Once Tyrande had left the Hall of Government in a huff, Leticia immediately made a face at her retreating back.
"Blehh~ That's what you get for being so mean. You lost this round!"
Andreas, annoyed, gave the girl a light rap on the head. "What are you so proud of? The current Tyrande is much harder to deal with than before. If you tried to play political games with her alone, you'd be crushed into the dirt."
"If it weren't for Onyxia helping you behind the scenes, do you really think you could have held out until I returned?"
Leticia scurried over to Shandris' side with a wronged expression, rubbing her head. She knew that outside of training, Shandris doted on her quite a bit.
Sure enough, Shandris shot Andreas a reproachful look. "That's enough. Even with the Black Dragon Princess' help, Leticia has worked hard enough over these past six months. Stop scolding her."
Andreas rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "No wonder they say 'a doting mother spoils the child'..."
"Hmm?!"
"No, I didn't say anything."
Fandral finally let out a sigh of relief after Tyrande's departure. He looked at Andreas with a wry smile. "You still have your ways. You refuted all her doubts with a mix of deflection and counterattacks, and even forced her to swallow a bitter pill in silence."
Andreas laughed and said, "It was just going with the flow. In reality, during the 200 years Tyrande was in seclusion, the Darkmoon Shadows have earned quite a reputation among the people. Even as High Priestess, she couldn't simply dismiss the achievements of the priests."
"However..."
Andreas leaned his face against one hand on the desk, speaking with a faint smile, "I admit Tyrande has grown quite a bit. I saw many Priestesses of the Moon active in the city when I returned. That woman must have realized the Sisterhood's position is no longer stable."
"Heh~"
Maiev, who had been looking down at documents, let out a rare light chuckle. "No matter how much she grows, she won't be able to stir up much trouble in front of you. That puts my mind at ease."
Maiev's relationship with Tyrande was indeed poor, but before the Great Sundering, Maiev was a person who clearly distinguished between public and private matters. She wouldn't bring her personal dislike of Tyrande into her work.
If Tyrande could convince her with a reasonable argument, Maiev would follow protocol, however reluctant she might feel.
Setting aside her documents, Maiev suddenly asked the question that had been on the minds of Fandral, Leticia, and the others.
"Andreas, as far as I know, you aren't the type of person to be late without reason. Did some accident occur during your journey to the Eastern Continent?"
Hearing this, Leticia immediately perked up. She playfully shook Shandris' hand, trying to get her to give a "spoiler."
Seeing that everyone present was practically wearing their curiosity on their faces, Andreas shook his head in amusement. "This is the Hall of Government; it's not convenient to discuss private matters here. Let's change locations first."
...
"Zandalar Isle?"
In the lounge of the Great Temple of the Moon, Maiev frowned after hearing Andreas' account. "I didn't expect you to stumble upon the trolls' home base by accident..."
Leticia hung excitedly on Shandris' back, asking repeatedly, "What does that Loa named Pa'ku look like? What about Rezan? What does 'Loa of Kings' mean?"
Shandris smiled wryly as she pushed the overly excited Leticia away. "How can I answer so many questions at once? One at a time."
While the women gathered together to chirp about the aesthetics of the Loa, Fandral's focus was elsewhere.
"Rezan took the initiative to show goodwill to you? For what reason?"
"I don't know."
Andreas shrugged. "I could tell that Rezan is not as manic as his devilsaur appearance suggests. He possesses a very wise soul."
"Perhaps he saw the future hidden dangers of Zandalar through the blood trolls of Nazmir, or maybe he simply wants to ease the tension between trolls and night elves in the currently changing global situation."
"In any case, the status of Rezan, the Loa of Kings, is even higher than that of the current Zandalari God-King and the Prophet. It is good news that he reached out to us. We'll just have to wait and see how things develop."
...
After Andreas returned to Astranaar to take charge, the political situation, which had been stirring with undercurrents, returned to stability.
Tyrande would still find trouble for him from time to time, but most issues were resolved effortlessly by him on the spot.
Tyrande, whose temper had mellowed significantly, didn't resort to unreasonable pestering. If she failed this time, she would simply prepare for the next. She knew herself that it was nearly impossible to topple Andreas, whose prestige in Astranaar was becoming more eminent by the day.
A few months later, victory reports arrived from the Eastern Continent. The Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, under the leadership of Dath'Remar and other royalty and high nobles fighting on the front lines, had finally repelled the fierce offensive of the Amani trolls.
With the support of the Sunwell, the High Elves fully unleashed their powerful firepower.
When Chieftain Mandolin of the Amani first saw the High Elves, he was disdainful. These elves looked far weaker than the night elves recorded on historical stone tablets. They weren't even two meters tall, much shorter than trolls.
But once they actually engaged in combat, Chieftain Mandolin immediately understood the humiliating history left by his ancestors fighting the Night Elf Empire.
These pink-skinned shorty spellcasters were far too ruthless. The Amani trolls, who had underestimated their enemy, were met with a head-on blow.
Raging fires ignited large swathes of the forest. The forest trolls, surrounded by flames, had never encountered such a scene. The sight of countless charred corpses of their kin crushed their psychological defenses.
After thousands of years of peace, the Amani trolls had long since lost the courage their ancestors had when they used sheer numbers to overwhelm Kixi'x. They fled in panic under the fierce magical attacks of the High Elves; even Chieftain Mandolin met a tragic end amidst the chaotic retreat.
The Chieftain's death plunged the Amani Empire into chaos. Prophet Zul'aman (Kamal) stepped forward to calm the restless warlords and firmly supported Mandolin's heir to succeed him.
However, the heir left by Mandolin was still young and green. Even with the Prophet's full support, it was difficult to suppress the entire tribe. With a weak ruler and powerful subordinates, the discord among the clans of the Amani Empire began to show.
Defeating the powerful forest trolls brought confidence to the newly founded Quel'Thalas. Seeing the vibrant smiles on his people's faces, Dath'Remar finally smiled with relief.
After this battle, the Amani trolls fell silent for the time being, and Quel'Thalas officially established a firm foothold in the Amani Forest.
Discarding the name the trolls had given the forest, Dath'Remar renamed the forest they lived in as Eversong Woods, signifying that this forest would forever be filled with laughter and song.
With the wandering journey over, Sunstrider Dath'Remar could finally rest in peace. But once he relaxed, he realized that his body was already overburdened.
When Andreas and the others received news of Dath'Remar's critical illness, Celeste, who had been flushed with excitement over Quel'Thalas' victory, suddenly turned deathly pale.
Andreas sighed. He had guessed this day would come sooner or later when he saw Dath'Remar's utterly haggard state last time.
"Ony, I'll have the Arcanists send you to Northrend. Go to Wyrmrest Temple as quickly as possible and invite Arygos. We need his help to open a long-range portal directly to Eversong Woods."