The cave was vast. Two giant black bears lay in separate corners with their eyes tightly shut, seemingly fallen into a deep slumber.
The Enraged Fang Shrine was dedicated to Ursoc; these two black bears were likely his direct offspring whom he had mentioned: Orsonn and Kodian.
The two great bears had somehow fallen victim to the Furbolgs' machinations, both remaining unresponsive in their profound sleep.
Andreas couldn't tell which was which, so he picked one at random and placed his hand upon its large head.
Using shadow magic to peer into the mind, Andreas felt the giant bear's inner self.
Currently, its soul was trapped within its body, unable to leave, forced into a never-ending nightmare. The source of this nightmare was the scene of Ursoc's death during the War of the Ancients.
"Do not drown in the nightmares of the past. Wake up, scion of Ursoc!"
Using the power of shadow to dispel the misty veil cast over the creature's soul, the giant bear's eyelids twitched, and it finally opened its bewildered eyes.
...
Using the same method to awaken the other giant bear, Andreas pulled Celeste back slowly.
The two bears seemed groggy from their long slumber. It took them a while to regain clarity in their eyes, and the first thing they saw were the two tiny mortals before them.
"Night Elves? How did you get here? And we are..."
The bear on the left, who had a scar on his face, was the first to ask. Noticing his brother beside him, he spoke again, "Orsonn, were you trapped in an inescapable nightmare just like me?"
"Yes, brother."
Orsonn seemed a bit sharper than Kodian. He quickly pieced things together, baring his ferocious fangs as an aura of anger and tyranny swept through the cave.
"We were deceived by Grizzleheart. That fellow claimed he wanted to restore the glory of Father and Uncle Ursol, but in reality, he intended to seize their power for himself."
Andreas finally interjected, asking with some surprise, "What do you mean by that?"
Orsonn glanced at Andreas. Considering him the savior who had awakened them from their slumber, he explained patiently: "The one Grizzleheart wants to awaken is not the true Uncle Ursol at all. What he wants is a puppet trapped in a physical shell that will obey his every command."
"I had my suspicions over a decade ago, but I didn't expect him to strike so decisively. He actually tampered with our food."
Andreas nodded thoughtfully. "Regardless of Grizzleheart's motives, can you two use your prestige to make the majority of the uninformed Furbolgs see the truth?"
"I am Andreas Moonshadow. I have been sent by your father, Ursoc, to quell this unrest."
Andreas produced the pair of bear-claw fist weapons that Malfurion had previously given him and showed them to the two giant bears.
Kodian's expression shifted. "A weapon crafted from Father's claws? Are you Malfurion's..."
Andreas shrugged. "A student of sorts, though I've taken a different path than my mentor."
With the token as proof, Orsonn and Kodian quickly expressed their trust in Andreas.
"As long as we can leave this cave, we are confident we can sway the majority of the deluded Furbolgs."
Kodian added to Orsonn's words, "But that is limited to the Furbolgs who follow Father. For Uncle Ursol's followers, you will need to make a trip to the Heartblood Shrine to rescue our cousins."
"No problem."
The sounds of battle outside were gradually subsiding, and Andreas felt confident. "I will continue my march eastward immediately. Please depart first and convince Ursoc's followers."
...
Having secured the lightly defended Enraged Fang Shrine, Andreas led his troops without pause toward the Heartblood Shrine by the banks of Greywood Lake to the east. Using the same tactics, they quickly broke through the defenses and awakened the black and white bears in the Heartblood cave.
As Orsonn and Kodian moved toward the front lines, broadcasting their appeal along the way, many originally steadfast Furbolgs inevitably began to waver.
By the time Andreas rescued Ursol's children, Randolph and Glossor, the furious Orsonn and Kodian had already reached the northern Grizzly Hills, only a step away from the battlefield.
Although they were direct scions of a demigod, they did not possess the overwhelming strength that Ursoc had; charging into the meat-grinder of a battlefield would only mean certain death.
However, the appearance of Ursoc's scions near the battlefield caused great astonishment among the Furbolgs resting in the camps.
Previously, Great Chief Grizzleheart had told them that the descendants of Ursoc and Ursol would remain in their respective shrines to pray for their victory. The scene before them clearly overturned Grizzleheart's claims.
When Leticia arrived with Randolph and Glossor, the atmosphere in the Furbolg front-line military camp became even more bizarre.
Grizzleheart had recently faced multiple interrogations from various clan chiefs. The chiefs suspected Grizzleheart had used lies to deceive them, which infuriated the clan leaders who had lost many kin on the battlefield.
But every chief who came to the main tent to seek an audience with Grizzleheart met with a closed door. No matter how much they cursed outside, Grizzleheart remained as still as a meditating monk, ignoring them completely.
The Furbolg offensive was no longer the unified force it once was. The Drakkari Trolls, who had been under immense pressure, were happy to sit back on their walls and watch as the Furbolg momentum sputtered.
The focus of the struggle shifted from the surface to the subterranean.
The Shaman Legion dispatched by Grizzleheart to the eastern wall finally appeared. This unit, a collection of spellcasters from various clans, caused a massive commotion the moment they struck.
Hundreds of Shamans jointly cast earth spells, forcing a mound of earth to surge up from beneath the wall.
When the deformed earth returned to its original state, the fallen wall had become shattered and broken. The Shaman Legion had succeeded in a single strike.
Great Chief Grizzleheart, who was supposed to be overseeing the main battlefield, had at some point led his direct personal guards to the eastern wall. Seeing the wall breached, Grizzleheart's spirits soared, and he commanded his subordinates to attack with a rousing voice.
The reinforcement force led by Kilix was a step too late. The two sides engaged in fierce combat inside the wall. At the top of the nearby altar, the Snow Leopard Loa, Hakkoa, watched the scene with piercing eyes.
At this moment, Grizzleheart was still unaware that his main camp was on the verge of internal revolt. He gazed greedily at the distant Hakkoa and curled his lip.
"Don't think you can escape my grasp. The power of Ursoc and Ursol will sooner or later be entirely mine!"
"Heh~ So even a salted fish can have dreams, after all?"
"Who?!"
The ethereal voice coming from nowhere caused Grizzleheart's expression to change instantly. He hadn't expected his quiet murmur to be overheard.
"I am right in front of you."
As the phantom-like ripples of water dissipated, Grizzleheart was horrified to find that the scenery before him had undergone a massive transformation.
The location hadn't changed—it was still the eastern wall, only inches away from Hakkoa's altar. The surrounding situation hadn't changed either; his direct units were still fighting the Drakkari Trolls with the help of the Shaman Legion.
But the Hakkoa he had seen previously had disappeared. In her place stood a smiling Night Elf.
"A pleasure to meet you, soon-to-be-retired Great Chief Grizzleheart."
This Night Elf, with gold-rimmed black eyes and a staff in hand, gave a mocking bow.
"I am Andreas Moonshadow. I am here on behalf of Ursoc to deliver the Great Bear Demigod's oracle to you."