Zul'ra's Advancing Trial

Regarding the matter of the King of Beasts G'hnir refusing to accept any more followers, Zul'ra questioned the devout Kurtaki in great detail. Some of his inquiries even caused the devotee a degree of annoyance, but Zul'ra had no choice but to press on, for this was his trial.

Although the task from Rastakhan had been handed down in an offhand manner, it had been made clear from the start that while he studied in Zandalar, if he failed to complete this trial, the consequences—though never explicitly stated—would likely be, at the very least, imprisonment within Zandalar.

To be honest, during his time living in Zandalar, Zul'ra did not mind the prospect of living out his days here without a care in the world. However, if he were to be sent to the sacrificial altar or demoted to a pariah because he failed the trial, that would be the ultimate tragedy.

To prevent such a tragedy, Zul'ra could only strive to complete the trial and uncover the reason why G'hnir was rejecting followers. In truth, the best way to solve this problem would be to find G'hnir and ask him directly, but unfortunately, this great god had wandered off to parts unknown.

The movements of the Loa are unpredictable. Since he could not find G'hnir, he had no choice but to start with his believers. Zul'ra suspected that some troll had likely committed an act of blasphemy, much like the magistrate of Fengxian Prefecture who offended the Jade Emperor in Journey to the West.

The King of Beasts might be acting just like the Jade Emperor, who left Fengxian Prefecture without rain for three years, acting haughty and ignoring his followers, waiting for them to come and beg for answers so he could then send his devotee to punish the blasphemer.

Following this line of reasoning, Zul'ra asked Kurtaki about the situation of G'hnir's followers in various regions. G'hnir's believers were spread throughout Zandalar and even reached as far as the Tanaris desert on the continent of Kalimdor. Fortunately, the devout Kurtaki had already traveled to these places, so Zul'ra did not need to cross the sea himself.

From Kurtaki, Zul'ra learned that the troll believers in various places had not behaved improperly. At the same time, Kurtaki dismissed his hypothesis; if there were a blasphemer, G'hnir would not be quietly rejecting followers, but would instead be flying into a rage and issuing an oracle demanding the severe punishment of the offender.

Though his idea was rejected by Kurtaki, Zul'ra was not angry. Instead, he discussed the situation with him in detail. As the discussion deepened, he discovered something unexpected: the followers Kurtaki had visited seemed to be exclusively trolls.

"Kurtaki, does the King of Beasts have any non-troll followers?" Once the question occurred to him, Zul'ra immediately asked the Zandalari Trolls devotee.

"Non-troll followers!" Kurtaki was slightly stunned by the question.

"Yes. I noticed that you have visited many followers of the King of Beasts, but it seems these followers are all our kin. Have you ever thought about investigating the situation among followers of other races?" Zul'ra nodded and said.

One must know that Loa is a general term; any creature that transcends death can be called a Loa. Therefore, the races of Loa followers are very diverse and not limited to trolls. Some demigods even have descendants of a certain race who worship them as ancestors.

"I have not considered the problem you mentioned, but perhaps we can start from there." Listening to these words, Kurtaki pondered carefully for a moment, then raised his already glowing eyes in agreement.

"Not bad. Perhaps we can start with Zandalar. Kurtaki, perhaps you could first accompany me to ask the Tortollan near Port of Rastali." Hearing Kurtaki's words, Zul'ra nodded and offered his suggestion.

"What?" Kurtaki looked up at Zul'ra. He wanted him to go to the Tortollan to inquire as well?

"What's wrong? Don't you want to personally follow in the footsteps of G'hnir?" Zul'ra looked at the astonished Kurtaki and blinked his eyes.

"Of course, I will certainly set foot on the path to follow the King of Beasts." Hearing Zul'ra's words, Kurtaki nodded in agreement out of his pious faith.

"That couldn't be better." Zul'ra looked at Kurtaki, who had nodded to confirm he would lead the way, and smiled on the surface, while inwardly sneering: Don't think you're going to sit there and order me around like a master.

Kurtaki did indeed intend to have Zul'ra run the errands while he sat back and waited for news, but he was blocked by Zul'ra's words. Out of religious piety, he had no choice but to go with Zul'ra to the Tortollan camp at Port of Rastali to make inquiries.

Zul'ra had his own deep reasons for dragging Kurtaki along. Besides being annoyed that he was waiting for news like a lord, he also wanted to borrow his influence. As a scholar-priest of Zandalar, he could mobilize Zandalari soldiers and commoners to help achieve his goals.

Zandalari society is a caste system; the lower castes must obey the higher castes, and the higher castes are permitted more adornments. Relying on the Golden Bracers on his arms and the skulls on his war-skirt, Kurtaki quickly had a commoner inquire about the situation from the Tortollan.

The Tortollan are another race of inhabitants on Zandalar island. As their name suggests, they have large, spiky turtle shells, bird-like beaks, and terrifying keratinous layers on their hands, feet, and heads. Their overall appearance is like that of a bipedal alligator snapping turtle.

On Zandalar island, races other than trolls are generally not safe, but the Zandalari Trolls accepted the Tortollan as neighbors. Aside from the fact that they wandered about and caused no trouble, they also had thick shells and were followers of the turtle god Torga.

Through some intermediaries, Kurtaki successfully obtained information from the Tortollan: on Darkwood Beach, located to the northeast of the Vol'dun desert on Zandalar island, there was indeed a village of Tortollan who worshipped the King of Beasts, G'hnir.

When he received the news, Kurtaki was somewhat overwhelmed with excitement. G'hnir had Tortollan followers, and he, a devotee, was not only unbothered by this but actually felt honored, believing the King of Beasts to be broad-minded.

After a period of excitement, Kurtaki went to request a ship from Rastakhan. The King of Zandalar dispatched a warship to escort them. This was the benefit of him participating in the mission; if Zul'ra had gone to Darkwood Beach alone, there was an eighty percent chance Rastakhan would have made him walk there. If there were no tests, could it even be called a trial?

Regardless, Kurtaki successfully obtained the warship, and Zul'ra stepped onto a Zandalari Golden Warship for the first time. The warship was just like its name; the bow was decorated with bright gold blocks. However, after boarding, Zul'ra discovered that they were not gold, but a type of stainless alloy.

On the way to Darkwood Beach, Zul'ra carefully observed the Golden Warship. Most Zandalari warships were single-masted sailboats with extremely wide bows, decorated with stacks of bright yellow metal blocks shaped like beast heads. The sides of the hull were bound with beast fangs, and the sharp ram on the keel was encased in steel.

In addition to its formidable appearance, the Zandalari Golden Warship was equipped with ballistae and sprayers used to launch explosive rockets and burning oil. The explosive rockets were one thing, but the burning oil was the real heavy weapon.

The burning oil was made from petroleum harvested from the swamps of Nazmir. Once sprayed, it ignited upon contact with air and would not be extinguished by water, much like the Greek fire of the Roman Empire on Earth. Watching this, Zul'ra could visualize enemy ships howling and turning to ash in the flames. It was a good thing; he would have to find a way to get his hands on the production method when he returned.