Unlike the naturally lively Dryads or Leticia, who possessed the "Husky-like" chaotic temperament, Shandris, as the Sentinel General, was clearly much more steady and composed.
Having experienced the brutal War of the Ancients and centuries of trial as a military leader, Shandris's growth had far exceeded Tyrande's expectations. When she was first appointed as the Sentinel General, she had been mocked by commanders of various border units as a "pushover" who rose through nepotism. However, over the past 200 years, such voices had gradually faded away.
Regardless of Tyrande's motives for establishing the Sentinel force, Shandris never slackened in her duties. After the war, the Night Elves needed to guard against more than just the elusive Satyrs; even some of the allies from the War of the Ancients had developed friction with the Night Elves over living space and resources.
The most typical example was the Furbolgs.
While the mainstream Furbolg society maintained a loose cooperative relationship with the Night Elves, the number of Furbolg bandits Shandris had led her Sentinels to clear out over the years was by no means small.
Even in this all-out war with the Satyrs, for instance—aside from the Furbolg villages actively attacked by Satyrs that sought help from nearby Night Elf defenses—most Furbolgs settled in Felwood and Winterspring maintained an indifferent attitude, treating the conflict as if it were none of their business.
Furthermore, the wilderness of Azeroth harbored primitive wildlife species like Kobolds and Gnolls. These naturally aggressive creatures held no goodwill toward the Night Elves, who occupied the regions most fertile in natural resources.
Combined with the Harpies scattered across Kalimdor, Shandris' Sentinel force had gained a fair amount of combat experience over the years while maintaining the stability of Night Elf territories. However, facing a truly large-scale organized battlefield was indeed a first.
As the leader of this rookie army, Shandris had put in several times more effort than her subordinates to prove her worth and silence her detractors. She almost never allowed herself a moment of relaxation; even in her spare time, she would study the art of leadership from retired veteran generals.
As Leticia grew up, she often teased Andreas and Shandris, saying that besides the occasional "dog food" they scattered when they were together, the couple lived too much like "ascetics" (living a slow, detached life) most of the time—simply because they were both far too busy.
Cenarius took his long-lost eldest daughter, Lunara, to find a place to catch up, while Andreas followed Leticia to the top floor of the observation tower at the highest point of Starfall Village.
At that moment, Shandris was using Eagle Eye to gaze at the chaotic Satyr camp several miles beyond the defensive line, her eyes emitting a steady, soft glow. Hearing the footsteps coming from the stairs behind her, Shandris's long elven ears twitched, and her cold, hardened expression softened significantly.
The change in their General startled the two Sentinels on guard nearby. They then watched as a skipping Leticia brought up a man dressed in dark blue robes from the lower floor.
Already prepared, Shandris wore a brilliant smile and unhesitatingly shared a hug with Andreas, right under the "saw-a-ghost" gazes of the two Sentinels.
Andreas felt a surge of emotion as he tidied Shandris' split hair, which had clearly lacked care for a long time.
"You've worked hard. You should still arrange some proper rest for yourself. You know, work is never truly finished."
As if trying to recharge her "boyfriend energy," Shandris leaned her chin on Andreas' shoulder and took a deep breath.
"I'm fine. We're only one step away. Once this war—the one Mentor has high hopes for—is over, I should have plenty of time for rest. When that time comes, don't blame me for staying in Moonshadow's Rest for too long."
Andreas smiled gently. "How could I? I'd prefer if you stayed forever."
The war wasn't over yet. After a brief, warm embrace, the two took advantage of Leticia's intentional coughing to pivot back to the military situation.
"What's the status? I heard there are signs of instability within the Satyr ranks?"
"That's right." Shandris pointed toward the distant Satyr camp. "You can see the clues from the layout of their camps."
The Satyrs were once Highborne of the Night Empire, but centuries of being forced into the wilderness had eroded their noble customs. Today's Satyrs had become primitive and savage. Their camps lacked any aesthetic sense, with eerie Fel fires dotting the area, casting a haunting green light into the night sky.
The crude leather tents in the camp were clearly divided into three groups. It was evident that the internal strife among these Satyrs had reached a point where they couldn't even trust their kin enough to share a camp.
"The Satyrs in Winterspring consist of three major clans and several medium-to-small ones. The most populous and powerful is the Felpaw clan, formerly led by Xavarian."
Shandris pointed toward the area with the most central tents and continued to explain to Andreas, "Besides them, the Icehorn clan settled at Frostsaber Rock is also numerous, but their overall strength is weaker than the Felpaw. Finally, there's the Shadowhide clan, originally living in the Ruins of Kel'Theril."
Mentioning the Shadowhide clan, Shandris couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. "As you know, that unlucky clan's population plummeted after offending the Blue Dragons. They are already on the verge of being swallowed up."
"Hmm..." Andreas stroked his chin thoughtfully. "In other words, because of the death of Xavarian and a large number of elites, the Felpaw's overwhelming advantage has been shaken. The Icehorn clan has developed other intentions and plans to devour the crippled Shadowhide clan to challenge the Felpaw for leadership of the entire race?"
Shandris nodded with approval in her eyes. "Your ability to infer is as excellent as ever. That's essentially it."
"Besides Winterspring, the Satyrs in Felwood are also restless. Undercurrents are surging between clans. The Satyrs, who were once united in their quest for revenge against us, are now on the brink of collapse due to Xavarian's failure."
Andreas wasn't surprised. Aside from Arcane research, the Highborne were best at internal power struggles; this was a habit born from thousands of years of scheming and deception.
Andreas gazed at the strange layout of the Satyr camp, thought for a moment, and then asked Shandris: "What do you plan to do? Wait passively for their civil war to break out, or proactively stir up their relationship?"
Shandris looked at Andreas meaningfully. "If it were before you arrived, I—not having enough 'bad ideas'—could only wait silently for things to develop. But..."
Shandris poked Andreas's chest with her finger and said with a smile, "Since you've arrived at the final moment, at least help me out. See how we can accelerate and intensify the conflict between them."
Andreas scratched his head helplessly. "Yes, yes... but I do have some preliminary ideas. Let me give it a try."
"If the plan goes well, we should be able to get them to start fighting each other within half a month at most."