Despite the urge to lead the navy personally, Daelin had to remember his station and instead settled for organizing the defense in Kul Tiras’ capital of Boralus. With news of the impending invasion forces, sent by Kyle through Jaina, the lord admiral had quickly pushed aside any notions of paternal suspicion in favor of meeting the duties of his station.

What was likely the entirety of Gilneas’ navy was split into six fleets, each taking a different approach. No doubt Kul Tiran patrols would notice the invasion, but whether the scouts would manage to return to relay the information was up for debate with the Fel contraptions that overcame the Gilnean ships’ traditional lack of speed. Daelin had to wrestle with the bitter thought that if not for Kyle’s warning through Jaina, the invasion fleets would likely all arrive unnoticed and unharried, and their landings likely uncontested.

So when King Kyle Daelam of Alterac suddenly appeared on the Mistracer’s deck an hour after it began to race back home to extend an offer of aid, Daelin did not dally too much before accepting it. He did not feel any amusement or satisfaction in seeing his younger counterpart so surprised by the quick decision. His realm, his home was in danger. His wife and son were in danger.

Kyle had already proven his arcane capabilities, and personal disapproval or not Daelin would be a fool to reject Alterac’s offer, however eldritch in form it might be.

“Call for your ships to slow down as much as you can,” the mage-king had instructed, ignoring the confusion that rose from the crew. Before anger could spark at what seemed like the opposite of common sense, Daelin quickly gave the order to do as Kyle told. He’s seen the Kirin Tor magi in action before, and had heard what the mightiest among their number could achieve.

It took painfully long minutes before the other ships escorting the Mistracer bled their momentum away and came to a drifting halt. Before Daelin could ask what the next step involved, Kyle’s gaze took on a blank look before his eyes glowed.

“Try and stay calm.”

In an instant, a swirling blue light emerged in the middle of the flotilla, leaking mist that rolled out to shroud each ship. A sudden lurch followed, and the next thing Daelin saw off starboard was the endless seas replaced by Boralus’ great seawall less than a mile away. There was a second of confusion before the lord admiral crushed it in favor of attending to the emergency at hand. On his curt order, the Mistracer and its escorts made for port, though not before Daelin formally thanked Kyle for his timely assistance and gave the king of Alterac free reign in how his aid would be deployed.

And with that, Daelin watched from the confines of his family’s keep as six approaching fleets quickly turned into five. Jaina provided the scrying portal, to which Kyle seemingly guided her in the same arcane telepathy that they conversed. One moment the fog-wreathed ships were rushing across the sea, and then a storm of light and fire slammed into them, followed by golden crafts that shot across the sky too fast to see. It took a few passes, faster than three broadsides could be fired, and one fleet was gone.

Then after a moment’s rest, Jaina asked if her father would like to view another fleet being obliterated, but Daelin took Kyle’s word for it; the point - whether intentional or not - had been made. Kul Tiras now had a terrifyingly strong ally that was a bit too eager to prove its value.

By the time the second Gilnean fleet was declared annihilated, messengers ran in with sightings of the other invasion forces. It was a tempting thing to simply order Kul Tiras’ navy to meet the Gilneans out at sea, but Daelin’s own experience with the corrupted ships had forced him to acknowledge that his realm’s traditional advantage over the sea was well countered by whatever empowered the Gilneans. Speed and excellent seamanship would not be enough against the fog-choked bastards who could match the former and make up for the latter with far more cannonballs.

Yet neither could the admiralty’s ships simply remain by the shore to be easy pickings for the guns of Gilneas.

A more reserved strategy was called for. Orders were handed to admirals and the odd maverick captains. Kul Tiras’ navy would leave port, but not to face the enemy head on. The fleets would make themselves scarce, while all seaside facilities were evacuated. The islands might take a few broadsides, but its defenses are built to withstand at least that much. Once the Gilnean ships were in shallower waters, where their greater bulk would further limit their already poor maneuverability and render their unnatural speed useless, the Kul Tiran navy would make a return with guns blazing.

At best, it’d catch the invaders between the fleet and the islands’ defenses and utterly wreck their ships. At worst, the Gilnean ships would be too busy fending off the sudden counterattack to support their landing parties.

Well, it was the worst case scenario that did not involve anything too eldritch. Tidemother knew what might unfold if demons and such made an appearance now.

By the end of the afternoon, the fogs that heralded four fleets were quickly closing in. Daelin had his wife Katherine take their youngest child, Tandred, out to conduct simple tasks that would keep them away from the worst of the fighting. As much as he wanted to do the same for Jaina as Daelin the father, Daelin the lord admiral had to acknowledge his daughter’s usefulness in the coming siege, and so he kept her by his side.

“Kyle has confirmed that no further reinforcements are coming from Gilneas, these are the only invaders we’ll have to face.”

Mostly for keeping in touch with the king of Alterac, who’d disappeared to attend to other matters after teleporting Daelin home.

“His court mage and steward are prepared to open a portal for evacuations if that’s required.”

The lord admiral inclined his head a little at the gesture of aid. “Let’s hope we don’t need it.”

Jaina was about to respond, but the way she suddenly paused told Daelin that Kyle had just delivered another message. “Two fleets seem to be converging towards Bolarus, judging from how their bows are turning. The other two are intent on hitting Stormsong Valley, though at different areas.”

Daelin bit back a curse on instinct, even though the enemy’s landing sites weren’t as disastrous as he’d thought them to be. He turned to a gaggle of pages waiting just outside the room. “Send word to Lord Stormsong that he is to expect unwanted visitors. Also send word to the Commander of the Marines to dispatch aid.”

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Stormsong valley was the archipelago’s breadbasket, and probably the sole reason why only the farther flung islands of the admiralty had begun to fall victim to the Gilnean plague. It also meant that if Gilneas makes landfall there, Kul Tiras’ food supply would be at risk, especially if the fighting gets drawn out into a siege or blockade.

“Is there anything else?”

Jaina shook her head. “Kyle will deliver reinforcements once he is certain of where the landings will happen. He is redirecting his air forces to Stormsong.”

“Hm. Good.” Daelin turned for the door, beckoning his daughter to follow. “Come, Jaina. We’ll both be more useful outside the keep than if we remain huddled within.”

Understanding her role, Jaina easily put on an air of confidence that matched her father’s own authority and righteous indignation as they walked out to the seagate of Boralus. As intended, the defenders who caught sight of them were heartened by their appearance.

A junior officer saluted sharply as he boldly put himself in the way of the lord admiral and his daughter. The lad wore some worry on his face, as Daelin gave him the chance to speak up. “With all due respect, lord admiral. Are you sure it is wise for you two to be up on the sea wall?”

While that concern was admirable, Daelin outwardly put on a theatrical scoff. “If we were fighting dragons and demons, aye, I’d be worried. But against mere cannons? And Gilnean ones at that?” The lord admiral swept a withering gaze across the assembled sailors and garrison soldiers. “The Great Gate of Bolarus was built to withstand this sort of thing, and more besides. If it can’t handle at least a few paltry punts from what Gilneas calls cannons, then we might as well tear it down ourselves after all this is done.”

The gruff bluster was received with small grins and reassuring nods. The lieutenant quickly moved aside for his lord admiral, as if he had played his part (and Daelin wasn’t sure if any of his inner circle put the poor lad up to that task), and the father and daughter resumed their appearance of a confident march.

“By the way,” Daelin suddenly broached as the thought occurred to him, “whatever happened to you…escorts?” He belatedly realized that perhaps he shouldn’t be bringing up the topic of murlocs in public.

Jaina bristled a little with annoyance and embarrassment. “Kyle…redeployed them. They’d be more useful out in the waters than on the shores.”

The image of the fishmen climbing up a battleship to slip through the gunports flashed through Daelin’s mind, and he almost visibly shuddered at the thought of having to encounter fighting from the severe confines of below decks rather from above, against a slippery and smaller foe that could better make use of such tight spaces.

Then he also remembered the murlocs clearly planting devices on a battleship’s hull that blasted open a lethal hole that quickly sunk the vessel.

“Hm. I can see that.” There was a thick silence as the pair nodded or waved at passing defenders, and then Daelin decided to brace himself and pick at a particular thorn.

“Kyle…King Kyle… What do you make of him?”

Jaina almost stumbled in her steps but recovered quickly enough that only those that paid attention to her would catch the sudden slip. “Uh… How do you mean, father?”

Daelin sighed as he heard the abashed inflection in her voice. “Do you…like the…the man?”

There was a drawn second of silence before his daughter let out a short and crisp “yes”, and Daelin fought against wincing or clenching his hands into fists.

“I see. I’ve heard…conflicting things about him…”

“Kyle’s a reliable and trustworthy king,” Jaina replied a bit hastily, her blue eyes snapping to meet his. “His methods might be puzzling and outright suspicious at a glance, but he has been a good king for Alterac. He cares about his people, and listens to wise counsel…most of the time. And while he had…trouble with the Alliance at first, he’s dealt with King Terenas and the others fairly.”

Daelin was about to give a stiff nod when the ground shook and a thunderous rumble rolled. There was yelling from above the seawall. “Incoming fire!” The tremor and rumbling thunder erupted again, and lasted for much longer as the Boralus Great Gate and its seawall withstood a continuous volley from what must be extreme ranges.

The idling defenders quickly surged up and reached for their weapons, readying themselves for battle.

Mindful of his place, Daelin glanced up to the sentry by the seawall once the bombardment ended. “Damage report!”

The guard’s head disappeared for a moment, reappearing moments later with visible relief. “Captain says it’s superficial, lord admiral! A few cracks to paint over!”

Daelin let out a chuckle that was sure to be overheard before he turned to his daughter. “Gilnean ‘cannons’, eh?”

For her part, Jaina put up a smirk with some effort, but remained silent as Daelin began bellowing orders to the men around him. Another bombardment interrupted him midway, though once more the great rampart effortlessly held up against it.

“Fog’s getting closer!” came the alert, and by then Daelin was up on the wall to see it for himself. It was a massive thing that obscured the entirety of the horizon beyond the Great Gate. If he had his guess right, the assembly of two Gilnean fleets was spread out to maximize their firing lanes, and even then a glance over the railings showed that the seawall had suffered only a rash of cracks and shallow craters.

“They’re being bold,” Jaina commented as she too spied the bows within the fog that were aimed squarely towards them, seemingly intent to rush into close range where their cannons would be more effective against the bulwark in their way.

That was troubling. Even if they got well within effective firing range of the defenses’ cannons, there were far too many ships out there to sink before they could really take a toll on the gate and walls. Especially if the Gilneans showed the same reckless abandon as they did on the Mistracer, they might very well manage to make landfall after suffering horrific casualties.

“Father.” Jaina’s tone of voice caused the lord admiral to turn to see her frowning. “Kyle is sending aid now.”

Right on cue, the waves before the approaching host churned as if boiling. The fog rolled over the phenomena as the combined invading fleet moved on regardless. For a second, Daelin was about to ask his daughter to clarify what sort of reinforcements the mage-king would be sending, but then the waters exploded upwards as small isles suddenly surfaced.

No, not isles. Daelin caught the gleam of familiar gilded metal.

Kyle’s constructs then.

Gilnean destroyers were flipped over as six massive, bulbous things emerged from within the fog and among the fleet. They rose higher and higher above the waves with a sort of slowness, heedless of the ships frantically turning out of their way. Each ‘head’ that breached the sea was truly alien in design and colossal in scale. And then they rose higher, and Daelin could only boggle at what he was seeing.

The massive bulb-like heads, at least the size of a destroyer themselves, were each somehow attached to a thin, spindly neck, which was in turn connected to a quartet of equally spindly but long legs. Just as the flying crafts from before, the Alteraci constructs glinted with gold and blue gems from within the fog, and it took a while for Daelin to notice the ludicrously small face at the base of the head, at least judging by the collection of what looked like empty eyes glowing coldly above a set of stiff whiskers.

Everyone on the walls gawked in silence as the six massive beings turned about them as if finally noticing the fleet beneath them. And then, to add to the outlandish scene, the sides of their oversized heads opened up.

And then beams of blinding fire shot out from the openings, and the Gilnean fleet began to burn, and the seas beneath them began to visibly steam and boil.

“Jaina,” Daelin uttered at he continued staring with disbelief at the carnage that was just beginning to unfold.

“Father?”

He still wasn’t able to pry his gaze from the sight of wood instantly bursting into cinder or metal flaring into slag.

Or men simply…disappearing into ash, or screaming as they were boiled alive as they hit the sea.

“When this is done, we’ll need to talk about your betrothal to King Kyle of Alterac.”