His elder brother was skilled and seasoned at handling family affairs, carefully weighing every detail, no matter how small. He was especially good at recognizing his kin's talents and putting them to use, far better than Patrick himself. X
"It's all right. I need to go out and seek allies we can share. We're all cut off at the northernmost end of the continent. If the Undead on the polar continent of Northrend return, we'll be the first to be wiped out. We must find some sincere allies, and the Forsaken occupying the ruins of Lordaeron."
His elder brother still disagreed with letting Patrick leave. "There's no need for you to go personally for something like this. Leave it to the diplomats."
"There is. The leader of the Forsaken has a very important connection to us."
Patterson waved a hand dismissively. "How is that possible?"
"Her name is Sylvanas."
"..."
Of course Patterson knew that name. He simply had not expected Sylvanas to have become the queen of the Undead, and for a moment, he wavered.
"While I'm away, Alleria will oversee all Ranger affairs in Quel'Thalas. Brother, you need to step up the rebuilding of our family's outlying production bases, including Life Forest and the area where Sunlight City originally stood. Also, it would be best to resume trade with the survivors of Lordaeron. Lordaeron's human resistance is still fighting the Undead in the Eastern Plaguelands. They probably won't refuse to trade with us."
"Why? Our kingdom was destroyed by that Prince of Lordaeron. Are we still supposed to have dealings with them now?"
"Their fight against the Undead in the Eastern Plaguelands eases the pressure on us. Giving them some appropriate aid can reduce that pressure."
The resistance organizations in the Eastern and Western Plaguelands were notorious bands