Being his first time entering the Emerald Dream, Andreas did not yet fully understand the workings of this world. He had already prepared himself mentally for the possibility that Elune might not respond.
To his surprise, Elune's response was even faster than in the physical world. Within a minute of his call, that familiar, soft voice manifested in his mind.
"Little one, what is it now? You aren't planning to complain to me about every little thing like Tyrande does, are you?"
I actually reached her?
Andreas was somewhat startled, but he quickly adjusted his mindset and politely made his request to Elune.
"It's like this..."
Andreas briefly described the events surrounding the Worgen crisis. The True Goddess remained silent for a short while.
"And so? Do you want me to help solve the Worgen problem directly, or do you just want me to help you wake Goldrinn?"
Andreas spread his hands. "Solving the first problem directly would be ideal, of course. If that isn't possible, please help me wake Goldrinn."
"Hehe~ what a slippery child," Elune chuckled softly. "I could solve the problem for you directly, but that would be quite boring. After all, one needs setbacks to promote growth."
Before Andreas could ponder the deeper meaning behind her words, a beam of moonlight, several times brighter than before, descended upon Goldrinn.
"Goldrinn's injuries are severe. This method of stimulation will only wake him for a short time. Say what you need to say to him as quickly as possible."
"Oh, right." Just before Elune left Andreas's consciousness, she added with a teasing tone, "Once the dust settles on this incident, be prepared. I will be taking up some of your time in the near future."
"Uh, when exactly is 'the near future'?"
"Probably... within 500 years?"
Andreas: "..."
Elune seemed to ignore Andreas's speechlessness and spoke with profound implication. "And it won't be just you. Keep your expectations up and arrange your schedule in advance."
Opening his eyes in a daze, Andreas was caught off guard by Elune's suddenly active attitude. Fortunately, given a god's perception of time, this wasn't an immediate concern.
Under the high-intensity moonlight, the Wolf God Goldrinn's eyelids began to twitch, seemingly on the verge of awakening.
Andreas withdrew his hand from Goldrinn's head and stepped back. Skoll, the white wolf, took his place, watching with excitement as Goldrinn slowly opened his eyes.
"Ugh..."
The newly awakened Goldrinn looked quite dazed. Since his injuries had not yet healed, his body instinctively felt weak, leaving him confused as to why he had been awakened in such a state.
He shook his head to clear his mind and asked in a somewhat troubled voice, "Who woke me? Skoll, what has happened?"
Skoll bowed his head respectfully. "My Master, Lord Cenarius has a request."
Cenarius stepped forward at the right moment. "Old friend, I apologize for waking you mid-recovery. Please, listen to my explanation first."
...
Fifteen minutes later, Goldrinn stared at the Worgen placed before him with a deep frown.
"This twisted and hideous creature was actually born from my power? What a disgrace!"
Andreas twitched the corner of his mouth speechlessly. Is his main focus really on the aesthetics?
Though many knew that judging by appearances was impolite, all living things were born with a distinction between beauty and ugliness. It was human nature to be drawn to beauty and repelled by the hideous; only those with great self-restraint kept such thoughts hidden.
Goldrinn crossed his front legs and rested his massive head upon them.
"I have a general idea of the situation. These fools used the Wolf Form without my permission and lost control because they couldn't master the rage in their hearts. Is that it?"
"Precisely."
Goldrinn curled his lip in distaste. "Regrettably, I cannot help them for now. The rage has taken too deep a hold. Unless their restless souls can be pacified first, I have no way to forcibly revert them to their original forms."
Malfurion asked with a pained expression, "Lord Goldrinn, how are we to pacify their souls?"
Goldrinn shook his head. "I can think of several ways, but the results would be similar and the risks significant. Not only for the Worgen, but for the one performing the rite as well. Instead of risking a dive into their souls, it would be better to leave it to time."
Goldrinn let out a tired yawn. "If you seal them within a fixed area of the Emerald Dream, time will gradually soothe their madness. However, I am not sure exactly how long that will take."
Malfurion shook his head helplessly. "It seems that is our only option. We cannot gamble the safety of the entire race for these 3,000 people."
"That is your own concern, then." Goldrinn closed his eyes again, his voice becoming increasingly hazy.
"Almost forgot." Before drifting back into slumber, Goldrinn's blurring eyes scanned the group. "Which of you disturbed Elune to have her personally wake me? Is there a Favored of Elune among you?"
Everyone, including Skoll, turned their gaze simultaneously toward Andreas.
Andreas bit the bullet, stepped forward, and raised his hand with a forced smile. "It was me, Lord Goldrinn."
"I see..." Goldrinn fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, a translucent orb of light flew out from the scythe Malfurion was carrying and landed before Goldrinn.
"I do not like accepting favors for nothing. Elune's help has significantly shortened my recovery time. Take this as my return gift."
The light orb sent by Goldrinn flew incredibly fast, merging into Andreas's body before he could even react.
"Now, all of you leave. If there is anything else, wait until my next formal awakening..."
Zzzzz...
The steady sound of breathing indicated that Goldrinn had returned to sleep. Andreas, now the center of everyone's attention, stood there in a daze, feeling the changes within his body.
A glint of understanding and a smile flashed in Cenarius's eyes. "Andreas, let's head out first. You will have plenty of time later to familiarize yourself with the gift Goldrinn gave you."
...
"Ugh~"
Rubbing his head, Andreas sat up from the bed as the group returned to the physical world. Unlike the novice Andreas, Malfurion and the others—long accustomed to moving between the Dream and reality—had already left the room. They gathered in the plaza outside, looking regretfully at the hypnotized Worgen.
Fandral expressed his stance decisively. "We have no choice. For the sake of the rest of our kin, we must follow Goldrinn's suggestion."
The resolute Shaun followed suit in agreement, and Lensa High-Hoof, after a moment of hesitation, cast her vote in favor as well.
Seeing the look of defeat on Malfurion's face, Koda let out a soft sigh of comfort. "If there were a better way, we wouldn't want to seal away nearly 3,000 of our compatriots, Mentor..."
"I know." Malfurion remained silent for a moment before finally making his decision.
"Take them to the roots of the World Tree, Nordrassil. That is where the Dream and the physical world are closest. We shall bring the physical bodies of these Worgen into the Emerald Dream as well. They shall enter an eternal slumber beneath the magical tree Daral'nir. I hope that time will soothe the rage in their hearts."
"And..." Malfurion looked firmly at the high-ranking Druids present. "To prevent similar incidents from happening again, it is necessary for us to establish a standardized organization to guide and manage the conduct of all Druids."
Andreas's eyebrows twitched slightly at those words. Malfurion continued solemnly, "The Druidic faith was established under the guidance of Cenarius. We shall name this organization... the Cenarion Circle."