A hooded woman dressed like a Magister in blood red and gold robes offers you a folded piece of paper. “Transcript of the debate?” She asks with a saccharine voice. “I worked extra hard to get it for you.” She winks and any offered tips would earn you a wink though oddly you cannot recall her face when you look away though you’d have sworn she was beautiful. As soon as the paper exchanges hands she vanishes like she was never there with a soft cackle, a tempting promise. And then she’s gone. You open up the paper…
M: Question: The state is often accused of employing barbaric tactics to ensure peace within our city. What is the worst thing the state has done, in your opinion?
Dallos: We have all know barbarity in one form or another. It comes in different forms and it doesn’t matter if you think it’s by hand and blade, or by mind and mental domination. We have all seen the state wipe the minds of citizens and it would be too easy for us all to sit and recall such unethical behaviours. But for me, the most barbaric thing the state has ever done is send our people to lands foreign. To fight wars and die for resources not of our own to be used for our nation. But to support war mongering barbarians so they may forever enslave us to the war machine. We have seen it from Garroshes actions himself. Out people were slaughtered because of our continued allegiance to the horde. The worst thing the state has done, is keep is cemented to the wheel of death that is the Horde!
Cynel: I would question what one means by “barbarity.” It is true that our people have had to resort to drastic measures in recent years, but we must not forget that we are not the same people we once were. We are not the same Quel’thalas. We are not even the same race we once were. Our fel eyes are a testament to all we have had to do to ensure our dwindling population lives on. It is also true that Garrosh led the Horde down a dark path. We must not forget, however, that he paid for such actions. The Horde did not simply stand idly by. Those who knew honor did all they could in the shadows, then struck at him out in the open when the opportunity was ripe. If anyone were to threaten the Horde and Quel’thalas as a whole, we would make sure they are stopped. Just as Hellscream was. Let us not forget that our own people are not above such scrutiny. Our former prince for example.
M: “Thank you for the response. Dallos, your response? Two minutes.
Dallos: “You’re right. He certainly did pay for his actions. We also paid for our allegiance to the Horde well before then though. We gained nothing from it and we stand now with nothing gained. We have died and our people will never again be unified. You are right, we not the same. We are a broken people that follow barbarians. “
M: Should high elves be welcome in Silvermoon without declaring loyalty to the Regent-Lord?
Cynel: It would depend on what one would mean by welcoming them. This is the home of their ancestors and we should not deny them the right to pilgrimage. Especially to a site so holy as the Sunwell. I have faith in our forces and our Horde allies when it comes to our capabilities to keep the peace. However, to allow them to become citizens without swearing loyalty is questionable at best. You essentially say to them, "You are welcome in our home but you are not expected to honor the same values we do. You may spit upon the sacrifices of those who stayed behind and secured Quel’thalas after the fall.” So no, I do not think they should be allowed back without meeting certain conditions. Swearing loyalty does not guarantee that they are not Alliance spies, but it is a good start. Our current state is fragile and slowly improving. We must not put it at risk if we ever hope to fully recover.
M: Very well. To be clear, I specifically stated Silvermoon, not the Sunwell. Dallos, your response? Two minutes.
Dallos: “I sincerely doubt the high elves will ever want to be welcomed back. This may be their ancestral home, but our loyalty to the horde has seen them killed not by orcs- no no. This is not a walk in the past, the second war. But we now kill our own people by the orders of the Reagent Lord. A valiant Ranger Lord he was. A poor ruler he is. Who would swear loyalty to him? If I would kill your family, any of you.. How could I expect you to swear loyalty to me. No. While the Reagent Lord stands and his internal conflict of being a ruler but not being a king continues, how many more of our kind will turn on us? Even now, we are on the brink of doing so.”
M: Your time is up, Dallos. Cynel, your response? Two minutes.
Cynel: Last I had checked, we were not under order to hunt down high elves like animals. However, the Alliance stands against the Horde. If they choose to fight alongside the humans, dwarves, and night elves, are our soldiers to simply ignore them on thebattlefield? Are we to simply let them run us through with a blade because they were our former brothers and sisters? The Alliance would look down upon us for what we have done in order to survive. The Horde grants us our individuality and all they ask for in return is that we help protect them, as they do for us. If a quel’dorei would choose to fight us and threaten the security we have built for my children, I would do whatever is necessary to stop them. Even if it may sadden me in the end.
M: Thank you for your response. Now we’ll move on to our next question… Dallos, do you think a convocation would be more effective at governing our land than a single leader?
Dallos: “I have deliberated on this notion for months. We currently stand with a single ruler, a man who struggles with being a ruler but not a king. He alone wears the burden of failure and wear it poorly he does. His decisions alone have brought us into more conflicts, as you stated before, where we kill exiles of our people because of this continued allegiance. Are we to forever trust that his judgment alone will be just and free of corruption! What if such has already occurred? We have no ability to question his actions, the public are silenced. You all know of the unethical Blood Watch. A convocation would welcome discourse and open debate for the right decisions. Corruption could be audited and expunged. ”
M: Cynel, how d-do you respond?Two minutes, starting now.
Cynel My counterpart speaks as though Lor’themar sits around on a throne and mopes all day. Let us not forget that like many who stand here today, he remained in Quel’thalas to fight for our people. Even when Kael’thas came marching through our gates with a host of felbloods and demons, he stood loyally beside us. He has continued to fight beside us as any good leader should, not send soldiers off to do the hard jobs for him. He was there when we took the fight to the Thunder King. He was there when we brought down Garrosh. Would the politicians on a covocation do the same? they certainly did not seem to help us against the Scourge. Corruption is already purged when it is necessary. A council of representatives would no doubt stand around arguing over what should be done in times of war, rather than going out and leading our forces. All the while, our citizens would suffer until they agreed upon something. Assuming they ever would.
M: Dallos, your response? Two minutes.
Dallos: “He is a commander. He is captain. A Reagent Lord. He is a powerful and inspirational fighter. But he fights on the field and he fights in wars not constructive to our existence. Lor’thermar is not a king and if he were, he has no heirs! When he dies on foreign lands, who takes over for him? A corrupt magister stuck in a power vaccum? Then where will we be? From bad to worse! At the least a convocation continues and if they council dies it is replaced! …There is no guarantee that the next ruler will be a good leader. We must ensure prosperity for our future and not allow ourselves to only focus on what works now!”
M: Thank you, Dallos. Cynel… Is Silvermoon any safer with the state’s restrictions placed on magic use?
Cynel: Speaking as one who practices the fel arts myself, I believe we are. It is true that our people are naturally adept with the arcane but that is far from the only school of magic out there. Shunning the arts of fel and shadow is not the way, of course. A reliance on Arcane did not save us from the Scourge and the Legion. It did not save Dalaran. Two major arcane powerhouses toppled like building blocks. However, they cannot run rampant either. Magic is volatile in its natural state. We should make sure that the more dangerous schools are practiced by those who can properly control them. We should ensure that individuals are tested before they are given the right to practice those schools or we risk one person killing hundreds in a mere accident. You would not put a sword in the hands of an inexperienced child. I would not see chaotic energies wielded by those who lose control of them too easily.
M: Thank you. Dallos, two minutes to respond.
Dallos: “Without a doubt. We do not live on Argus, and we cannot make assumptions that the public will correctly police their own use of demons or summoning of the void. There are people and lives vulnerable in the city. We should protect them. Though it amazes me we are in agreement. Once the blindfold of loyalty is removed, we blessed with the ability to see what is right for us.”
M: Very well. Cynel, your response? Two minutes.
Cynel: As my opponent has stated, we are in agreement… Mostly. I would add that a removal of loyalty does not make me aware of these truths. Experience and pragmatism does. It is blind, senseless idealism that leads to chaos. THAT form of motivation only breeds naivete and disaster. Our current form of leadership knows this. Perhaps those put on a council would not be so wise.
M: Thank you. Now, for the final question…Dallos, at this very moment, what is Silvermoon’s biggest problem?
Dallos: “War. The blind loyalty to the Horde has brought about our eventual destruction. You. Me. Our friends and families. How many of you know an orphaned child, whose prents were thrown away by the- ah. Which Warchief? Garrosh? Thrall. Sylvannas. Where was their consideration for us? We were led by a coward’s decisions, too scared to stand tall and say enough is enough! The most pressing concern for Silvermoon, her people, her legacy is the fact that fire burns at her ruined gates. That we are now powerless, we are weak and we are few! Yet we are expected to indulge in these wars that bring no benefit to us!” Dallos then spits disgustingly to his left.
M: T-that was unnecessary… Cynel, your response in two minutes.
Cynel: The Horde is not our biggest problem. It is simple mathematics. So many of our people were killed in the Third War. We are but a fraction of our former numbers. Let me clarify that does not merely pertain to our military forces. Our entire race is at a constant risk of extinction. We could not hope to stand on our own. If anyone so willed it, they could easily conquer Quel’thalas if we did not have allies. Our soldiers have died in recent wars, it is true. However, let us not forget that the Horde has also risked the lives of its own people for us. Without the aid of the Forsaken and others from Kalimdor, we never would have reclaimed the Ghostlands from the Scourge. We would not have had allies to back us against the resurgence of the Amani. The Darkspear fought against fellow trolls because they threatened US. If we burned bridges with the Horde, what would happen then? Sylvanas would understandably be spurned. Our allies in Kalimdor would see us as traitors. Every nation across Azeroth would see the sin’dorei as a people who cannot be trusted. We would be seen as those who will abandon them on a whim. We would be left to fend for ourselves against any threat that may come for us… With the Horde, we have strong allies. We have a family who would stand shoulder to shoulder with us against the nether itself. Without them, we are alone and vulnerable.
Dallos: “You asked me what the most threatening concern to Silvermoon was. It is us! It is our fear that the people we’ve died for years, will turn on us. We will be our own undoing. The forsaken, our neighbours have done everything to jeopardise our existence but you talk about them being ‘STRONG’ allies? Wrathgate! Gilneas! Stormheim! They- Sylvannas broke the armistice and has put Lordaeron in the Alliances sight. How long before Greymane encourages young Anduinn to retake the human nation. What’s next? Us! Jaina will no doubt whisper in his little ear, reminding the young king of Theramores destruction. OUR HAND was forced by the warchief who cared not for us. But here we are, surrounded by the foolish who would continue to be loyal to these warmongering monsters. We’ve had numerous opportunities in the past to amend, repair and seal off from thee worlds in fighting. We have repaid our debt to the world and we should now repay our debt to ourselves.”
Tyleril Silversword 