In the year 9119 before the Dark Portal, with only a little over a hundred years remaining of the final deadline set by Elune, Andreas still had not received any response from the Moon Goddess.
Onyxia had lived secretly in Moonshadow's Rest as the Black Dragon Ambassador for over a century. Every so often, Sintharia and Nefarian would report their search progress through special channels, but so far, they had failed to find any trace of the rumored blue dragon.
Onyxia emphasized repeatedly that she definitely hadn't seen it wrong—there was indeed a disheveled blue dragon that had appeared in the Wetlands.
Sintharia knew her daughter well enough. Although the Black Dragon Princess, having recently entered adolescence, often displayed a rebellious attitude, she wouldn't talk nonsense about such a significant matter.
Without realizing it, nearly a thousand years had passed since Andreas first crossed over to Azeroth. He had completely adapted to life in this world.
Under Andreas's deliberate guidance, the diet and living habits of Moonshadow's Rest had been significantly influenced.
Originally, Night Elf food tended to be bland, emphasizing the most natural flavors of the ingredients. Before crossing over, however, Andreas had been a man from Sichuan Province who loved bold, heavy flavors; he couldn't stand such a tasteless diet.
He had spent several centuries searching for and cultivating a certain mysterious seasoning. Under Andreas's personal instruction, the chefs in the Lord's Palace had learned to prepare meals that closely matched the tastes of his previous life.
As the saying goes, "those below follow the example of those above." As the legendary lord who founded Moonshadow's Rest and grew this coastal city step by step, Andreas's every action was watched and imitated by the populace.
Gradually, the palates of the residents of Moonshadow's Rest were led astray by their lord.
When members of various races came to visit, tour, or conduct business, the most common exclamation heard while dining in Moonshadow's Rest wasn't "delicious" or "tasty," but rather "Sss-ha! It's so spicy!"
Most people didn't immediately shy away after their first taste of spicy dishes. As immortals, Night Elves often required a bit of excitement to spice up their long and monotonous daily lives.
Although most would spend an entire day clutching their backsides after their first encounter with dishes like Sliced Meat in Hot Chili Oil, they would later continue to challenge themselves in a spirit of reckless curiosity. Thus, the culinary culture of Moonshadow's Rest was slowly forged.
Andreas still remembered Onyxia's expression the first time she saw Sliced Meat in Hot Chili Oil.
The Black Dragon Princess rolled her "dead-fish eyes" at the bright red color in the bowl, looking like she wanted to try it but didn't dare make a move.
Incidentally, the previous culinary culture of the Night Elves usually involved eating directly with one's hands; they rarely used utensils. The chopsticks Andreas introduced required a period of adjustment for the entire city, but now they could skillfully wield those two small bamboo sticks.
"...You call this Sliced Meat in Water? Shouldn't there only be water and meat? What is this red substance covering the top?"
Andreas had smirked and encouraged her at the time. "This is the soul of Moonshadow's Rest's culinary culture. You'll understand once you try it."
Under the watchful, expectant gazes of Andreas, Leticia, and Shandris, Onyxia ignored the temperature of the freshly served hot dish. She reached directly into the red oil with her hand, pulled out a slice of meat, and tossed it into her mouth.
"Hah!"
Stung by the spice, the Black Dragon Princess immediately sprayed a small burst of flame toward the sky. The sight of Andreas and the other two doubling over with laughter made her feel a bit embarrassed.
However, from then on, the Black Dragon Princess grew to love these dishes that gave a dragon the urge to breathe fire, living a life where no meal was complete without spice.
...
"Maiev is back?"
Andreas put down the document in his hand and looked up. Naisha, the leader of Moonshadow's Rest's Combat Priestesses, was standing behind his desk.
"Yes," Naisha nodded calmly. "Mistress has completed the renovation of the Vault of the Wardens. Along the way, she established multiple Warden sentry towers across the Broken Isles for surveillance. She returned to Astranaar a month ago."
Maiev, that hot-tempered "big sister," left a trail of sparks and lightning wherever she went.
While establishing outposts in the Broken Isles, the Wardens she led clashed with the Vrykul tribes of Stormheim. Although these tall ancestors of humanity possessed formidable combat power, they were utterly defeated by the well-trained, elite Wardens who had survived the War of the Ancients.
Beyond the conflicts with the Vrykul, Maiev's forceful approach to planting sentry towers also drew dissatisfaction from some among the Highmountain Tauren.
Huln Highmountain, who had once fought alongside Andreas to banish Deathwing, had long since passed away. The current High Chieftain, Horncrest Highmountain, was his blood descendant from many generations later.
This High Chieftain, wielding the Eagle Spear passed down from Huln, had defeated all enemies who dared to challenge the Highmountain tribes and held great prestige among the people.
However, facing Maiev's Warden forces, he did not impulsively attack. Instead, he wisely used diplomatic means to secure a promise from Maiev.
Maiev guaranteed to High Chieftain Horncrest that the sentry towers would only be fully activated when facing foreign enemies and would normally be managed by a minimal number of Wardens.
After spending a long time fighting her way across the Broken Isles and supervising the completion of the Vault of the Wardens, Maiev had finally, albeit reluctantly, returned to the continent of Kalimdor.
Her long journey had failed to achieve its most important goal: she had not found the self-exiled Jarod.
Maiev had originally thought Jarod might return to Black Rook Hold to live in seclusion out of respect for the late Lord Kur'talos Ravencrest. But she had searched every corner of the castle and the entire Broken Isles without finding any trace of him.
Upon returning to Kalimdor, the foul-tempered Maiev immediately went to check on her most important prisoner—Illidan Stormrage.
However, the Wardens left on guard provided a piece of information that made Maiev quite livid.
...
"Dath'Remar once sneaked into the prison to speak privately with the prisoner. Once Mistress learned of this, she immediately led her people to storm the Highborne settlement in Astranaar."
Andreas rubbed his forehead, nursing a headache. "Maiev... she still acts so impulsively without considering the consequences."
Regardless of what Dath'Remar and Illidan had discussed, the best way to handle it would have been a private interrogation, rather than directly attacking their doorstep with such fanfare as Maiev had done.
The Highborne, who had finally found some peace, were now likely to be "roasted over the coals" again because of this commotion. Andreas only wondered if Tyrande, who had been low-profile for a long time, would jump out and use this as a pretext to make a move.
After considering for a moment, Andreas said with a bitter smile, "For now, let's wait and see. Astranaar is the core of Tyrande's power; it's difficult for us to intervene. Only someone like Maiev would dare to ignore the undercurrents surging in the capital and directly strike at their door."
I wonder if this will blow up, but...
A look of contemplation flashed in Andreas's eyes. Dath'Remar sneaking into Illidan's prison... could it be for THAT? Is he starting to make preparations already?