Tempest Keep

"Take a look for yourself." Alleria tossed a document from Orgrimmar, the Horde's capital city, at Rommath's feet, her eyes blazing with barely contained rage. Alleria had always maintained a certain level of respect for this Archmage, given his role as Kael'thas's mouthpiece in Azeroth, but there was always a limit to everything.

The Archmage cast a spell, causing the document on the ground to fly into his hands. His eyes calmly scanned the text, and as he finished reading the last sentence, Rommath's gaze shifted to the regent pacing back and forth on the Sunstrider Throne. That seat, once occupied by the former King, now belonged to a different master, a different surname.

"What are you still thinking about?" Alleria's icy voice, tinged with obvious impatience, pulled the Archmage from his reverie. "What reason could I possibly have to believe that what's written here is false?"

"This was never true." For a moment, Alleria was taken aback by his calmness. Rommath was a powerful mage, but he was by no means a composed person. He was easily angered, especially whenever someone questioned Kael'thas.

"Are you trying to say this is Alliance conspiracy, or a deception by the Horde?"

"This is just an outsider's misunderstanding of Prince Kael'thas." Rommath was somewhat agitated, but Alleria relaxed; this was the Rommath, the one easily swayed by emotions. "Who is slandering the Prince? Who is it?"

"Your good friend, Vortar!" the Regent replied in an even more exalted tone.

Rommath was startled. He knew Vortar. As Alleria had said, the two were even old friends who had served the Prince together and were deeply trusted by Kael'thas.

How could that be?

"Having a Prince who follows a demon master is already enough to make the Sin'dorei suffer from criticism," Alleria's voice was filled with undisguised resentment. "And now there's even talk of Kael'thas siding with the demons."

"It is Prince Kael'thas," Rommath corrected. "You are merely exercising his authority in Quel'Thalas, Regent. You are not yet the King!"

A blazing fire ignited in Alleria's eyes. "Where is the one who should be King now? What is he doing right now?" Her question left Rommath speechless. The Archmage truly didn't know how to answer this question; the Prince hadn't contacted Quel'Thalas for a very long time.

After a moment of silent rage, the Regent regained his composure. "I demand a complete account of Prince Kael'thas's activities in Outland, Rommath. This is an order!"

"You!" Rommath slammed his staff on the ground. "You are doubting His Highness the Prince."

"I only believe the facts." Alleria pointed to the report in Rommath's hand. "If Prince Highness is innocent, I will apologize for questioning him, but if what this says is true..." The Female Elf slowly approached the mage, warning, "I will never allow a second Arthas to appear in this world!"

"Prince Highness is not..."

"Do you take me for a fool, Rommath!" Alleria interrupted him forcefully. "Thrall went to Outland months ago, and this intelligence was written by him! Did he send it directly to Silvermoon City without investigating it properly?"

The two glared at each other. Rommath's fingers trembled slightly, as if he were about to grab Alleria by the neck at any moment, but the Archmage would never do such a thing. He finally broke the silence, "I will go to Outland myself to find the Prince. I will ask him the truth, and I will prove that the Orcs' words are not credible!"

"I'm afraid you won't have that chance!" Alleria's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Rommath, leaving the Archmage surprised and bewildered. "The Warchief's orders are that no Blood Elf on Azeroth are allowed to travel to Outland until the matter is thoroughly investigated. And..." she lowered her voice, "All of Kael'thas's close associates must be interrogated."

"What?" Rommath' eyes widened as he stared at Alleria in disbelief. How dare this woman?

The Regent clapped his hands, and two Spellbreaker carrying shields and halberds entered from behind Rommath, standing to Rommath left and right.

The Archmage was consumed by rage. Alleria actually wanted to imprison him. "Was this something you planned all along?"

"If you cooperate, nothing unexpected will happen."

Rommath's eyes gleamed, seemingly brighter than the brightly lit room. "You are truly generous, Regent," he said, but his eyes never left Alleria's face. His voice sounded like a coiled snake: deep, yet brimming with ferocity and danger. "Have you already considered yourself King?"

"In your eyes, everything that doesn't go your way is a conspiracy, Archmage," Alleria said dismissively. "I pledge allegiance to Quel'Thalas, not the Sunstrider."

After Rommath was led away, Alleria looked around and finally spotted Belorell's familiar face. He was standing on the steps behind the throne room, watching her. Her son had arrived while the Regent and the Archmage were arguing. From his astonished expression, Alleria knew he must be terrified.

"Belorell?" Alleria regained her usual gentle demeanor, a stark contrast to her earlier expression. She quickly approached her son and bent down to straighten the loose buttons on his clothes.

Belorell's eyes were filled with terror and confusion, and seeing this, Alleria's heart sank. Had her own son really not seen all that? Alleria didn't know how much Belorell had witnessed, and she tried to calm her expression. "Where do you want to go today?"

Belorell slowly took a few steps back, shook his head, and looked in the direction Rommath had disappeared. "Are you the King, Mother?"

The anger that lingered in Alleria's chest was like water pouring out of a burst dam, leaving only endless emptiness in her heart. She stared blankly at her son, wearily stroking his golden hair.

"I am not, child," she replied. No one could understand the mission she bore and the role she was to play. No one had ever understood, neither now nor in the future. But whatever she did, whatever happened, after she ended the siege of Nathanos, she swore that nothing could take her child away, and she would never let Belorell be harmed.

"Our next target is here," Nathanos said, pointing to the Netherstorm on the map.

"You want Tempest Keep?" Meryl was as astute as ever. He saw Nathanos's finger pointing to the easternmost part of Tempest Keep and said, "That's Kael'thas's territory. Almost 80% of the Blood Elf from Outland are stationed there."

"We certainly can't attack head-on." Nathanos coughed twice; he hadn't recovered since tampering with Sinestra's Dragon Egg. "We need outside help; let others take down Tempest Keep for us."

"Others?" Meryl pondered this statement. With the Alliance and Horde busy attacking Hellfire Citadel, the only forces in Outland capable of rivaling Kael'thas were...

"Shattrath?"

Nathanos didn't directly confirm Meryl's guess. He flipped through the map, his gaze shifting to Terokkar Forest. "Our spies were planted at just the right time. They just managed to get some important information. Not long ago, a Blood Elf named Vortar, who served under Kael'thas, defected to Shattrath. He said the Blood Elf Prince has close ties with the Burning Legion in secret."

"If this is true, I'm afraid the Horde and Shattrath will not stand idly by."

"That's what I'm worried about too. Once Kael'thas is defeated, the ownership of Tempest Keep will most likely go to Shattrath..."

"Then we can take advantage of their complacency after capturing Tempest Keep to launch a surprise attack," Meryl suggested.

The Witherer shook his head at this, "I've considered doing that, but how will we defend this fortress after we succeed? The Naaru and Draenei won't let it go easily. And given the size of the fortress, we'll need at least a thousand soldiers to properly defend it, which would greatly reduce our strength on Azeroth."

"If that's the case, why do you want to fight for Tempest Keep?"

"Because I want the Forsaken to have a mobile fortress," Nathanos explained, refusing to elaborate. Silence fell between them, Meryl rapidly considering the answer the Witherer had given. Tempest Keep was a spaceship, a mysterious interdimensional vessel originally used by the Naaru for travel throughout the vast universe.

"This idea is too audacious, Nathanos, and even if we get our Tempest Keep, we don't know how to activate it."

"So this is a long-term plan. We must be patient." The Witherer suddenly felt a little dizzy. He closed his eyes and rested for a while before continuing, "Tell Giznock that I'm giving him half a month to master the core of the Worshugud Leni's technology."

Hidden beneath her brown cloak, Sylvanas traveled tirelessly for three days and nights before finally arriving at the legendary "City of the Holy Light." The city was open to the public, with many adventurers stopping daily. The Female Elf followed them cautiously into Shattrath. She had no time to observe the magnificent city; time was limited, and she had to find Vortar immediately.

Everywhere you look, there are Draenei soldiers in armor, many training in groups, and there are also Thunder Elephant used for plains warfare. By all accounts, this place looks like it's preparing for war.

Danas's words were true; Sylvanas did indeed encounter many of her fellow Elf here, all dressed in purple robes with gold patterns. This wasn't the style of Blood Elf or High Elf; it seemed to be a recent fashion trend.