Troll War and Banquet

Time passed little by little.

On the Eastern Kingdoms, the primitive race known as humans rose step by step. Thoradin, lord of Stromgarde, led his armies to sweep aside every human tribe and unite them beneath Stromgarde's banner. A vast empire was born.

The Arathor Empire was the first and most powerful empire in human history. Under Emperor Thoradin's rule, it flourished.

Both the Night Elves and the High Elves received the news. The High Elves learned of it because their kingdom of Quel'Thalas was very close to the Arathor Human Empire, and the Sunstrider Family received word immediately.

The Night Elves were somewhat slower. Ever since that High Elf adventurer had left, Hu Feng had ordered many elite rangers to cross the sea to the Eastern Kingdoms with Scrolls of Recall, Disposable Hearthstones, and spread out to serve as eyes and ears.

After receiving the news, the Arathor Empire's elven rangers used their scrolls to teleport back to Darnassus and informed Moon Priestess Tyrande.

It was worth mentioning that the Night Elves' internal affairs were now entirely handled by Tyrande. Her beloved husband, the Archdruid Malfurion, had once again entered slumber and gone off to happily play in the Emerald Dream. However, with the help of Highborne advisers, Tyrande, who had been somewhat inexperienced in handling domestic affairs, rapidly matured and gradually became an outstanding leader.

Unlike in the original history, the Night Elves had Divine Emissary Hu Feng involved. The entire race had become somewhat aggressive in its conduct, building fortresses and walls on a massive scale to secure its territory, while sending large numbers of rangers and scouts to explore the world. They were no longer content to hole up beneath the World Tree until the end of time as they had been in the original history.

Although the Night Elves across the ocean were interested in the Arathor Empire's powerful rise, it went no further than that. Victory in the War of the Ancients, the favor of the God of Magic, and the eternal blessings of the Four Great Dragons had given the Night Elves a sense of superiority. Deep down, they did not consider the mortal race of humans much of a threat.

However, something that happened afterward made the Night Elves decide to interfere: their former kin, the exiles who called themselves High Elves, had their nation of Quel'Thalas under a full-scale assault by the Amani Trolls.

Although the once-enormous Troll Empire had long since fragmented, the remaining troll tribes still possessed considerable strength. The war between the trolls and the High Elves had lasted for a long time, and the High Elves were now suffering defeat after defeat. Thus, they began seeking the aid of the human Arathor Empire.

Emperor Thoradin declared that he was willing to send troops and ally with the High Elves, but his condition was that they had to dispatch a group of mages to discover and teach talented human children, allowing them to become mages as well.

After some consideration, the High Elves agreed. Humans had short lifespans and no prior magical culture. Allowing them to embrace the power of magic would not pose much of a threat to the elves.

However, they soon learned that their Night Elf kin on another continent had somehow gotten wind of the matter and decided to join in as well. The High Elves were greatly surprised. They knew full well what their own kin were like—since when had they become so meddlesome?

Stromgarde, capital of the Arathor Empire.

At a grand welcoming banquet, one hundred High Elf mages met their former kin: one hundred Highborne mages, or rather, fifty Highborne and fifty Nightborne.

The High Elves were truly shocked. They had assumed that the Highborne would gradually decline under mainstream opinion before turning to druidism. Yet, looking at these fifty Nightborne, it was obvious that they had fully accepted Arcane Magic's transformation and become magical symbiotes. Such a thing was unimaginable even in Quel'Thalas.

But they soon found the answer. A young man in black robes was conversing merrily with Emperor Thoradin. Behind him floated a massive runic disc, while two blazing Arcane flames were set into his shoulder armor. The incomparably proud Emperor Thoradin was unexpectedly being exceptionally respectful, smiling obsequiously like a minister speaking before an emperor.

When they saw the gorgeous Artifact Staff in the young man's hand—two meters long, with a huge Rune Crystal set at its peak, four smaller crystals rotating around it, and an Eye of Magic floating above the crystal as it radiated immense power—the High Elves immediately knew his identity: Hu Feng, Divine Emissary of the God of Magic!

The High Elves instantly became excited. This man was the idol of all elves!

During the War of the Ancients, he had first saved Suramar City, then faced the Dark Titan head-on. They had chosen self-exile and thought they would never see the Divine Emissary again, yet here he was!

Emperor Thoradin was beside himself with joy. He had never imagined that merely joining forces with the High Elves would draw out those shut-in Night Elves and the Divine Emissary of the God of Magic! Emperor Thoradin had studied the War of the Ancients from countless ancient texts and records thousands of times. Though immensely proud, he still knew his place before the Divine Emissary of a Titan God.

The atmosphere at the banquet immediately grew heated. The Highborne had never disliked the High Elves, who had once been part of their own people. The Sunstrider Family had once been noble Highborne rulers, so they gathered in small groups and began chatting.

At some point, Hu Feng finished speaking with Emperor Thoradin. He rose to stand on the platform and cleared his throat. Everyone in the banquet hall immediately fell silent, waiting for him to speak.

"I am very pleased to see my former kin. Ever since you left, the God of Magic has continued to watch over you. Your perseverance and your present prosperity fill me with incomparable admiration."

Hu Feng bowed toward the crowd below, and the High Elves immediately erupted into cheers. Some of the more emotional ones even burst into tears. "Therefore, God saw your plight. Therefore, God bestowed an oracle. Therefore, I came. The Council of Truth and I crossed the Endless Sea to aid you, fellow believers of the God of Magic."

Hu Feng paused slightly, smiling at the High Elves below, who looked as though they had been injected with adrenaline. "Of course, I have also seen the resilient and powerful race of humans, as well as their desire for magic. Therefore, I command all elves to begin selecting human mages tomorrow. They will then study in Suramar City, the sacred land of magic. When the time is right, we will launch a full assault on those barbaric Amani Trolls, raze their cities, and kill every last one of them!"

Just then, Hu Feng raised the Artifact Staff in his hand. The Eye of Magic at its tip released a beam of light straight into the sky. The banquet hall's roof began to crumble, slowly breaking into countless fragments before vanishing within a storm of Arcane energy.

Yet no one cared that Hu Feng had destroyed the palace roof. Everyone stared blankly up at the sky, while Emperor Thoradin was especially dumbfounded.

An enormous floating city, so vast that its edge could not be seen at a glance, was slowly appearing overhead. Purple Arcane radiance shrouded the city, and countless sharp, soaring Mage Towers within it shone with all manner of light. The holy city of magic, Suramar, had crossed immense distances through space and magically blinked into the skies above Stromgarde.

Beams of energy shot down from the city onto the floor of the open-air banquet hall. When the energy faded, a large group of Highborne appeared in place. At their head, Archmage Elisande gave Hu Feng a charming smile. Emperor Thoradin was now too shocked to speak, his heart burning with passion. These were the ancient race, the Night Elves, God's favored children!

This was the power of magic!

He felt the enormous gap between humans and elves, but quickly calmed himself. Humans would soon possess such power as well! The God of Magic would also favor the human race!

However, Hu Feng's body was trembling slightly as well. Using himself as a teleportation beacon, the magical synchronization required for the enormous Suramar City was an astronomical figure. Even a Titan Incarnation like Hu Feng felt as though his body had been drained after accomplishing it. He should probably engage in this sort of showboating less often.

Because the World of Azeroth was rather special, the Titans of the Pantheon had joined forces before leaving to create a Firewall. The more powerful a being was, the more difficult it became for it to descend upon or teleport to Azeroth, unless it was willing to relinquish most of its power and arrive in a mortal body or an extremely weakened state.

For example, the Dark Titan Sargeras was unwilling to give up his power but insisted on descending upon this world. Therefore, he could only gather a group of Azeroth's natives to build an almost miraculous portal, slowly cracking or bypassing the Firewall in order to descend.

But the process was long and fragile. Victory in the War of the Ancients had come from exploiting that weakness.

Hu Feng's situation was somewhat special. His subtle influence upon Azeroth over the years had caused the World of Azeroth to recognize him as an absolute ally, one of its own.

But rules could not be broken, so Hu Feng could only come to Azeroth through a mortal incarnation. However, connections made things easier, and Azeroth opened a back door for him. He could remain constantly connected to the Titan Core being nurtured within the planet of Sarodal. This gave Hu Feng a channel of limitless capacity, rapidly restoring his incarnation's spirit, mana, and even vitality at all times. If Hu Feng were unfortunate enough to die, the divine consciousness contained within this mortal incarnation would automatically return to the Titan Core. Of course, condensing another mortal body as perfect as this one would require enormous effort.

The banquet continued. The missing roof somehow seemed more romantic in everyone's eyes, though most people kept glancing up at the City of Magic quietly floating in the sky, marveling at the splendor of the arcane.

A large group of High Elves surrounded Elisande, chattering and questioning her without pause. Before the War of the Ancients, Elisande had been Suramar City's chief Archmage. This genius girl discovered by the Sunstrider Family had managed Suramar, the Highborne stronghold, ever since Dath'Remar Sunstrider went to serve in the capital, Eldarath, until Hu Feng's arrival.

However, the subject had nothing to do with politics or magic. The High Elves were far more interested in gossiping about the "affair" between the Divine Emissary and Elisande, as well as the mysterious Titan Realm.

Under Elisande's description, a paradise-like magical divine realm took shape in the High Elves' minds. They were thrilled, yet also deeply despondent. After death, they could not enter the divine realm of the God of Magic because they had not received God's blessing. Furthermore, the source of their power was the Sunwell, rather than the Netherweave Circuit that connected directly to the divine realm of the God of Magic.