When Andreas personally led the Moon Guards and Druids back to Winterspring and arrived near Frostsaber Rock in the northern part of the valley, the scene before him differed significantly from the memories he held.
Though many memories of his previous life had gradually faded with the passage of time, certain deeply ingrained impressions remained vivid. He still remembered spending entire days here in the "Classic" era of Warcraft, grinding for the Winterspring Frostsaber mount.
In his memory, Frostsaber Rock was a vast plain covered in ice and snow, symbolized by a knife-like rock pillar jutting diagonally from the ground.
While the rock pillar from Andreas's memory still existed, the massive stone that should have been covered in thick layers of snow was now bare. In many places, scattered small puddles of green liquid were visible. If even the landmark Frostsaber Rock looked this ghastly, other areas were naturally no better.
What met the eyes of Andreas and his team was a desolate land severely polluted by Fel energy. The surrounding snow and ice had melted under the scorching heat of Fel flames, forming the sickly green puddles of various sizes that now dotted the Frostsaber Rock region.
Only a tiny fraction of the Frostsaber cats originally living here remained on the edges of the parched land. Judging by their skin-and-bones silhouettes, they likely hadn't had a full meal in a long time. The Chimaeras, which should have been soaring through the sky, were all sprawled atop the cliffs surrounding Frostsaber Rock, looking completely listless.
This tragic scene silenced Andreas and his team, who had come with high spirits to kidnap... save these endangered creatures.
As a large group of "mobile meat" appeared, the famished Frostsabers forced themselves to stand up, and the Chimaeras lifted their two heads to look down.
Feron, the Druid leader, clenched his fists in anger. "Just as I thought! Nothing good ever comes from involvement with demons and Fel. Anywhere Fel energy appears, it pollutes the land with its chaotic energy!"
Andreas patted Feron's shoulder in consolation. "We've already completely driven the Satyrs out of this region. Nature has a strong capacity for self-purification. I believe that with the washing of time, these polluted areas will eventually return to their original state. Of course, that will require the dedicated efforts of the Druids."
The subsequent work was relatively simple. The Druids stepped forward, using their animal communication abilities to interact with the Frostsabers and Chimaeras.
When these poor creatures looked at the negotiating Druids, their eyes practically glowed with green light, but they eventually calmed down under the Druids' Soothe Animal skills.
Leaving the Frostsabers aside for a moment, Chimaeras—as mythical creatures—possessed a fair degree of intelligence. They were actually aware that continuing to stubbornly stay here would only lead to the gradual extinction of their kin. However, this group of Chimaeras had lived here since before the Sundering, and they knew nothing of the world beyond Winterspring.
Feron and his team spent a considerable amount of effort using food as bait to persuade them. After eating the domestic pigs Andreas had brought for them, both the Frostsabers and Chimaeras entered the portals constructed by the Moon Guards with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
When the skeletal Frostsabers stepped out of the portal, the sudden change in scenery cleared their hazy, weakened minds. The natural environment of Ashenvale was countless times better than that of Winterspring; the moderate, pleasant climate had nurtured a vast abundance of life in this forest.
Within the forest of towering trees, various animals of all sizes scurried energetically through the woods. The Frostsabers looked at the fat gray rabbits staring blankly at them in the distance and, as one, lowered their thin bodies into hunting stances.
"Roar!"
The leading Frostsabers could not contain their urge to hunt. Under the helpless gazes of the Druids, they bolted into the mountain woods.
However, just as Andreas and the others had guessed, prolonged starvation had left their physical condition extremely weak. The domestic pigs they had just eaten couldn't replenish their body's energy so quickly. Most of the Frostsabers that charged out failed to catch their prey and instead ended up panting heavily from exhaustion.
Leticia stroked a relatively calm female Frostsaber next to her with a look of pity. This Frostsaber, which had pale purple, brilliant magical patterns on its body, looked disdainfully at its impulsive kin and leisurely bowed its head... to enjoy the dried meat Leticia had given it.
Andreas looked amusingly at the Frostsabers that could no longer run. "Feron, take them back first. Nurse their bodies back to health slowly. It will likely take a fair amount of time for them to adapt to a brand-new living environment. I'll leave that work to you."
"No problem."
Compared to the somewhat embarrassing performance of the Frostsabers, the Chimaeras' attitude was much more reserved. At least these magically endowed beasts with moderate intelligence maintained a certain level of vigilance upon entering this unfamiliar forest.
To avoid causing panic among the townspeople, the exit of the portal opened by the Moon Guards was not inside Moonshadow's Rest. After hundreds of years of development, Moonshadow's Rest now occupied a considerable amount of land; caravans traveling from Ashenvale to Darkshore would inevitably pass through this seaside town.
Currently, Andreas and his team were located in the Bathran's Haunt forest to the east of Moonshadow's Rest. Not far to the south was Audiralan, one of the town's satellite villages.
Andreas had originally planned to establish a new satellite village in Bathran's Haunt soon, but the arrival of the Chimaeras and Frostsabers changed his plans. He decided to utilize this area by having Druids skilled in domestication raise them here.
Bathran's Haunt was large enough and had already undergone preliminary development by Moonshadow's Rest. it could easily accommodate the currently small populations of Chimaeras and Frostsabers.
The first batch brought back consisted of fewer than 100 Chimaeras and slightly more than 100 Frostsabers. Following consultations with Shandris, the Moon Guards established semi-permanent portals between Starfall Village and Moonshadow's Rest. The Sentinel forces would continue to assist the Druids remaining in Winterspring to search for surviving creatures in the northern wilderness and persuade them to relocate.
...
The establishment of an aerial unit cannot be completed in a short time. First, time must be spent domesticating the Chimaeras, followed by building rapport between riders and mounts to gradually form a systematic aerial combat tactic.
As the Lord, Andreas usually only handled the broad strategic planning; the detailed work was assigned by the capable Maclay to the most suitable personnel.
The start of the aerial unit was a good beginning. Andreas could finally settle his mind to organize the personal gains he had acquired during this Satyr incursion.
In the rooftop garden of the Lord's Manor, Andreas leaned back in his reclining chair with half-closed eyes. Using meditation to collect his spirit, he carefully observed the "return gift" that Goldrinn had sent directly into his body.
"This is... a fragment of power containing Goldrinn's blessing?"