The flight from Theramore to Feathermoon Stronghold covered a great distance. If only they could open a portal, they would save a tremendous amount of time.
But that was not an option.
Opening a portal required meeting several strict conditions, including precisely pinpointing the destination. Simply put, Jaina had no trouble opening a portal to Stormwind City. Theramore and Stormwind City maintained diplomatic relations, so there were naturally mages in Stormwind City who could coordinate with Jaina to establish the destination.
Even without a mage in Stormwind City to pinpoint the destination, it would not be much of a problem. Jaina had visited Stormwind City many times and could locate it herself. However, the resulting portal would be one-way rather than two-way. It could only send people from her side to the other, not bring people back from the far side.
But Jaina had never been to Feathermoon Stronghold, and there were no mages there either. That made opening a portal to Feathermoon Stronghold completely impossible for her.
Portal creation was an advanced transmutation spell, one of the nine schools of magic. Only those with extensive knowledge and powerful mana could master it. By comparison, Blink was much simpler. It teleported the caster a short distance away. The reason it was so easy to cast was that the destination could be pinpointed by sight-a single glance was enough.
Why did teleportation require pinpointing the destination?
Because if you merely made a rough estimate instead, you might be teleported into the sky, underground, or inside rock or flames, dying without even leaving a body to bury.
Teleportation carried risks. Use it with caution.
Flying by gryphon from Theramore to Feathermoon Stronghold took five full days, with several nights spent camping in the wilderness along the way.
Only Shawn and Jaina made