The explosion of the Well of Eternity caused the ancient continent of Kalimdor to shatter, resulting in an irreversible change to the ley line structures across all of Azeroth.
The old ley line coordinates for Kalimdor were no longer usable. If Andreas wanted to travel to Highmountain, he had to set out on his own.
The good news was that Andreas knew exactly where Highmountain had drifted after the Sundering. The letters from Huln and Igrul also mentioned the term "Broken Isles," and they had even provided a simple map for him.
With Moonshadow's Rest's current shipbuilding technology, they were not yet capable of constructing large vessels that could withstand the violent waves of the Great Sea. When Huln led the Tauren back to their homeland, the new world had just begun to settle; they had managed to land safely on the shores of Azsuna in small boats without encountering major storms.
But things were different now. After several years of climatic stabilization, the Great Sea was fraught with the wind and waves it was meant to have, especially during the peak of summer when tropical cyclones frequently formed.
It was currently the height of July. Although the forests of Ashenvale remained in a state of eternal spring under the influence of the World Tree Nordrassil, the surface of the Great Sea was already churning with storms. Since he couldn't take a ship, Andreas had to rely on himself to reach the Broken Isles.
...
A golden eagle spread its wings, flying rapidly over the endless ocean. In the distant sky, storm clouds were gradually coalescing, with flickers of lightning piercing through the gloomy overcast.
Although flying was fast, Andreas was not foolish enough to challenge the raw power of nature head-on. At the far edge of the horizon, the wind whipped the sea into massive swells; waves over ten meters high surged toward him, and a sudden torrential downpour instantly soaked the eagle's feathers.
Feeling his wings grow heavy from the rain, Andreas descended toward the surface. In a flash of purple light and shadow, he transformed into a black-and-white great fish, about ten meters long, with a prominent dorsal fin.
Splash!
Once in the water, more details of Andreas's new form became apparent. Strictly speaking, this well-proportioned aquatic creature was not a fish but a mammal belonging to the family Delphinidae.
The Orca—also known as the Grampus or Killer Whale.
The Orca is the undisputed overlord of the sea. Its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth strikes fear into every fish in the ocean. Born with a fierce and highly aggressive nature, they even prey upon Great White Sharks, who are fellow apex predators. Interestingly, Orcas never proactively attack humans; instead, they are quite friendly toward people who fall into the water, often nudging drowning individuals back to the surface.
Andreas didn't transform into an Orca to get closer to intelligent beings; he did it for its formidable combat power in the ocean. Previously, due to the combat weakness of the Seal form, he had been forced to let Vashj escape, failing to interrogate her for vital information. Since then, Andreas had been considering a more powerful aquatic form, and the Orca was his final decision.
The Orca swam freely through the depths. The raging winds and surging waves on the surface no longer concerned Andreas; even the strongest storm has little impact beneath the waves, at most altering the speed of the currents.
Alternating between his flight and aquatic forms, Andreas made his way toward the Broken Isles. To bypass the dangerous Maelstrom, he set out from the Azshara region and spent over a month traveling before successfully landing on the beaches of Azsuna on the western shore of the Isles.
Azsuna had once been one of the most prosperous regions of the Night Elf Empire. The nationally renowned Nar'thalas Academy of Magic was located here, managed by Prince Farondis, the governor. However, before the War of the Ancients reached its climax, Prince Farondis had launched an ill-prepared rebellion against Queen Azshara, which was ruthlessly suppressed without suspense. All the Night Elves in the Azsuna region were implicated, transformed by the enraged Queen into restless ghosts.
As he flew over the Nar'thalas Academy, Andreas could see many ghosts still entering and exiting the collapsed academy, maintaining their former habits. Though curious about the ghostly ecology of the region, he had urgent business and did not waste time, continuing his flight north.
Leaving the sea-eroded ruins of Azsuna, Andreas entered a forest that felt both familiar and strange.
"Val'sharah..."
Although he hadn't inherited the memories of his predecessor, Andreas instinctively felt a sense of nostalgia for this primordial forest. Val'sharah, which had once been adjacent to Zin-Azshari, was caught in the explosion of the Well of Eternity and flung into the middle of the sea along with Highmountain, Azsuna, Suramar, and Stormheim.
At this time, Val'sharah, having lost its ley line coordinates, had not yet regained the blessing of Cenarius, and the Dreamgrove—the bridge between the Emerald Dream and the physical world—had not yet been activated. The Night Elves still living in Val'sharah after the Sundering were completely cut off from mainstream society. One of Andreas's goals for this trip to the Broken Isles was to reconnect these kin with Night Elf society.
Looking toward the horizon, he caught a glimpse of Black Rook Hold, still towering and majestic. This fortress, which once served as a logistical base for the resistance, had grown quiet, though people could still be seen coming and going.
Continuing north into the Highmountain region, the oxygen-deprived air of the plateaus forced Andreas to slow his flight and gradually adjust his breathing rhythm. By the time he landed at Riverbend—the village closest to Neltharion's Lair—Huln Highmountain was already waiting there with several chieftains.
"Haha! Welcome, my friend."
Huln, now the High Chieftain of the Highmountain tribes, gave Andreas a warm hug. The pervasive scent of beef almost made Andreas roll his eyes.
Skipping the needless pleasantries, the long-waiting Huln quickly brought the conversation to the main point.
"Igrul told me that you once made a promise to the Drogbar to help them drive out Deathwing." Huln offered Andreas a cup of warm goat milk, his expression gradually turning solemn. "Andreas, please tell me honestly: are you truly confident?"
The failure of the plan to reclaim the Dragon Soul during the War of the Ancients had left Deathwing infuriated. However, with his body torn apart once more, he was unable to fight for a short time and had spent the last few years hiding in his lair.
According to intelligence provided by the Drogbar, to avoid another humiliating defeat, Deathwing intended to fit his body with a set of reinforced armor plates. This task was naturally assigned to the Drogbar, who served as servants to the Black Dragonflight.
When Igrul saw the miserable state in which Neltharion had fled back to the lair, he almost couldn't resist shouting, "Are kings and nobles born to their status?" But considering the punishments the Drogbar had suffered for failed rebellions in the past, and acting as a leader of his race, Igrul suppressed his impulse under the advice of the elders. He planned to try a more reliable method.
Instructed by Igrul, the Drogbar intentionally slowed their progress on the project to buy as much time as possible. During this interval, Igrul made contact with the victorious Highmountain tribes. After more than a year of repeated discussions, the Tauren—who were long sick of the Black Dragon—finally agreed to Igrul's request. The two races would join forces, ideally to destroy Deathwing entirely, or at least to banish him from Highmountain forever.
To increase their chances of success, Igrul wanted to utilize the help of Huln Highmountain, who possessed great personal strength, to officially unseal the Hammer of Khaz'goroth. But before setting out, the Drogbar leader suddenly remembered someone who had made a promise through the Holy Hammer. This was why he and Huln had reined in their excitement; before retrieving the hammer, they jointly sent an invitation to Andreas.
"The Hammer of Khaz'goroth..."
Andreas's expression turned somewhat complex. Looking at the expectant Huln across from him, he asked solemnly, "High Chieftain, let me ask you a question first."
"If it were for the bright future of your people, would you be willing to shorten your own lifespan, or even sacrifice your life for this ideal?"