Sunwell Plateau

After thousands of years, the Forest Trolls now occupied only the southeastern lands of Southern Eversong Woods and parts of North Eversong Woods.

The Dawnblade Legion departed from Dalsom and headed east along the broad, level main road of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas. Continuing east, they arrived at an elven sanctuary built within a valley—the Sunwell Plateau.

The Pathfinder Camp was the Quel'Thalas Pathfinder forces' stronghold in Southern Eversong Woods. However, its location made it inconvenient for the Dawnblade Legion to reach from Dalsom, which was why the legion had come to the Sunwell Plateau instead.

Before they even reached the Sunwell Plateau, High Elf Rangers clad in neat blue leather armor emerged from the dense forests of Southern Eversong Woods.

"Prince Tyrel, I am King of Rangers Hoxbyr. By order of Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner, I have come to welcome the Dawnblade Legion and guide you to the Sun Temple, where you will be stationed." Rangers generally wore leather armor, as it did not hinder their mobility or agility. Yet this High Elf Ranger known as King of Rangers Hoxbyr wore a suit of chainmail, with two sharp longswords at his waist.

The Kingdom of Quel'Thalas had many Rangers, but the number of High Elf Rangers who had truly reached the level of Ranger Lord could be counted on one hand. Hoxbyr, who bore the title King of Rangers, was one such Ranger Lord.

To earn a title such as King of Rangers, Hoxbyr naturally possessed extraordinary qualities. His arrival to receive them was enough to prove Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner's regard for him, so Tyrel politely said, "Thank you for your trouble."

King of Rangers Hoxbyr knew Southern Eversong Woods like the back of his hand. He had traversed nearly every corner of it and possessed unmatched counter-surveillance abilities. With Hoxbyr guiding them, they could guard against Forest Troll scouts.

Before long, the Dawnblade Legion arrived at the Sunwell Plateau within the valley.

Strictly speaking, the Sunwell Plateau was not the territory of the Farstrider Rangers, because it was an Arcane Sanctum. The Legion of Magisters of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas was stationed here.

The Kingdom of Quel'Thalas used Arcane Magic to alter its climate and every blade of grass and tree within its lands. Maintaining such powerful magic naturally required places from which these large-scale spells could be cast.

The Eastern Sanctum and Western Sanctum in North Eversong Woods, along with the Sunwell Plateau and Moon Sanctum in Southern Eversong Woods, were precisely the Arcane Sanctums where the High Elves of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas cast large-scale magic.

After arriving at the Sun Temple, King of Rangers Hoxbyr stated that Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner had ordered him to obey Tyrel's commands and join the Dawnblade Legion. The same applied to the four thousand High Elf Ranger-Expeditionaries under his command.

The one thousand High Elf Magisters of the Legion of Magisters stationed at the Sunwell Plateau likewise declared that, by order of Sun King Anasterian Sunstrider, they would obey Little Prince Tyrel's commands and join the Dawnblade Legion.

Four thousand High Elf Ranger-Expeditionaries, plus one thousand High Elf Magisters from the Legion of Magisters—the protection offered by Sun King Anasterian and Ranger-General Sylvanas was unmistakable.

With these five thousand troops added to the Dawnblade Legion's original ten thousand High Elf Paladins, Tyrel now commanded fifteen thousand soldiers.

Tyrel reorganized the troops of the three different professions into:

Ten thousand Dawnblade Paladins, led by Mylah Dawnblade.

Four thousand Dawnblade Archers, led by King of Rangers Hoxbyr.

One thousand Dawnblade Magisters, led by Magister Dath'Remar Sunstrider.

A legion composed of a single profession had certain drawbacks. Though Paladins were said to be able to heal, fight, and withstand attacks, they lacked ranged combatants and powerful wide-area burst damage.

That was why Sun King Anasterian Sunstrider and Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner had arranged for Farstrider Rangers and Magisters to join the Dawnblade Legion, improving this situation.

The Sunwell Plateau would also become the Dawnblade Legion Paladins' new base beyond Dalsom, where they wielded the Holy Light of Sunstrider's Solar Power.

A base outside their own territory was the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas's finest recognition of and expectation for the Dawnblade Legion, much as the Rangers of the Pathfinder Legion had the Pathfinder Camp and Pathfinder Dwelling in Southern and North Eversong Woods respectively.

However, at its current scale, the Sunwell Plateau naturally could not accommodate the Dawnblade Legion, which had already grown to fifteen thousand men.

Fortunately, the valley containing the Sunwell Plateau had long been reshaped by the High Elf Magisters of the Legion of Magisters stationed there through powerful Arcane Magic. The valley's interior was exceptionally flat and open, making it highly suitable for expansion.

The High Elves of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas mainly used stone as building material. Unlike the stone structures of human kingdoms, however, they used magic to alter the properties and size of the stone.

Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner's orders had yet to arrive. Seizing the opportunity, Tyrel had the Dawnblade Legion expand the Sunwell Plateau, transforming the Arcane Sanctum into a large camp for the legion.

The High Elf Magisters who had originally belonged to the Legion of Magisters showed not the slightest displeasure. They used Arcane Magic to gather materials on the spot, extracting stone from the mountains and shaping it as needed. Magister Dath'Remar Sunstrider had even overseen the construction of Dalsom, the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas's second-largest city, so directing the expansion of a large camp came naturally to him.

After the High Elf Paladins set up their prepared tents to establish a temporary camp, they eagerly threw themselves into expanding the Sunwell Plateau, relying on their strong bodies to transport construction materials.

The Rangers did not remain idle either. King of Rangers Hoxbyr seemed to possess some knowledge of construction. Although the High Elf Rangers lacked the robust physiques of the High Elf Paladins, their enthusiasm was no less fervent. Drawing on their familiarity with Southern Eversong Woods, they went into the woodland to fell trees.

Although Southern Eversong Woods lay far from the Isle of Quel'Danas, where the Sunwell was located, the High Elves had long since learned to regulate The Arcane Weave over thousands of years, allowing the Sunwell's magic to flow into every region of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas.

With the aid of the Arcane, all manner of foundations appeared throughout the flat valley containing the Sunwell Plateau, then swiftly became building after building.

The convenience of the Arcane allowed the High Elves to build cities more than ten times faster than humans.

When Ranger Lord Lothmar Theron arrived at the Sunwell Plateau with Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner's orders, he too was astonished by the massive military fortress that had risen within the valley.

The former Sunwell Plateau had occupied less than one-tenth of the valley, but the new Sunwell Citadel now filled the entire valley, with sturdy walls erected beyond it as well.

By Ranger Lord Lothmar Theron's military judgment, the expanded Sunwell Citadel was more than capable of withstanding an attack by five times as many Forest Trolls.