I have errands to run tomorrow, so the update will be late. I can't say exactly how many updates there will be, but there will at least be one. Please bear with me.
A Portal suddenly appeared on a street in Pyrewood Village, throwing the place into confusion. Pyrewood Village was hardly a prosperous place, and few people there had ever seen a Portal. Its sudden appearance naturally drew attention, especially on a busy market street. Many people hurried out of the way, and a squad of soldiers soon arrived. Since Gilneas had reopened its borders, Pyrewood Village had officially come under its rule. Though the village had belonged to Gilneas before, the kingdom's policy toward it had been complete indifference, as though no such village existed.
Because Pyrewood Village was too close to Gilneas, the nobles of Lordaeron had not dared take it over. Once Gilneas reopened its borders, it returned straight to the kingdom's embrace and became a stopping point for its caravans. The gates of the Greymane Wall opened on the first of every month, so anyone who arrived too early or too late would choose to rest in Pyrewood Village.
Soldiers were normally stationed there as well. The arrival of the caravans had boosted the village's economy, and Pyrewood Village was far more prosperous now than the worthless little settlement it had once been. The villagers did not recognize a Portal, but the caravan owners did.
When Jaina stepped out of the Portal, she saw a squad of soldiers surrounding it in front of her. Dalaran had no authority to open a Portal directly into Gilneas's capital. Convenient as mages' Portals were, they still required a marker placed beforehand. Otherwise, Portals would have been absurdly powerful, letting people go wherever they pleased. What secrets could anyone keep then? Not every nation surrounded itself with a Magic Barrier as the High Elves did.
The magical markers left by mages retained traces of magic and were easy to find if someone specifically searched for them. After Gilneas sealed its borders, King Genn had sent people to find and erase all the Portal markers established there in earlier years. Only the one in Pyrewood Village remained, so Jaina could only use a Portal to reach Pyrewood Village when traveling from Dalaran to Gilneas.
This was not Jaina's first visit to Gilneas. She had visited twice over the past two years, usually stopping to stay for a while on her way home from Dalaran to Kul Tiras. The journey home was a slow affair for others, but for a mage, especially one like Jaina, it took only a Portal.
The apprentices Antonidas accepted were all one-in-ten-thousand geniuses. Both Kel'Thuzad and Jaina had the potential to become Hero Rank powerhouses, and that was exactly what the future held. Each would achieve no less than Antonidas himself.
After arriving in Gilneas, Jaina went to see Rex first. Once he heard her account of the situation, Rex decisively expressed his willingness to provide aid. This was a chance for Gilneas to expand its influence, and such opportunities were rare. Who was the Leader of the Alliance of humans at the time?
Of course, it was Terenas Menethil, king of Lordaeron. How had he become the Leader of the Alliance? Because Lordaeron's influence had spread across the entire Eastern Kingdoms. After the fall of the Kingdom of Azeroth, once the strongest human kingdom, Lordaeron had taken first place. And how had Stormwind City become the Leader of the Alliance? After Lordaeron's collapse, it had been the strongest remaining human power, naturally becoming humanity's center. The surviving forces of Lordaeron had begun gravitating toward it. By gathering those forces, Stormwind City had greatly increased its strength in a short time and become the Leader of the Alliance of humans, determining its rise and fall.
Lordaeron would fall sooner or later. That was what Rex believed. But the future human Alliance would not necessarily have Stormwind City at its center.
In terms of their current advantages, Gilneas was stronger than Stormwind City. Stormwind City was still rebuilding, followed Lordaeron's lead, and possessed little strength. Lordaeron had no wish to see it grow too powerful. Unless Lordaeron fell, Stormwind City would have absolutely no chance of becoming the Alliance's center. Gilneas was different. Although its isolation had left its strength stagnant, causing it to fall considerably behind in an age when standing still meant falling back, the situation was not too severe. Only ten years had passed since the Second War ended. With sufficient influence, Gilneas would possess a greater advantage than Stormwind City after Lordaeron's destruction: its geographical location.
Though that location also placed Gilneas in the path of the Scourge's armies, the forces of Lordaeron would choose Gilneas over Stormwind City as their first route of retreat.
The present matter of reinforcing Dalaran was a chance to display military strength, the best opportunity to expand Gilneas's influence.
Watching Jaina turn and leave, Rex wore a cold sneer. Dalaran really was useless. Three Hero Rank powerhouses, not to mention its Ninth Rank fighters, and it actually thought of asking for help. Other races were other races. They really could not be relied upon. Two of its three Hero Rank powerhouses belonged to other races, so naturally they did not truly have Human interests at heart. They looked formidable at crucial moments, but not one of them was any use.
Rex had considerable information about Dalaran and could tell that Kael'thas and the High Elves were unwilling to commit their strength. When the High Elves faced a crisis in the future, they would fail to win humanity's trust, and no reinforcements would be sent. The humans certainly bore some responsibility for that, but how could the High Elves be blameless? It was the same principle as saying that it took two to tango.
With the High Elves refusing to help in the current situation, who would come to their rescue when they faced a crisis and asked for aid?
Sending troops to rescue Dalaran was out of the question. Unless someone as powerful as Archimonde took action, or the Scourge's main force attacked, these few orcs could not possibly take Dalaran. Those people in Dalaran surely knew that. Their request for aid was not for Dalaran itself, but for the human villages in the Hillsbrad Foothills. By capturing the Lordaemir Internment Camp, the orcs had made a show of force that intimidated Dalaran. They had naturally achieved their aim, leaving Dalaran afraid to act rashly.
Antonidas was old, after all. His youthful vigor was gone, replaced by the weariness of age. What did it matter if he saw through the ploy? He did not dare gamble or divide his forces, afraid that doing so would weaken Dalaran enough for the orcs to capture it.
Rising and leaving his residence, Rex headed toward the palace to persuade the father he had acquired in this world to send troops. He had no intention of holding a grand discussion over it. In any case, he only planned to deploy the Knights of the Round Table this time. As for getting Gilneas to send other armies, much had changed in the kingdom over the past two years, but dispatching troops was a major matter. Knowing his father as he did, there was not the slightest chance.
If he sent only the Knights of the Round Table, Rex still had some hope.
(End of chapter)
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