Informing

Belorell never expected to return, especially after only a few days. But the soft soil of Crystalsong Forest had completely changed since his last visit.

"Chromie?" he called out to the owner of that name. The Gnome was gone, but she was definitely not simple. She wasn't a mage, and the portal they had just used was different from ordinary portals. When he was pushed into the portal, Belorell was conscious. He could feel himself being pulled by something, guiding him to a specific place, unlike his previous experiences passing through portals.

This must have been the case the previous times, and this time, he returned to Dalaran.

"How do I get up there?" Belorell looked at the faint outline of the magical city, thought about it carefully, and then subconsciously ran down towards the city. He thought that Dalaran must have set up an outpost in this forest.

As they drew closer, the Elf boy suddenly spotted a red figure sitting in the forest.

"Someone's here? Great!" Belorell exclaimed happily. As he approached, he saw a slender and beautiful woman. She was far more beautiful than anyone Belorell had ever seen, and the aura of pain emanating from her emanated from her evoked a sense of pity and compassion. Two long horns on her flowing red hair caught Belorell's attention. She wasn't an Elf. But she was much thinner than most, as if a strong wind could blow her away.

"Hello!" Belorell greeted her, but the woman ignored him, staring blankly ahead. The boy thought she was attracted by something, but when he followed her gaze, he only saw occasional treants from the Crystalsong Forest passing by.

"What are you doing here? Do you know how to get to that big city?" Belorell pointed to Dalaran. This time, the woman responded to the boy, slightly raising her head to look up at the sky, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Belorell tilted his head, somewhat annoyed by the other person's silence. "What's your name? My name is Belorell Windrunner."

Alexstrasza had sensed the boy's presence long ago. Upon hearing his self-introduction, the Queen of Dragons's eyebrows twitched, and she finally spoke, "And who sent you this time?" Her tone was unusually calm, devoid of any emotion.

The boy looked at her strangely, not understanding what she was talking about. "No one sent me here, but if you ask me why I'm here, a Gnome brought me back. Her name is Chromie, is she your friend?"

Chronormu? Alexstrasza had certainly heard of that name; he was a member of the Bronze Dragonflight and a high-ranking Bronze Dragon. She remembered that Chronormu had once visited the Wyrmrest Temple, representing Nozdormu at a dragon council.

But why would she send a child to her? Or is there something special about this child?

"I don't know him," Alexstrasza replied, her gaze suddenly sharpening, almost piercing through Belorell. "Why did you stop? You should keep going."

"Well, actually..." Belorell scratched his head, "I can't find the outpost in Dalaran, so I have no way to go back." The boy didn't realize that Alexstrasza meant for him to leave immediately, and instead he continued, "I feel like I haven't done anything these past few days. Maybe I should listen to my mother and stay in Quel'Thalas."

The mention of "mother" by Belorell sent a pang of pain through Alexstrasza. The explosion beneath the Wyrmrest Temple relentlessly assaulted her mind, so many of her unborn children reduced to ashes. Worse still, the investigation revealed that the one responsible for the explosion was Krasus. The Life-Binder shook her head, trying to banish the painful memories. The boy claimed to be Windrunner, just as Alleria, who had come to her earlier, Windrunner.

That said, Alexstrasza sized up the young Elf. His face did indeed bear many resemblance to the Regent of Quel'Thalas, except for his eyes... The Queen of Dragons then noticed that Belorell had black eyes. Could there be black pupils in Elf?

"Who is your mother?" she asked again.

"Alleria Windrunner".

Alexstrasza scrutinized Belorell. "Where is your father?"

"Have no idea."

"Have no idea?"

Belorell nodded. "I have never had a father since I was born, and no one around me has ever told me anything about my father."

"Didn't you ever investigate who your father is?"

"One of my reasons for sneaking out of Silvermoon City was to find out about my father. But who knew my movements would be constantly restricted. First, a strange Gryphon from Dalaran led me to a place called Wyrmrest Temple. There I met a man named Krasus, then Wyrmrest Temple was attacked, and then..."

"And then what? What happened beneath the Wyrmrest Temple?" The Queen of Dragons abruptly rose, grabbing Belorell's arm. Her previous gloom vanished, her eyes no longer dull and lifeless. A sliver of irrational hope filled Alexstrasza's heart. There were witnesses to that explosion? And he was standing right in front of her. If this boy had survived, then perhaps Krasus had too...

Belorell was clearly startled by the Queen of Dragons's overly agitated behavior. Urged on by the Life-Binder, the boy said, "Then a bunch of guys in black robes invaded. Krasus fought them. Those terrible enemies used dark magic to hatch the Dragon Egg, and out of them emerged horrible monsters with five heads. The situation was awful; many... no, all the Dragon Egg were corrupted. Then Krasus seemed to make some important decision. I don't know what happened after that, except for the explosions and Krasus's last words to me, 'Nice to meet you.'"

Alexstrasza stared blankly at Belorell. Her face was deathly pale. She gripped the Elf boy's hand tightly, causing him pain.

Krasus did not betray the Dragons. Belorell's words proved this; he witnessed Krasus's sacrifice. The Life-Binder fought back tears. Krasus destroyed all the dragon eggs in the temple to prevent the children from becoming monsters, to protect other life.

"He made a sacrifice!" Alexstrasza said in a hoarse voice. A sob rose in her throat, and tears welled up in her eyes. "He did not betray us."