The birth of his daughter made Andreas even more focused. Even if only for the sake of his precious daughter's future, he was determined to carve out a path of light for her in this world full of hidden perils.
Aurora's birth seemed to have provoked Tyrande somewhat. Recently, the duration of Malfurion's entries into the Emerald Dream had been forcibly and significantly shortened. When he woke up in the evenings, he often looked sleep-deprived, yawning incessantly.
From the moment she was born, little Aurora lived in an environment where everyone treated her like a princess, with many in the household revolving their lives around this tiny new life.
Due to her clumsy nature, Leticia was strictly stripped of her right to hold the baby by Andreas after she nearly dropped little Aurora on the floor once.
Perhaps Celeste had realized something from Aurora's birth and her father's death; she now appeared much more cheerful than before.
Although she still had occasional bouts of airheadedness and remained as mercilessly clueless as ever, the occasional loneliness and melancholy that used to haunt her expression had gradually vanished.
To make up for her year of absence, Shandris returned to the Sentinel forces with thunderous efficiency after her adjutant, Summer Moon, followed suit by taking maternity leave.
The daily lives of Shandris and Andreas returned to their normal tracks, with the difference being a newfound sense of responsibility and a tiny "little pistachio" of joy in their home.
...
Peaceful times passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, more than two thousand years had gone by.
Aurora grew into an adult under the care and guidance of her parents and numerous aunts and uncles.
Unlike her parents, this child was not interested in important racial issues such as politics or the military. Since childhood, she had been passionate about various artistic creations and technological innovations, following a typically civilian path.
It was now around 4600 years before the opening of the Dark Portal. The previous two thousand years had passed exceptionally quietly.
Aside from experience in parenting, Andreas had almost nothing noteworthy to mention about those years.
No alarms came from the borders of the Night Elf Republic across the world. While slight friction with other races was inevitable, none were large enough to disturb the High Council.
Andreas had long since completed the transformation and upgrading of the domestic industrial chain. Now, most repetitive and boring low-end tasks were performed by automated Arcane equipment.
The surplus craftsmen continued to pursue high-end customization with excellence. With the progress of magi-tech, the citizens no longer had to worry about basic necessities like food, clothing, housing, or transportation; they began to pursue a higher quality of life.
Uniform mass-produced goods could no longer satisfy them, and the precision products of high-end artisans never lacked for buyers.
By now, most areas of the Kalimdor continent had fallen under the control of the Night Elves. Even where they did not directly settle, Sentinels were arranged to monitor the regions.
This included Thousand Needles, the Barrens, and the nearly barren red land next door.
The insects of Silithus still showed no intention of expansion. They stayed honestly in the desert, seemingly uninterested in outward aggression.
However, the high-level Night Elves never relaxed their monitoring of Silithus. A hidden outpost was built at the junction of Un'Goro Crater and the Silithus desert.
The Druids of the Cenarion Circle, besides studying the ecological environment of the Crater, also bore the heavy responsibility of monitoring Silithus.
Whether it was truly fate or not, the leader of this Cenarion team was none other than Fandral's son, Valstann.
After more than 2,000 years of peace, certain individuals who had been enduring in silence finally could no longer restrain the evil thoughts brewing in their hearts and began to extend their claws.
...
In the city of Shandaral, the old mayor Roddick had long since moved with his original group of officials to the vicinity of Nordrassil to receive the nourishment of the World Tree.
This was his first time returning to this northern city after two thousand years. While revisiting his old haunts, Roddick discovered something abnormal on the northern border of Shandaral's Moonsong Forest.
"A strange mineral vein?"
"Yes."
Roddick's beard and hair remained snow-white. His life form had been stabilized by Nordrassil's blessing; as long as he did not stay away from the World Tree's range for long, he would not continue to age.
Leading Andreas and others toward the northern part of Moonsong Forest near the Storm Peaks, the group discovered a strange metallic vein amidst the rugged, snowy cliffs.
'This is...'
Andreas's pupils shrank suddenly when he saw this eerie green ore.
Although he had experienced a long period of peace, Andreas had never forgotten the threats lurking in the shadows of Azeroth.
"This is it."
Roddick put on special enchanted gloves and squatted down, chipping off some samples from this small piece of ore.
Aurora, who had followed her father to see the excitement, enchanted her own hands and solemnly took the ore from Roddick to inspect it closely.
Roddick said gravely, "I've studied it. This ore absorbs the life force of all nearby plants and animals. Although the process is slow, in the long run, it will become an issue that cannot be ignored."
Aurora looked over the ore sample in her hand, her brow furrowed. "Father, these ores are very strange. They don't look like inanimate objects at all. It's almost as if..."
"As if they have a life of their own, right?"
"Yes..."
Andreas let out a long, heavy sigh. 'So it finally begins.'
Because of the Sundering over 5,000 years ago, the prisons where the Titanic Watchers had confined the Old Gods had loosened to varying degrees. The most serious case was Yogg-Saron, the Beast of a Thousand Maws, imprisoned near the Forge of Wills.
With the help of traitors on the inside, Yogg-Saron's jailbreak attempts were becoming increasingly overt. These ores growing out of the earth were proof of that.
Saronite—this eerie ore growing on the Northrend continent was, in a sense, the eyes and ears of Yogg-Saron monitoring the world.
If a way to deal with these wildly expanding ores could not be found, Yogg-Saron would eventually spread his tentacles across the entire northern continent.
There was indeed a ready-made solution, but it was not a perfect one and would inevitably lead to some hidden dangers.
'What a headache...'
Andreas rubbed his brow. The dilemma made it impossible for him to decide for a moment.
Andreas had prepared for this long ago; years ago, he had instructed Fandral to conduct in-depth research on the planting of World Trees.
Now, Fandral and his direct subordinates were confident they could plant a World Tree while avoiding Yogg-Saron's prison. The problem lay in the series of chain reactions that would follow the planting.
After a moment of silence, Andreas said to his daughter, "Aurora, go to the Emerald Dream and convey my words to Lady Ysera."
"The Old Gods are starting to stir. Their tentacles have begun to reach out from the ground. I wish to immediately convene the Dragon Aspects to discuss countermeasures."
"I got it~"