Before the king could speak, Patrick asked instead, "Your Majesty, how do you view our human neighbors?"
His tone was somewhat stiff, and questioning the king in return was hardly courteous. The warrior standing beside the king looked rather angry, but His Majesty Anasterian took no offense. "Humans? Although they are a short-lived race, and poor and disorderly at that, their people are exceptionally hardworking, so human society develops very quickly."
Hearing Anasterian's answer, Patrick felt that His Majesty had seen only one side of humanity, rather than the whole picture. "But my understanding of humans differs from yours, Your Majesty."
The warrior beside him could not help reminding Patrick to mind his manners. "Councilor, please watch your words."
"It is quite all right, Lord Gathios." The king waved a hand slightly, signaling Gathios to stand down. As a king who had ruled Quel'Thalas for thousands of years, he had no need to concern himself with minor points of etiquette.
Anasterian turned back and said, "What insights do you have, Councilor Patrick?"
Patrick looked at the king and thought carefully before laying out all his thoughts. "Humans used to be weak and few in number. After the Arathi Empire split apart, the development of the seven human kingdoms stagnated for decades. Given human lifespans, that essentially meant an entire generation lived without any development or progress."
"Originally, the most prosperous human regions were merely Lordaeron City and Dalaran Province. Andorhal, the capital of Dalaran Province, means 'the city on the back of the lake' in the human language. The province, once merely an important agricultural center, has now become a transportation hub linking Alterac, Quel'Thalas, and Lordaeron. The development of its cities and the lives of its people have undergone earthshaking changes. It is nothing like the little town that