In the vast, boundless ocean, a massive fleet was struggling forward through a violent storm.
Some of the passengers on board were gathered on the decks, joining forces to cast spells and maintain arcane barriers to withstand the fury of nature's wind and rain.
Weather at sea was as fickle as a child's face; one moment it was a tempestuous downpour, and the next, after narrowly escaping the storm's eye, warm sunlight would once again grace the decks of the fleet.
"Whew..."
A noble Night Elf in ornate robes, looking quite haggard, swayed unsteadily. Another blond man beside him immediately reached out to support him.
"Father, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Dath'Remar shook his head, his face pale. "My mana is just a bit overextended. Let me rest for a while."
Danas hesitated before saying, "Father, how about... drinking another bottle of Moonwell water?"
"No!"
Dath'Remar firmly waved his hand in refusal. "We still don't know how long it will take to find a suitable settlement. Both the Moonwell water and the Moonnight Well water must be distributed strictly according to the predetermined plan. I cannot be the one to break the rules."
"But..."
"Enough! I am not so fragile that— cough, cough!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Dath'Remar began to cough violently. Danas hurried forward to rub his father's back.
"Sigh~"
With Danas's support, Dath'Remar left the deck and entered the cabin below. He shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I didn't expect life to be this difficult after leaving the blessing of the World Tree. Diseases I've never even heard of have begun to find us."
Shaladrassil, after all, was an unblessed World Tree; its effective range could only be maintained within Val'sharah.
Upon setting sail from the Broken Isles, most Highborne were initially very excited, looking forward to their new life of freedom. They dreamed of restoring their former glory once they possessed a new source of infinite mana.
However, reality soon slapped them across the face, waking the Highborne from their beautiful dreams.
First was the inevitable mana withdrawal that occurred after leaving the range of the World Tree's blessing.
Dath'Remar had prepared for this. When he stole the vials from the Well of Eternity in Astranaar, he had also taken most of the Moonwell water produced at the time.
Combined with the Moonnight Well water Leticia had provided them, strict rationing should barely sustain them until the ships reached land.
On the other hand, without the blessing of the World Tree, the Highborne no longer possessed eternal life or a constitution immune to all diseases.
Even without immortality, Night Elves were still a long-lived race, so the issue of lifespan hadn't shown any signs of trouble yet. However, disease was proving to be lethal.
The mere tossing of the waves at sea left many Highborne vomiting day and night, and as mortals eating common grains, it was inevitable they would contract minor ailments.
In the past, these problems were filtered out by Nordrassil's blessing, but now the Highborne had to adapt to and solve them one by one.
Although Dath'Remar had prepared some alchemical potions for treatment, for tens of thousands of people sailing for months, the small reserve of alchemical medicine was like trying to extinguish a burning cart of wood with a cup of water.
To help the fleet safely pass through the storm, Dath'Remar had been busy all night in the wind and rain. Already overworked, it was only natural that he caught a cold.
Fortunately, it was only a minor illness. Danas took this opportunity to let his exhausted father get some proper rest.
He braced himself to take over Dath'Remar's duties, using the knowledge and experience he had gained from his father to coordinate the food, clothing, and supplies of all the Highborne.
Three months later, amidst the joyous cheers of the lookout, the fleet finally spotted land on the horizon. The Highborne, who had been tossed at sea for nearly a year, wept tears of excitement.
Eberton, the fleet leader who had escorted the Highborne across the great ocean, also breathed a sigh of relief. Although this voyage had experienced many twists and turns, they had finally reached the other side of the ocean safely.
With this route to the new continent established, the ships of Stormhaven might be able to engage in trans-oceanic trade with the Highborne who had migrated to the Eastern Continent, bringing back rare local specialties to sell in Kalimdor for a significant profit.
However, these were matters for the high-ranking officials to consider. After seeing the Highborne ashore, Eberton replenished his supplies with the enthusiastic help of the local indigenous residents and set sail back toward the Broken Isles.
The land where the Highborne landed also possessed lush forests. The original inhabitants living here were a peculiar type of intelligent creature that Dath'Remar had never seen before.
Their skin was pink, their build was much weaker than that of the sturdy Night Elves, and their ears were very short.
But these indigenous residents were very hospitable. Upon learning that the Highborne had come from another continent across the ocean, this group of people—calling themselves Humans—proactively explained the history of this land and provided Dath'Remar and the others with a place to stay.
The language used by the Humans was standard Titan, and although the Kaldorei language had undergone years of improvement and evolution, it remained essentially a branch of Titan. Communication between the two parties, using both speech and gestures, made it easy to understand each other's meaning.
Dath'Remar learned from the leader of this Human clan that this land was named Tirisfal, which meant "Tyr's Fall" in Titan.
After sailing for nearly a year, the Highborne's stored supplies were nearly exhausted.
Since they needed time to adapt to the climate of the new continent, and the forest named Tirisfal was permeated with thick mana, Dath'Remar decided—after consulting with the heads of the various families—to temporarily settle in this land to recover and grow.
...
Andreas and the others had reached the Eastern Continent before the Highborne; they should have arrived at Tirisfal before Dath'Remar.
However, an unexpected encounter on the way slowed their progress and even threatened the lives of the group.
In the region that would later be named Hillsbrad, Andreas and the others were currently hiding among the complex terrain of the rolling hills.
A small head with brilliant blond hair peeked out from the woods, warily looking around before ducking back into the forest.
"Uncle Andreas, I didn't see any sign of trackers. Are you sure it's not just your imagination?"
"I'm certain."
Andreas nodded with a frown. "My perception has always been sharp. That threatening sensation, like a thorn in my back, has been constant. Something is definitely tailing us."
Onyxia's expression shifted at that moment. "Celeste, did you pay attention to the sky?"
Celeste froze for a moment, then shook her head. "The sky? No."
Seeing the Black Dragon Princess's expression suddenly turn solemn, Andreas quickly understood her suspicion.
"Black Dragons?"
"Most likely. And they are malicious Black Dragons sent by Deathwing."
Although Celeste had received Moon Guard training, she was still a rookie who had never been on a battlefield, and her experience was lacking.
This time, Andreas personally took Leticia out of the woods to check. Sure enough, Leticia used her Eagle Eye spell to discover the truth in the dark night sky.
A hideous dragon head with two horns peeked out from behind the clouds, its yellowish-brown dragon pupils staring fixedly at the small grove where Andreas and the others were hiding.
"As expected."
Onyxia said with a grave expression, "Sabellian, Deathwing's most trusted lieutenant. I didn't expect him not to be scared off by that luxury lineup earlier. I was careless."