The Fall of Varimathras occured last evening by a persistant group of alliance players lead by Salaris. The following story is the role-play story Salaris wrote up of their exciting victory! I have some images of the first part of the event here, they are not cropped and no story telling, just plain old images. I crashed and couldn't seem to get back to the fight. You can see later images of the fight here, here, and here.

The sun still hung brightly in the sky like a brilliant sphere of flame when the forces of the Alliance converged for plans much darker and more dire. I sat at the foot of Southshore's Town Hall, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my companions. Many of my close friends arrived promptly; Arora, Brandee, Lord Phoenix, and others. Lord Phoenix and I immediately began planning the specific details of the assault, while Brandee used her teleportation magic to spread the word to those in distant lands: the time for invasion had come. We were taking back Lordaeron. From distant Darnassus, Ironforge, and Stormwind, allies came in many shapes and sizes. Our numbers were small, but not one among our number was weak at heart or slow with blade and spell. Stormwind's lack of support was not surprising; I have long suspected that one of the king's advisors is preventing them from sending proper aid to any in need, and my Lord Banegrivm has determined greater specifics, but I cannot speak of them here. Needless to say, our group was smaller than I had hoped, but nevertheless they proved willing to give their lives to retake the rightful lands of the followers of the Holy Light. My scouts had reported just earlier in the morning an interesting crack in the Undercity's defenses; a sewer tunnel that lead almost directly to the throne room of the city. It seemed almost to good to be true, and though I suspected a trap, I knew that our forces could not stand a direct assault on the city in any case. As others trickled in, Lord Phoenix summoned his mighty charger from the Inn's stables and marshalled our forces between the Inn and the Town Hall of Southshore. When it became clear that no more would arrive in time to begin, we rose and drew our blades, many whispering silent prayers to the Holy Light or Elune for salvation and guidance. Our small army marched boldly on the road unopposed, to the border of the Silverpine Forest and beyond. We rallied again at the entrance of the once-sacred Tirisfal Glades, home of the mighty Guardian of Tirisfal who once sought to oppose the coming of the Burning Legion. The Ruins of Lordaeron, looking majestic and almost untouched from the outside, loomed in the distance. But these ruins were not our destination; we sought the darkness beneath. One by one we arrived at the entrance to the glade, slowly calling upon blessings and arcane magics to prepare ourselves for the assault. When the time came, Lord Phoenix lead us on his mighty steed to the entrance of the sewers, then sent the noble creature home to the Inn. We proceeded on foot, Lord Phoenix and I at the head. A mighty Abombination was our first opponent, offering us a large and taxing battle. Rested briefly afterward, then proceeded into the city itself. I ordered the group to stay in one place, attracting the attention of the next Abombination guardian, then bringing them back to the group. Lord Phoenix noted a second just nearby, and though we warned the others not to stray, someone moved too close and attracted the creature's attention. Soon, two of the creatures were upon us, and the undead present quickly heard the commotion, learning of our presence. We were pushed back, and forced to retreat for the time being. Our next approach came with stealth. Many had fallen, and required careful ressurection from our Paladins and Priests to rejoin the battle. We fought a back-and-forth battle with the Horde defenders for some time, before I decided that we were losing numbers too swiftly. The defenders had the advantage here; the undead knew the area, and would rise quickly again after falling. They also would swiftly raise their own fallen, making it difficult for us to gain ground. As such, I chose to lead a charge to the throne room, risking losing everyone to try to make our way in. The gamble had mixed results. Many of our numbers were slain, but miraculously, another Paladin and I managed to make our way by with Divine Shields and Seals of Protection. The Throne Room itself was almost completely unguarded, and from there, we could begin to ressurect our fallen comrades. The cost and the trauma of the experience was great, but in this way, we managed to rally again and return in full force. In the meantime, the Horde gathered yet greater numbers. One of our druids bravely departed from the main group in stealth, finding their way through the city and slaying weaker strategic targets while we remained in the throne room to rally. For a long time, the Horde defneded the Throne Room fiercely, but we eventually pushed them back to the Dreadlord's throne. We gathered along the walls, our fallen being brought back more swiftly than the Horde was able to strike them down now. We whispered plans for a secret charge, and our Paladins focused their sights on the undead priests in their ranks. We began the charge with mighty Exorcising blasts, severely damaging the undead before we even drew close enough to bring our blades to bear. It was not until the middle of the conlfict that the mighty Dreadlord himself sought fit to interpose, his mighty claws bringing down victims left and right. For a moment, it looked as if his actions might turn the tide in the Horde's favor. Quickly, though afraid, I grasped my blade in hand and struck the mighty Dreadlord with a Holy Strike, drawing his attention and shouting for the others to handle the mages and priests of the Horde still assaulting us. Varimathras' attacks were fierce. His first blow struck me so hard I was unable to move, and I was forced to fall back and begin healing myself almost immediately. I was clearly overmatched, but at least I had the Dreadlord's attention. Though my blade's cuts seemed to barely effect him, the few times I managed to summon enough strength to call upon the Light to bolster my blade with Holy power, my sword struck true, burning large cuts across the demon's skin. Just as I was ready to fall, Lord Phoenix stunned the creature and gained their attention, and I fell back to nurse my wounds and oversee the battle. Nearly all the Horde defenders had fallen, but many of our number had as well. I began to cast a ressurection spell on Arora, one of my closest Paladin companions, but another blow from the Dreadlord sent me reeling to the floor. By the time I had recovered, the Dreadlord was severely hurt. Our remaining attackers had converged upon the Dreadlord with great fury, seeing their friends and allies fallen beside them. Though my arm felt like it was weighed down by a block of mithral ore, I fought with my pain and raised my arm, pushing myself forward and thrusting the blade through the Dreadlord's chest, calling upon the power of the Light to empower my blade as I did so. The Dreadlord burst into a swarm of bats, defeated by the Holy Strike. I sighed and began to heal my wounds and those of my comrades. Many slain still were among us, and more depressing still were the bodies of the undead, twisted soldiers of Lordaeron now turned against their own. I offered a silent prayer for them, but I felt we had succeeded. I was wrong. A surprise strike to the back stunned me, and I realized too late that the heavily wounded dreadlord had re-formed behind me, tearing great gashes out of my back with his mighty claws. I was helpless, but my friends were not. A blast of arcane magic sent the dreadlord back, and I stumbled to the floor. Lord Phoenix interposed himself between us, bringing his own mighty weapon to bear and striking the demon down with Holy might. This time, the creature did not rise again. Severely beaten and bruised, I was dragged to my feet by my companions. I forced myself to smile. It was over now. We noted a few Horde defenders returning, and considered pressing the attack, but we knew we had lost too much in the initial assault. Still, our goal had been met. Varimathras had fallen to the might of the Alliance. We each reached into our bags for our Hearthstone, the objects seeming like a greater blessing in this nightmarish place than ever before. I offered a silent prayer to the fallen, and with all the others, activated my stone. I write this tale now, still recovering from my wounds, in Stormwind's Inn. I have yet to return to the battlefield, but I hope that I will recover swiftly enough to lead another assault shortly. May the Holy Light bless all those that fought valiantly this day by my side, and my Elune watch over them, for we have now won a great victory. My hope is that we will one day be able to find Lady Sylvannas herself and defeat her in a similar manner, thereby crushing the Forsaken. This successful attack gives me new hope that there can be an end to this great war. Perhaps I will see it in my lifetime after all. If you're still reading this, I thank you. Perhaps I will see you when the next time comes for the Alliance to rally as one. -Salaris, Knight of the First Fist of Light