Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the one of the most anticipated events in the Warchief debates.  Sylvanas Windrunner, the Banshee Queen of the Forsaken, ruler of the Undercity, and a former Ranger General of Silvermoon, going up against the current Warchief,  he united the new Horde, was the chosen successor of Orgrim Doomhammer himself, and the orc with no last name: Thrall.

They’ve come here tonight to lay the issues on the line and engage in verbal combat for the coveted title of warchief. Like every night on the campaign trail, this can make or break a candidate for many.  Since we have a number of questions to get through and very little time (the Sen’jin Headhunters are playing the Undercity Grave Diggers after this), candidates to your podiums please…   and LET’S GET READY TO DEEEEEBAAAATE!

Question 1: Some have said that a Fourth War may be on the horizon between the Alliance and the Horde, would you agree with this idea? What would you say to ease the minds of the people or rally them for the coming battle?

THRALL: There are many who would sensationalized the actions of the Horde and Alliance and would view us heading towards each other in a devastating collision.  However, these situations are isolated and blown out of proportion by many.  For instance, the situation in Icecrown has led to a number of bouts of combat between the Horde and the Alliance, but it has actually been mostly a territorial dispute and a pointless one at that.  That is why I pledged my support to Tirion Fordring for his efforts to unite us to a common goal.  The risk of war, in my opinion, is overblown.

SYLVANAS: You’re blind, Thrall.  You always have been.  You trusted that Proudmoore would uphold the truce in Kalimdor, yet Kul Tiras’ forces stand defiantly in your own yard.  You trusted Garrosh to handle the situation in Northrend, and he has done nothing more than senselessly slaughter anything without a horde tabard on its chest.  You would tell yourself that this battle isn’t coming, but the dogs of war are closing in around you, Warchief.  Your attitude of frivolous optimism has all but sealed the Horde’s fate.  That is why we can no longer put our trust in those who could turn at a moments notice.  Unlike you, I learned my lesson from the Battle of the Undercity.  No more Putresses, no more Varimathrases and no more Proudmoores.

THRALL: So you would condemn the innocent simply because…

SYLVANAS: Because of what, Thrall?  Because they serve the Alliance?  Those who wanted you dead on the spot back in my throne room?  The blood elves are our allies, the tauren are our allies, the Alliance are NOT. So yes, Thrall, I would condemn the innocent just because they are my enemy.  That is what it means to be enemies. It means I draw the line when it comes to bedding with the enemy.

THRALL: I will not stand for such insinuations!

SYLVANAS: Why?  Are you still sore because she calls Wrynn “Her King” instead of you?

THRALL: Enough! Casting me as a villain will not help your argument any, Sylvanas.  Need I remind you that my trust goes both ways.  Was it not I that trusted your word that the Undercity was taken by a coup? Did I not urge the tauren to trust the Forsaken enough to bring them into the Horde?

SYLVANAS: You think that exonerates you from allowing our defenses to lapse and creating discord amongst your people?  There is a reason they are willing to elect a burning pile of logs instead of you or Garrosh, Thrall. The war is coming, Warchief.

THRALL: I can’t tell if I’m listening to the words of the Banshee Queen or Garrosh! If war is coming, our actions should be to quickly diffuse it instead of ramping up our armaments and encourage the conflict.  If peace can not be established, then there will always be a war coming.  A fifth war, and a sixth war, until either side is completely dead and gone.  And regardless of what you think of the Alliance or the living, Sylvanas, if either faction is wiped from the face of Azeroth, the world will be lesser for it.

Question 2: After the Battle for the Undercity, the Kor’kron guard have taken up duties in the Undercity. This has raised a lot of concerns about personal freedoms and individual autonomy of the factions of the Horde.  What is your stance on sacrificing for the greater cause?

SYLVANAS: The Kor’kron have been an insult to the halls of the Undercity.  There was no need for them there, as the Undercity’s guards had handled everything fine up until.  The arrival of the Kor’kron forces have done nothing more than made the forsaken prisoners in their own city.  Does it call into question how autonomous each race of the Horde is? Absolutely.  When the forsaken aided the sin’dorei in their attempts to reclaim the Ghostlands, we did not set up camp in Silvermoon.  We did not replace their guards.  We did not exert control.  So what the orcs are doing in the Undercity is beyond uncalled for.  It’s almost worse than the crime we are apparently being punished for.

THRALL: Sylvanas, I am shocked.  This is the first I am hearing of this from you. I stationed the Kor’kron there for the safety of the forsaken.  I thought it best after King Wrynn’s declaration of wanting to seize the city back that there would reason enough to reinforce the Undercity.  At no point did Bragor attempt to refuse your right as Queen.  At no point did I say that you were not free to govern your people how you saw fit.  There is no loss of freedom to be found.  Simply helping our friends remain safe.  I think these thoughts of replacing you are simply that – thoughts.

SYLVANAS: Safe, Thrall? For years, the forsaken have held off the Scarlet Crusade from the east and the Alliance from the south.  Not once during the attacks of Tarren Mill did you raise your voice about safety.  You never batted an eye when the Scarlet Crusade began to fortify their monastery and started lynching my people from the trees!  The only time you ever cared about the safety of the forsaken or the security of the Undercity is after an attempted coup from within.  So I find it hard to chock it up to simple ‘paranoia’ when I see your personal guard watching my people closer than the doors to the city.  As for the question of sacrificing for the greater cause, I think it entirely depends on what we are sacrificing.  Our autonomy as individual races being united as a Horde is what sets us apart from the Alliance, who are just that, an Alliance.  They all have equal say in their little band except for Varian who sits at the head of the whole beast and does all the barking.  No one sees the blood elves or tauren do something and instantly thinks that’s the actions of the entire Horde.

THRALL: If we are not united, then we are nothing but Horde in name.  Even the Old Horde had united together towards a common goal.  While yes, that goal was war, they did sacrifice some of their clan’s autonomy to do it.  When Doomhammer made me the warchief of the New Horde, I did what I could to abolish those old mentalities of divided clans.  I don’t see why the same would not work amongst the different races.

SYLVANAS: So you suppose we just mimic the Alliance, with you as the barking head?  Or are you suggesting the racial leaders found some Shadow Council of our own and rule the Horde?

THRALL: Your putting words in my mouth.  I’m simply saying that if it serves the greater good and betters the Horde, we should consider it.  I wouldn’t remove anything from the table unless I was sure that we could do without.

Question 3: What do you think is the greatest weakness the Horde has at the moment?

THRALL: We are a young lot.  We don’t have much of the wisdom that many of the elders possess.  I can only wish that I can understand as much as Drek’thar or Cairne when I reach their age.  I wholeheartedly think that our youth is our greatest weakness.  We are bold headed and closed minded because of it.  If you look at most of the problems the Horde face, and issues people have with much of the Horde’s leadership stem from the fact that their mindset and viewpoint is that of youth.

SYLVANAS: How fortunate that a young pup like you is exempt from the follies of youth.  Who exactly are you talking about with that statement?  Both I and the council that leads the Blood Elves are well over 100 years old and you defend the wisdom of Bloodhoof, so who I wonder could you be talking about?

THRALL: Age is more than just the years one has walked on the earth, Sylvanas.

SYLVANAS: Fine, keep your greeting card messages.  But in my opinion, the greatest weakness of the Horde is the inability to act decisively.  We either rush into things weapons drawn like your pathetic apprentice, Garrosh, or we sit and deliberate and talk until we are all doomed by indecision.  When the Undercity fell, we identified the problem and we acted to remove it.  It was a success.  The fact that something that efficient doesn’t happen more often is the greatest weakness of the Horde.

Question 4: Our final question of the evening comes from Brigwyn.  He asks: Dwarves or Humans, who do you trust more and why?

SYLVANAS: Dwarves.  Definitely dwarves.  Humans are swollen with pride and love for themselves.  They think themselves superior to others for no reason.  Dwarves, in my experience, are relatively realistic in their views of themselves.  They were divided during a war, not by racial lines or other petty reasons, but by political ideologies.  As someone who broke away from a tyrannical faction out of ‘ideological reasons’ I can respect that decision, even if they serve the Alliance.

THRALL: You’ve let a few humans cloud your judgement of all of them, Sylvanas.

SYLVANAS: I could say the same for you, Warchief.

THRALL: On the contrary, don’t forget that I was raised by humans.  I have seen with my own two eyes that humans are amazingly diverse in any way you can be different.  Even within their own ‘clans’ they have many different people with different view points.  Almost as if every person was their own ‘clan.’  And yet they still all work together towards a goal.  It’s amazing really.  When I was discussing the differences between arcane magic and shamanism with Jaina…

SYLVANAS: I’ve had enough of this, Thrall.  What is the deal with you and Jaina?

THRALL: What?  What do you mean?

SYLVANAS: Don’t try to avoid the issue.  You know what everyone says about you and Jaina, I even got the better of your temper earlier by mentioning that little human witch.  So what exactly is your relationship with her?

THRALL: Fine.  If you must know.  Jaina and I are-

Oh, so sorry there Thrall, but we’ve run out of time for this debate.  The game is just starting and I know the Dark Lady doesn’t ever miss a game when the Grave Diggers are playing.  However I think we’ve answered a lot of questions that people may have had. Next time we’ve got Richard Knaak, Basic Campfire, and Thrall squaring off in a three way debate that will show us once and for all who has the humanitarian skills to pull of being Warchief.  The incumbent warchief or a pile of logs that have been set on fire (and maybe Knaak will say something we can all laugh at). Keep it here at Oddcraft.net for all your Warchief Election coverage!