Vargoth

Sylvanas nodded to the Draenei escorting Arathas, and soon the Blood Elf captain was taken away. "Speak," the Female Elf, looking at the foreman who remained. "Only by being completely honest will you survive."

What do you want to know?

"Everything."

The man gritted his teeth and said, "My name is Ansanael, the foreman of the Manaforge: Bunar. As you can see, Prince Kael'thas sent a space overlord and warp engineers to operate the Manaforge." Ansanael then turned to look at the captured Blood Elf, most of whom were technicians. "We are responsible for extracting a substance called 'Warp Energy' from the Manaforge and then transporting it elsewhere through an underground pipeline system."

"Other places?" Sylvanas raised an eyebrow. "Where? Where?"

"I don't know." Ansanael shook his head. "I was just an overseer. The design of the Manaforge was entirely done by Lord Passareen. All I know is that these furnaces can draw mana from the Twisted Void."

Calculus Parsa'reyn? Sylvanas had heard of him. After the fall of the Sunwell, this arrogant Elf saw a golden opportunity to make a name for himself, and he agreed to help Kael'thas find a way to free his people from magical dependence.

"If the Manaforge is truly that important, Kael'thas would never have sent only these few people to defend it. Tell me, Ansanael, are there any other similar Manaforge?"

The Blood Elf foreman paused, beginning to feel fear towards Sylvanas. He nodded in acknowledgment, "Yes, you're right. There are indeed four more Manaforge in Netherstorm."

Four? That's an astonishing number.

"Take him away," the Female Elf ordered.

The defensive work continued, but Sylvanas showed no intention of halting her offensive. One Manaforge had already been shut down, leaving four more. This meant they planned at least four more Manaforge. To this end, Sylvanas summoned representatives of the Starcaller and the Aldor to discuss the situation. She had initially assumed there wouldn't be any conflict between the two sides on the battlefield, but it turned out Sylvanas had overestimated their resolve.

"In fact, I think we don't need to occupy these four forges; we just need to shut them all down." The speaker was the Starcaller representative, Sarodien, known as the "Master Spy." Sylvanas disliked this title, as it reminded her of someone else. Although Sarodien often spoke in a flippant manner, he always managed to pinpoint the crux of the matter.

"You're bound to go off-topic after a few sentences!" Kaelia mocked without reservation, standing opposite Sarodien Elf. "We should focus our attention on these Manaforge. We need to know what the enemy is doing with them, and why."

Sarodien chuckled, his gaze sweeping over Kaelia's body without any attempt to conceal it. This rude behavior ignited anger in Kaelia's eyes, who was Draenei priestess. "That would waste a lot of time, sweetheart..." Sarodien's address nearly sent Kaelia into a rage. "We never intended to Tempest Keep directly, but if an opportunity is presented before us, why not seize it?"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Guarding Kaelia was her bodyguard, Archbishop Aurielis. He didn't act like Paladin, but more like Warrior, rude and Recklessness. "Don't speak to the priestess of the Holy Light in that tone."

Sylvanas sighed inwardly. Here we go again! And it never ends.

Archmage Laenna, who was standing with Sarodien, also joined the argument, saying, "We are very open and honest! Have you forgotten that many of us are Kael'thas's most trusted subordinates?"

Aurielis chuckled dismissively. "The intelligence you stole from Kael'thas is outdated and unreliable. We must launch a planned attack on these Manaforge and gather as much intelligence as possible."...

"Commander!" A Draenei entered and saluted Sylvanas. Although the Aldor had conflicts with the Starcaller, it must be said that these conflicts did not escalate into hostility towards the High Elf; at least they still respected the Female Elf.

The argument gradually subsided...

"What is it, soldier?"

"Archmage Khadgar has arrived. He wants to see you alone; yes, he says he has important matters to discuss."

Sylvanas frowned. What was Khadgar doing here? Was he here to offer help, or had he brought her some new trouble? The Female Elf hoped it was the former, but she knew the latter was far more likely. At least, she had an excuse to temporarily escape the Starcaller and the Aldor.

"You continue your discussion and devise a concrete strategy to deal with the Manaforge. I'm going to meet Khadgar." She walked around the command post filled with maps and documents and said to the soldier, "Take me to him."

When Khadgar saw Sylvanas, he noticed a sense of relief emanating from the Female Elf. He joked, "I was wondering if you were drowning in the spittle of the Aldor and the Starcaller."

The Female Elf smiled bitterly and nodded in response, "Then I must thank you for saving me."

"In that case, could you do me a favor?"

Sylvanas stopped, looking at Khadgar with some annoyance. This mage had set her up; he clearly needed her help. "So, what trouble have you caused me this time?"

The mage glanced around, inwardly praising Sylvanas's cleverness in having already dismissed the soldier who had led the way. Now that they were alone, Khadgar could speak his purpose without reservation. He took a Staff Fragment from his pocket and handed it to Sylvanas.

The Female Elf was somewhat puzzled, but when she touched the fragment, her eyes widened. It wasn't that there was powerful magical energy on it, but rather that she could sense that the Staff Fragment was very ancient, extremely ancient.

"What's this?"

"Many years ago, during the battle to cross the Dark Portal, I wasn't the only Archmage who came to this world with Turalyon," Khadgar began to recount the past. "The Kirin Tor sent a mage force to support the Alliance Expedition, and among them was an Archmage named Vargoth, who was the leader of the mage force."

"The Kirin Tor?" Sylvanas murmured the name of the organization that was almost wiped out in Azeroth. "So what? Wait, I've been in Outland for a while now, and apart from Archmage Felinthus by Danas's side, I haven't seen any other members of the Kirin Tor."

"Felinthus? Is he still alive? What a stroke of luck." Khadgar sighed heavily. "He must have been very prejudiced against Blood Elf."

"You seem to know something hidden?"

"I only know a little." Khadgar nodded. "The Kirin Tor's main center of activity in Outland used to be Netherstorm, until... Kael'thas arrived."