New Allies
"Thank you so much for telling me this, Lady Sylvanas. Theramore will certainly support you, and we have prepared a place for you to rest."
Sylvanas rose to express her gratitude, but her sorrow did not lessen. The Female Elf had traveled a great distance not to beg for a bed or a bowl of soup. "My people need a home more than food, Jaina. Can you let me join your ranks?"
The ruler of Theramore blinked. She had already anticipated Sylvanas's intentions, but she hadn't expected the Female Elf to be so blunt. Jaina wanted to grant her request, but the affairs of the Alliance were not hers to decide.
"This...I'm afraid I need to discuss this with King Varian."
"That's not what I meant." The Female Elf smiled, which puzzled Jaina. "I said I wanted to join your side, not the Alliance. I hope to stay here as your advisor."
"But Theramore is indeed a port city of the Alliance."
"But no Alliance city has such close ties with the Horde, madam," Sylvanas pointed out, which sounded accusatory, so the Female Elf added, "Theramore remains neutral between the two factions, only leaning towards the Alliance."
"Indeed." Jaina smiled awkwardly yet elegantly, fiddling with a lock of her hair as if considering something. "But why don't you choose to join the Alliance?"
Sylvanas looked somewhat embarrassed, and this was entirely for personal reasons: she had investigated the entire process of Alleria's siege of Nathanos, and to her great surprise, Stormwind City's SI:7 had also participated in that operation, so she had no goodwill towards the human kingdoms in the Alliance.
But Jaina still needs an explanation.
"My kingdom has joined the Horde, which is bound to cause dissatisfaction in the Alliance. My arrival here is more likely to arouse your suspicion, Jaina. Varian will not agree to my joining the Alliance, nor will I beg him to take me in."
"But this is not a long-term solution. Perhaps I can get Varian to accept you."
"My arrival has already caused you trouble, Jaina. I don't want to make Theramore's situation even worse because of me," Sylvanas insisted, her eyes resolute. Jaina was clever; she sensed that Sylvanas was hiding something, but the mage was certain it wasn't a conspiracy, but rather a difficult situation to discuss. "Let's leave it at that, Jaina. It's better for both of us."
"I understand." Jaina stood up, smiling as she extended her hand to Sylvanas. "Welcome to you and your people."
A few days later, the Elf who followed Sylvanas settled in Theramore. Jaina initially thought there would be many, but she later learned there were only two hundred, and most of them were weak and exhausted due to their Fel Addiction. But compared to the guilt of joining the Horde, the pain of Fel Addiction was nothing.
During this time, Jaina and Sylvanas had their own tasks. The mage needed to contact the leaders of Stormwind City, while the Female Elf, besides managing relations between the Elf and the residents of Theramore, also took the opportunity to visit Nathanos's father, Bred Marius, every day. The last time she saw Nathanos's father was during Jaina's Alliance Expedition to Lordaeron; Bred was already quite old then, and now he looked even older. He couldn't even recognize Sylvanas when she entered his house and stood before him. According to his neighbors, Bred had lived alone for many years, and his brother's family had long since moved to Stormwind City. Sylvanas noticed that Bred always carried a book about the Way of the Holy Light with him. The Female Elf thought that perhaps the only motivation for this father to keep living now was the Holy Light and the son he believed was still alive.
Two weeks later, things started to get a little complicated. Sylvanas thought that when the Horde announced the Blood Elf' addition, the Alliance would be scrambling to find new allies. In this situation, they might be forced to accept the fact that they were staying by Jaina's side. But unexpectedly, a spaceship descended from the sky, bringing new power to the Alliance.
The sudden change also alarmed the Forsaken.
Where did that spaceship land?
"On Mielan Island, Master."
Mielan Island? Nathanos's eyes quickly locked onto Teldrassil at the top of the map. "Damn it, that island is too close to the Night Elf."
"A spy from Darnassus has brought intelligence that a new civilization has emerged, and High Priestess Tyrande and Ranger-General Shandris have gone to negotiate. It seems they are also looking for allies."
"Let them go find it." Nathanos waved his hand dismissively. "What I care about are the precious resources on Mielan Island, but now, I'm afraid we won't get them." The Witherer spoke, he saw a Terror Guard approaching.
"Master, Lord Meryl requests to see you."
"Let him in," Nathanos ordered, then waved for Belmont to put away the map and leave.
Another Undead entered and took the place of the Shadowblade leader. "I've heard there are visitors from outer space."
"That's none of our business. We just need to mind our own business." Nathanos sat with his arms crossed, glancing at the mage, seemingly casually. "How are you doing?"
"I can still control it." Meryl looked down at herself. "And I'm studying demonic magic."
"You still haven't told me what happened to you." Nathanos leaned back in his chair, his words laced with undisguised reproach. He disliked people hiding things from him, especially those that might threaten the Forsaken.
Meryl saw through the Witherer's thoughts and replied knowingly, "I will not let the Forsaken be harmed, you can rest assured."
"So..." the Undead in the chair sat up straight, "What else do you want to say?"
"It's still about the last council meeting," Meryl said briefly.
A smile flickered across Nathanos's face. "About the Blasted Lands?"
"It's infuriating how indifferent you are, Nathanos," Meryl said loudly, and only he dared to speak to the leader of the Forsaken in such a way.
"You have to be willing to pay the price for everything you do, Meryl," Nathanos said shrewdly. "I've sent more than half of my Shadowblade scouts around the world to search for the demon you're referring to, but not one of them has reported seeing it."
Meryl's eyes gleamed. "That demon won't be found easily," he replied, but his gaze never left Nathanos's face. His voice sounded like a coiled snake: deep, yet brimming with ferocity and danger. "You've seen Mannoroth, and you've seen Tichondrius, the Witherer. You know their power well, but Kazzak..." the mage gritted his teeth, uttering the name with bitterness, "He holds the same position in the Burning Legion as the former two; he is the leader of the Doomguard. The Burning Legion has been defeated for years, and the demons roaming the lands have been almost completely wiped out, and now Kazzak has suddenly appeared. Don't you think there's something wrong with that?"
"You mean the demons might be planning a new invasion?"
"It's not a possibility, it's a certainty."
"Every demonic invasion is accompanied by the arrival of a powerful demon lord. In the War of the Ancients, Sargeras used the Well of Eternity; many years ago, Archimonde relied on the Medivh's Book and the magical power of Dalaran," Nathanos said thoughtfully. "So what about now? Where do you think the point of invasion will be?"