History would come to call this day Windrunner's Cleansing Day. On this day, aside from the blasphemers doomed to die and the nobles who had tried to possess the Windrunner Sisters, every noble and faction that had disagreed politically with the Windrunner Family or the Ranger Corps, or treated them poorly, was arrested and escorted to the small grove where the God of Magic had descended.
What happened next terrified all of Quel'Thalas out of their wits. Green flames burst from the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of several thousand people at once. Their bodies were instantly consumed by blazing fire, turning them into blackened lumps of charcoal. The corpses were magically preserved, and these charred remains would stay forever in the clearing of that Arcane Crystallized grove. There was only one survivor: Sun King Anasterian. He knelt on the ground in utter terror, trembling like a leaf, no longer daring to look at the terrifying Divine Eye in the sky.
Sylvanas, who had carried out all of this, was privately called Bloody and Ruthless Little Windrunner by the High Elves. Everyone now clearly understood that the second daughter of the Windrunner family was countless times more decisive and ruthless than her elder sister Alleria.
What was more... she had the support of the God of Magic behind her. Rumors began spreading wildly that Sylvanas was a Chosen of the Gods beloved by the deity, an Emissary of Will sent to punish the High Elves.
A few days later, Quel'Thalas announced that it was reopening its borders, making its previous isolationist policy into a joke. Soon afterward, however, the entire world learned through various channels that the nobles of the Silvermoon Council had attempted to forcibly take Alleria, the woman Divine Emissary Hu Feng had chosen for himself. Hu Feng had therefore settled both old and new scores together, including Quel'Thalas's earlier open defiance of the Night Elves, by lodging a complaint with the gods.
It was widely acknowledged that the legendary Divine Emissary Hu Feng was deeply valued and supported by the God of Magic. Thus, what followed was no surprise: the God of Magic had become enraged, lifted the suppression of Mana Addiction, and personally descended upon Eversong Woods. Sylvanas became the agent of divine will, and with a sweep of her hand, arrests were made and executions carried out, delivering the Sunstrider Royal Court a resounding slap across the face.
And so, Quel'Thalas rejoined the world... Everyone knew that in this spat between the High Elves and their former overlords, the Night Elves, the High Elves had lost so badly they had been dragged into the sewers. The deity backing the Night Elves had given the High Elves a brutal beating and made them understand who was really in charge.
As the losers, they naturally had to pay a price. Before long, a Surveillance Fortress appeared on the border of Quel'Thalas. A Night Elf Ranger Corps unit and a Highborne Mage Corps would be stationed there, watching the High Elves' every move and preventing them from getting hotheaded and doing something stupid again.
The Seven Human Kingdoms were also rather speechless about this. The High Elves had originally been an independent nation. After all this turmoil, they had become a highly autonomous feudal territory of the Night Elves, constantly watched by military forces.
Yet Quel'Thalas itself was unexpectedly calm. The influence of the Silvermoon Rangers had surged overnight, but they were still fellow elves and did not pursue matters to the bitter end. Combined with the elves' natural temperament, Sylvanas had not gone too far. The current Silvermoon Council was entirely composed of New Aristocrats who were friendly toward the rangers or fair and impartial, and they got along quite well with the rangers.
To put it plainly, the Ranger Corps itself did not ask for much. They were utterly loyal to Quel'Thalas and only wanted to dutifully defend and patrol the borders. As long as there were no political schemes or various logistical obstacles, they were already more than satisfied.
Sun King Anasterian had also come to his senses somewhat. Much of the arrogant pride of the young king had been ground away overnight by the God of Magic. Furthermore, the rangers had shown him considerable respect and understood how to handle things. They had not pinned the filth of the Old Silvermoon Council on him and still served him with unwavering loyalty.
Therefore, after Anasterian privately apologized to Alleria and Sylvanas, the conflict gradually eased. There had never been any deep-seated hatred between them. The former council had merely exploited Anasterian's youthful pride and immaturity for its own gain. Now that the Old Silvermoon Council had been completely eradicated, Anasterian was not someone so narrow-minded that he could not let things go. Once he lowered his head, everything returned to normal.
Thus ended this arm-wrestling match between elves. Both sides tacitly remained silent about Windrunner's Cleansing Day, and the Eastern Kingdoms also settled down for quite some time after the upheaval caused by this matter.
Kalimdor Continent, Suramar City.
A grand yet ordinary banquet was being held in Court of Stars within the city. The Highborne loved banquets and were hopelessly addicted to them.
It was indeed grand. The garden walls were draped with translucent white veils woven from Crystal Silk, decorated with countless Glimmering Magic Gems. Even the plants in the garden had given everything for the banquet: Arcane Crystallized Plants emitted a hazy purple glow, while waves of enchanting fragrance filled the air.
The maidservants were dressed provocatively, perfectly displaying elven curves. Carrying silver trays, they moved through the garden, and every kind of wine on the trays was served in goblets made from Magic Crystals.
Yet it was also ordinary, because the Highborne held banquets like this at least three times a week. They found all sorts of strange excuses for them: celebrating the Suramar City library's collection surpassing five hundred thousand books, celebrating Lady Elisande's Arcane Barrage expanding by another ten centimeters, celebrating the Night Elves' precious World Tree growing dozens of meters taller... Who knew how they had concluded that the World Tree had grown again!
This time was no exception. The High Elves had admitted defeat, so of course it called for a banquet!
Moon Priestess Tyrande sat on a bench in the garden with a cup of fruit wine, her face full of helplessness. Of the three Night Elf leaders, she was dragged to attend these miserable banquets every single time. But then again, who told her to look like she had the most free time...
Her husband Malfurion slept all day and ignored affairs, while Garrond Shadowsong spent all year traveling throughout Night Elf territory and rarely returned to Darnassus. Only she remained stationed at the World Tree year-round, so the Highborne always invited her to every banquet.
"Hey, Lady Tyrande, why aren't you joining the fun in the middle of the garden? Why are you sitting here all by yourself?"
Elisande approached slowly, holding a cup of fruit wine as well.
Tyrande shrugged. "If there were fewer banquets, I think I would be quite interested in attending them. By the Moon Goddess, your Highborne traditions are too terrifying."
Elisande sat down beside Tyrande and laughed softly at her words. "You misunderstand us, Priestess. We Highborne have only loved banquets... since the gods saved us."
"Oh? Why is that?"
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