At the summit of the Holy Mount Hyjal, beneath the roots of the World Tree, Nordrassil.
A contingent of about a thousand people had gathered, waiting for their leader to finish his final farewell with an old friend.
Fandral Staghelm looked at the dense crowd before him and let out a soft sigh. "Have you thought this through? Do you really have to go?"
"Yes, it's decided," Andreas replied with a firm nod. "She and I are incompatible in every way—personality, power forms, and political views. Forcing myself to stay would only sharpen the contradictions. The Night Elves, having just endured such trials, cannot afford the instability of internal strife so soon."
Patting Fandral's muscular upper arm, Andreas spoke with earnest gravity. "After I leave, the task of keeping her in check falls to you. You absolutely cannot allow her to act recklessly."
"Her administrative abilities... you should have a good idea of them yourself."
Fandral agreed with a somber, frustrated expression. "I know. But I can't guarantee I'll stop her every time. After all... you know the relationship between Mentor and her."
Andreas smiled understandingly. "Just do your best. If she goes too far, enter the Emerald Dream and file a complaint with Mentor."
"Will that work?"
"Mentor might indulge her in small matters, but once it involves the survival and future of the entire Night Elf race..."
"I understand. May the winds of nature guard your journey."
"And you as well. Elune be with us."
...
Bang!
In the Great Temple of Elune in Annahis, Tyrande slammed her fist onto the stone table. Struggling to suppress the cold fury within, she asked, "I think I'm hallucinating. Say that again?"
Shandris repeated calmly, "Andreas Moonshadow has left."
"What do you mean 'left'?!"
"Literally. He secretly recruited about a thousand followers from Annahis and quietly departed Mount Hyjal early this morning."
Inhale... Exhale...
Tyrande's chest heaved with anger. She took several deep breaths before finally steadying her emotions.
"Why would he leave?" After calming down, Tyrande asked Shandris with a dark expression. "You are the one closest to him. I want the truth."
"With Malfurion and most Druids perpetually immersed in the Emerald Dream, a 'non-mainstream' Druid like him—who dislikes the Dream—is practically second only to one and above all others. What dissatisfaction could he possibly have with his status and power?"
A flicker of unreadable light flashed in Shandris' eyes. She shook her head gently. "Andreas is not someone who craves power. On the contrary, he left Annahis to avoid the conflicts that would inevitably arise in the future."
Though Tyrande's logic often took strange detours, Shandris had been blunt enough that even a fool would understand the implication. After a moment's consideration, Tyrande—who had always been at odds with Andreas—quickly understood the deeper meaning.
"Fine. Tell me, who did he take with him?"
"People from all walks of life," Shandris listed them off, ticking them on her fingers. "Priestesses of the Moon, Druids, some Arcanists, former noble private guards, carpenters, tailors, farmers, blacksmiths, and various other artisans. He recruited almost every profession imaginable."
Tyrande leaned her elbow on the stone table, resting her cheek in her hand as her brow furrowed deeply.
"In other words, he took a miniature Night Elf society with him? What on Azeroth is he trying to do?"
Shandris shook her head. "I'm not sure. I only learned a few days ago that he was preparing to leave Annahis."
"Sigh..." Tyrande rubbed her forehead, headache-stricken. She then waved Shandris away weakly. "Go back to your duties. Get the framework for the Sentinel units established as quickly as possible. Only with a direct elite force can we respond to any sudden emergencies."
"Yes."
As she watched Shandris walk away with steady steps, Tyrande's gaze flickered slightly.
Deliberately leaving Shandris behind... does he want her to stay by my side as his eyes and ears? Are you so confident that your place in her heart surpasses mine?
At that thought, Tyrande's stubborn streak flared up. "Hmph! Very well. Let's see then. I want to see what kind of tricks you're planning to play."
...
As the "Shadow Administrator" of the capital, Annahis, Andreas had gradually built a solid reputation through his actions during the three years following the War of the Ancients.
Although he held the title of Shadow Administrator, his work was virtually indistinguishable from that of an actual leader. Tyrande indeed loved to flamboyantly display her authority, but her administrative platform was actually quite broad and crude; it amounted to little more than using theocracy to drive governance, placing her status above all.
To maintain a final facade for her autocracy, Tyrande quite simply used "the tiger's skin as a banner," explicitly stating she was merely executing the will of the Moon Goddess. With the status of being Elune's chosen as a shield, even if someone secretly doubted her, they couldn't question her to her face—lest they be labeled as disrespectful to the Goddess within minutes.
As the saying goes, "it is harder to stop the mouths of the people than to stop a river." Even if one uses high-pressure surveillance to silence the populace, rumors are not so easily uprooted; they will eventually spread when the time is right.
The fact that Andreas was able to recruit a thousand-man contingent from all sectors of society to leave with him was a lateral proof of just how many people were dissatisfied with Tyrande—and that was only the small portion willing to stand up.
By taking these "troublemakers" away, Andreas had, at least in the short term, eased the surging undercurrents in Annahis. Without the leaders of the most vocal resistance, the remaining citizens would mostly choose to endure in silence... until they could bear it no longer.
Though they were called troublemakers, Andreas did not look down on the group he had recruited. Over several years, he had personally scouted all sectors of Night Elf society. Taking everything into account, he had finally chosen these more energetic individuals as his followers.
With the end of the War of the Ancients and the collapse of Queen Azshara's Night Elf Empire, the Highborne nobles lost their original privileges. Logically, this should have ushered in a period of vibrant, high-speed development for the Night Elves.
However, the reality was the opposite. Having suddenly lost the nobles who used to bark orders at them, most commoners were momentarily at a loss for how to live their lives. The transformation of a social system is destined to take more than a single day.
Tyrande wanted to shift the noble feudalism of the Imperial era into a theocratic autocracy. But she only had this broad ambition; as for how to implement it... Tyrande, who had never served as a national leader, was completely in the dark and could only "cross the river by feeling the stones."
Furthermore, the Highborne—the "tears of the era"—were clearly not going to just settle for the status quo. If not for the multiple mediations by Andreas and Dath'Remar in recent years, heaven only knows how those "nose-in-the-air" Highborne would have reacted to the gap created by social change.
While Tyrande was agonizing over how to further interweave theocracy and political power, the expedition led by Andreas finally reached their destination after several months of travel.
The Seat of the Sky, Eldre'Thalas... or rather, its ruins.