Telestra

For that very reason, a mere noble title could hardly catch an elf's eye. Want respect? Then prove your strength.

However, the elves of Quel'Thalas were merely full of pride at this point. They had not yet developed the extreme, radical disposition they would acquire after the Scourge destroyed their homeland.

In the future, Arthas's Scourge cavalry would overrun Silvermoon City and destroy the Sunwell, killing nearly ninety percent of the High Elf population. The surviving High Elves would lose their source of energy as well and face the threat of magical addiction.

The enormous decline in their living conditions and the crisis threatening their survival would make the Blood Elves insanely stubborn and rigid, utterly unwilling to listen to other opinions.

In the Ghostlands, even while facing the twin threats of Dar'Khan and magical addiction, the High Elves still waged war against the Zul'Aman Trolls. In the end, unable to manage both the eastern and western fronts, they suffered a crushing defeat. Later, fortunately, they received aid from the Banshee Queen. Sylvanas sent troops to help the elves continue clearing the Undead from the kingdom and completely eradicate Dar'Khan's forces, then introduced the elves of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas to the Horde. Only then did the Blood Elves' living conditions improve a little.

This time, the royal family had given him nothing but an empty reward and a useless gold medal. The only benefit was that, in the king's name, Patrick's deeds had received some exposure among the elves.

Patrick showed little expression as he put away the medal and letter. "I thank His Majesty for his praise. Eliminating Trolls is every elf's responsibility. Thank you for making the long journey, Ambassador Telestra."

Telestra merely gave a slight gesture of acknowledgment. "You deserve this praise. Word of your victories in the Life Forest is now spreading throughout Silvermoon City."

After a pause, Telestra continued, "On this visit to the Sun Temple, Master Sailervor, the head of the academy, has assigned me to a permanent posting at Sunfury Spire."

"Oh?" Patrick's heart tightened. A permanent posting here? Had the royal family already begun trying to exert influence over me quietly?

"Then welcome aboard." Although Patrick revealed nothing on his face, he was making calculations inwardly.

Now the royal family had also entered Sunfury Spire under a pretext. Presumably, they wanted a greater say in the Sun Temple. Without overwhelming strength of his own, he feared he would be reduced to mediocrity and slowly lose the initiative.

To be honest, Patrick greatly disliked that sort of voting system. Once you lost the votes, you lost the initiative.

Votes did not equal truth. What they needed to choose was a path to success, a path to truth, not a path selected by a vote. If everyone sat in the Silvermoon Council and voted together, the result would be the path most elves chose, not the path to success.

The most important principle for elven society ought to be that common elves had a way to rise, that lesser clans and ordinary elves had rights and opportunities of their own. Those rights and opportunities should not be expressed solely through voting. Those elves with ability and arcane talent should be able to make their own contributions to the kingdom.

It should not be like the current situation, where lesser clans received virtually no attention, their paths upward were blocked, and all resources were monopolized by the Council. Gradually, Silvermoon City's social classes began to become entrenched. The people at the bottom knew only eating, drinking, and pleasure, and the nation had no impetus to move forward.

Patrick recalled the so-called democracy that the Stars and Stripes had shouted about most loudly in his previous life. Democracy actually had nothing whatsoever to do with ballots. What democracy opposed was entrenched social classes, which robbed the people of the drive and hope to move forward.

Still, he had to admit that the voting system did solve one problem. It could indeed allow certain great figures to be elected while they were young, such as Antonidas of Dalaran.

But this mechanism could not be judged in blanket terms. The Silvermoon Council had held power in Silvermoon City for many years, gradually using votes to bring its own supporters into office and monopolize every elf's path upward. Most of the elves who benefited from elections belonged to powerful, wealthy high-ranking clans. Lesser clans had no hope of advancement, and the people lived decadent lives. These were all plain results.

If more and more people from the royal family entered Sunfury Spire,

then the royal family would control the factors influencing Sunfury Spire's decisions. This compelled Patrick to begin preparing for the future. Watching Telestra leave, Patrick sank into thought. The royal family was no pushover either. As the saying went, people grew cunning with age, and trees became spirits with age. Those old fellows who had lived for thousands of years were each more cunning than an ancient monster.

Patrick looked at Alleria and Sylvanas, wanting to hear their opinions. "What do you think about Telestra being permanently stationed at Sunfury Spire?"

"It seems the royal family really does move quickly. Perhaps His Majesty Anasterian has taken an interest in you. You should feel deeply honored to have caught His Majesty's eye," Sylvanas said meaningfully.

"The royal family seems to have begun extending its feelers, but the choice is still in your hands." Alleria offered only a slight hint.

Patrick knew that the Windrunners also counted among the Great Clans of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas. They had some say in the Silvermoon Council, but could not participate in administering government affairs.

"The Royalists are testing the waters, but so am I. Things aren't like they used to be. I can no longer make decisions freely as I please." Patrick was beginning to feel tired. Dealing with a pack of old foxes was truly exhausting.

Patrick felt that he now needed to accelerate the improvement of his strength. Azeroth was, after all, a world of supernatural power. Authority and influence were invariably built on a foundation of supernatural strength. Authority without strength was meaningless.

It was already late autumn, and temperatures in the Ghostlands had dropped sharply. Outside, a cold north wind howled. With the Sunwell's gentle warmth, Eversong Woods remained as warm as spring all year round, and even its rainfall could be controlled artificially. Now, at night in the Ghostlands, white mist could be seen rising from elves' mouths as they spoke and breathed, indicating that winter was approaching.

Telestra returned to her assigned lodgings and rested there for a while with the people accompanying her.

"Ambassador Telestra, has the mission been completed?" an elf asked. Many of the elves considered this a remote place and wanted to return to Silvermoon City immediately after completing their mission to enjoy its prosperity.

Telestra said, "I have delivered the letter and medal to Arcanist Patrick Cabrolon. However, I need to remain here as the academy's ambassador, permanently stationed at Sunfury Spire."

At this answer, another elf asked in surprise, "What? Arcanist Telestra, you need to stay as the academy's ambassador? Do we need to stay at the Sun Temple too?"

"No. You can use Sunfury Spire's Teleportation Chamber to return directly to Silvermoon City. You don't need to stay here."

At Telestra's reply, quite a few elves sighed in relief. Telestra understood as well. After spending so long amid Silvermoon City's prosperity, they naturally would not want to remain here.

It was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality.