleeping infant.
"Normal or not, he's still just a child."
As both a mother and naturally kind-hearted woman, Taria showed no hesitation in caring for the baby primarch.
"So, what do you wish to call him?"
Llane looked at his wife in surprise.
Taria scoffed at him while gently rubbing the babe's head.
"It's obvious you want to adopt him. Considering he isn't from Azeroth, it's probably best we keep him close. Besides, Varian has always wanted a younger sibling."
Llane chuckled before trying to think of names, only to come up empty.
He had never been good at naming things.
Hell, even when Varian had been born, it was Taria who chose his name after thoroughly chewing him out over his own suggestions.
Jaxen wasn't that bad of a name!
"Typical..." Taria sighed before smiling softly. "I think I have a good one. Alastor. It means Guardian."
"Alastor..." Llane repeated thoughtfully. "Hmm. It's a good, strong, honorable name."
"Then it's settled."
Taria leaned down beside the infant and gently poked his cheek.
"From now on, you are Alastor Wrynn, Prince of Stormwind."
And just like that, the Second Primarch was found and adopted by the King and Queen of Stormwind, becoming their second child.
On many human worlds—and even on Terra itself—the name Alastor meant Avenger.
But on Azeroth, the name carried a different meaning.
Guardian.
(Author's Note!)
Hey, you made it again!
And as you can see, our MC—the Second Primarch, now named Alastor—has officially arrived and been adopted.
Ha! Take that, Roboute. You're no longer the only Primarch blessed with good parents.
As you may have noticed from some of the hints throughout the chapter, I intend to adapt many aspects of Warhammer to better fit the Warcraft setting. So if you notice things being different from canon, most of the time you can consider them AU elements unique to this universe.
Again, have a nice day, don't let the Inquisition catch you, and remember to vote for the story as well as comment, add it to your library, and leave a 5-star review so the story can gain more coverage!
See ya!