Facing the encroaching Forest Trolls, the newly crowned King Dath'Remar did not panic. He had long been mentally prepared for the arrival of the Amani Trolls.
The recently established Silvermoon City was currently only the size of a rudimentary village, with almost no defensive fortifications to hold back an invasion.
To prevent the Amani Trolls from interfering with the construction of Silvermoon City, Dath'Remar decided to meet the enemy outside the nation's borders.
Just as Dath'Remar began mobilizing his forces, Andreas and Shandris suddenly received crucial news from Kalimdor.
Tyrande had concluded her reorganization of the Sisterhood of Elune and had officially returned to public life.
"Why does it have to be at a time like this..."
Andreas tapped his forehead in frustration. He had originally intended to help Dath'Remar repel the trolls in a personal capacity, thereby earning a massive favor from the High Elves.
Plans rarely keep up with changes. Andreas didn't believe that a mere two hundred years of seclusion would change Tyrande's personality. The return of the High Priestess would inevitably introduce uncertainty into the stable political landscape of Astranaar.
"You're leaving?"
Dath'Remar, wearing his crown, looked in surprise at the rueful smiles on the faces of Andreas and Shandris.
Dath'Remar was no fool. He knew that Andreas staying in the Eastern Continent to help the High Elves must involve some personal agenda, but the nascent Quel'Thalas truly needed external assistance at this moment.
As the Speaker of the High Council of the Night Elf Republic, Andreas's attitude represented a great deal. Dath'Remar didn't mind paying a price to maintain good relations with him.
"Yes," Andreas sighed. "The situation in Astranaar has changed. Our beloved High Priestess has returned, and I must rush back to oversee things. Who knows if she'll come up with some bizarre decree on a whim."
Among the four members of the High Council, the Speaker held the highest authority, while the remaining three Councilors possessed nearly equal powers.
When the Speaker was away and unable to return quickly, the Councilors would temporarily act in his stead. They could propose their own demands and political views, which would pass as long as they received the unanimous approval of the other two Councilors.
While Malfurion wouldn't obey Tyrande's every command, the two were long-time partners. No one could say for sure if the Archdruid would be swayed by Tyrande's pleas.
As for Maiev... Andreas never assumed she would follow his lead blindly.
The leader of the judicial system had her own personality and strong opinions. She would support what she believed was right and ruthlessly oppose what she thought was wrong, even if the proposal came from Tyrande, with whom she had long been at odds.
"Uh..."
Hearing Andreas' explanation, Dath'Remar understood the predicament he faced.
Though it was a pity to lose the help of Andreas and Shandris, he maintained his grace and saw them off.
This time, aside from the fleet crew, only Shandris and Celeste had accompanied Andreas to the Eastern Continent. Onyxia and Laetitia had remained in Kalimdor to help handle government affairs.
At this moment, Andreas was incredibly relieved by his decision.
Although Laetitia was clueless about politics, with Onyxia—the master strategist—guiding her from the sidelines, Tyrande shouldn't be able to cause any major upheavals in the short term.
Even in calm weather, traveling between the Eastern Continent and Kalimdor took at least half a year, let alone during the midsummer season when the seas were turbulent.
This time, Andreas did not have the teleportation runes provided by Saragosa. Even knowing the coordinates of Astranaar, Dath'Remar and the other High Elves dared not attempt a transcontinental teleportation lightly.
The difficulty of teleportation rose exponentially with distance. The distance between the Eastern Continent and Kalimdor was thousands of miles. Aside from the Blue Dragons who controlled the ley lines of Azeroth, no mortal could guarantee a safe crossing of the Great Sea, not even with a stopover at the Broken Isles.
In-game teleportation across the world was purely for gameplay reasons.
At the very least, until Dath'Remar and his people mapped the ley line structure of the Amani Forest, even with the infinite energy of the Sunwell, they couldn't guarantee they could safely send Andreas back to Kalimdor.
Before departing, Andreas looked at Celeste , who had a conflicted expression. "Dath'Remar, how about letting Celeste..."
"No."
Before Andreas could finish, Dath'Remar interrupted him. "Let Celeste continue to follow you."
"As you can see, Quel'Thalas faces a crisis of annihilation just as it is born. For the sake of..."
"Yes, yes, yes~"
Andreas rolled his eyes and deadpanned, "For the sake of the Sunstrider lineage, you can't let Celeste stay and fight to the death with you in the Eastern Continent?"
"Please, can you find a new excuse? Using the same one over and over is getting old..."
"Heh~" Dath'Remar, the old rogue, smiled meaningfully. "As long as you understand. In any case, Celeste should return to Kalimdor with you."
"In the future, if we can establish a stable transcontinental portal, the child can come back to visit us often."
Celeste let out a soft sigh of relief, though her expression remained torn.
She was reluctant to leave either side. She was caught in the middle, and considering the limited lifespan of the High Elves...
Seeing Celeste's face suddenly darken, Dath'Remar gently stroked her brilliant blonde hair.
"Don't be so gloomy. Immortality isn't necessarily a good thing."
"Only after losing immortality did I truly begin to feel the preciousness of life."
"It urges us to strive as hard as possible within our limited time, giving the slow-paced High Elves more motivation to move forward."
Dath'Remar lamented, "During these 200 years of living with Humans, we have witnessed the unyielding will of this short-lived race. From a certain perspective, Humans, with only a century of life, find it easier to live a more brilliant life than us."
"Go on."
Pushing Celeste's back gently, Dath'Remar said with satisfaction, "Your growth has far exceeded my expectations. If I hadn't already decided on a successor, perhaps you would be more suited to inherit the throne than Danas."
Danas complained with a pained expression, "Father, could you not be so blunt..."
"Haha!"
Dath'Remar laughed joyfully. "Don't look so miserable, you are the Prince of Quel'Thalas."
Wearing a long-absent mischievous expression, Dath'Remar joked, "As compensation, I intend to name the large island where the Sunwell is located after you. It shall be called... Quel'Danas."
...
In the midsummer, the storms on the Great Sea were fierce. Although the Druids aboard did their best to calm the weather around the fleet, they could only ensure the ships weren't submerged or destroyed by the tempest.
The majesty of nature was not something mortals could easily overturn. To avoid the main path of the storm cells, the fleet had to take a much longer detour at sea.
Under the protection of the Druids, the deck of the flagship was shielded from the torrential rain. Andreas stood at the bow, staring silently at the horizon where the massive waves met the somber sky.
"Andreas."
Shandris suddenly came up from the lower deck, her expression looking somewhat solemn.
"What is it?"
"An unexpected situation."
Shandris rubbed her temples and said, "To avoid the storm cells, we have deviated from our planned course. I'm afraid we won't be able to reach the Broken Isles for resupply and rest."
Knowing his girlfriend well, Andreas knew she had more to say.
"And?"
"The good news is, we've discovered a large island to the south that has never been recorded. The captain wants to know if we should risk docking."
"A large island? South of the Broken Isles?"
Andreas raised an eyebrow. It couldn't be that place, could it...