"An acquaintance of mine? Other than you, Rhonin, and Prince Kael'thas, who live in human lands, all my acquaintances should be in Quel'Thalas... Wait, do you mean that one and only human ranger lord?"
Aaron looked around for someone they could ask for information while Vereesa muttered beside him. By the end, her eyes lit up as someone came to mind.
Aaron nodded. "That's right, him. Nathanos Marris. That should be his full name."
"But he hasn't been to Silvermoon City in ages. The last time I saw him was when the Orcs besieged Quel'Thalas. After that, he left on his own. It seemed to be because the other rangers were very unhappy with him."
Vereesa continued. From the sound of it, Nathanos hadn't been doing very well in Quel'Thalas, though that wasn't hard to imagine. After all, the High Elves' defining traits were arrogance and insularity. With those two traits combined, a human like Nathanos certainly couldn't have been treated very well in Quel'Thalas.
Besides, according to Vereesa, the High Elves' objections to Nathanos weren't actually just about his being human. In fact, there were some humans in Quel'Thalas's ranger forces.
Sylvanas's favor toward Nathanos was the main reason the rangers ostracized him. According to Vereesa, Sylvanas had strongly advocated making Nathanos a ranger lord. Even the royal family in Silvermoon City had objected, yet Nathanos had ultimately become the only human ranger lord.
As ranger-general, Sylvanas naturally didn't have to concern herself too much with her subordinates' opinions, but Nathanos's life hadn't been nearly so comfortable. Even Lor'themar Theron, Sylvanas's second-in-command, often expressed his displeasure with Nathanos in private. It wasn't hard to imagine the criticism Nathanos faced in everyday life, and this had eventually led him to resign from the ranger forces and return to his hometown.
"Later, before the Orcs besieged Quel'Thalas, Nathanos came back once, but as soon as the war ended, he went home again," Vereesa recalled. "That time, my second sister came to human lands to discuss Alliance reinforcements for Quel'Thalas with my eldest sister. When she went back, Nathanos returned with her."
Something's going on there... Aaron muttered to himself. Still, thinking of everything that happened between those two after they became undead, their relationship wasn't hard to imagine. He could picture it as romantically ambiguous as possible and he wouldn't be wrong.
Nathanos's home was in a relatively remote part of Marris Stead. They asked several people for directions before a teenager who looked like a knight's squire led them to him.
After actually meeting Nathanos in person, Aaron felt as though an illusion had been shattered.
Unlike the Banshee Queen's champion he often saw in the game, with his gray-black complexion, constantly flickering red eyes, and utterly chilling presence, the Nathanos standing before Aaron looked more like a rather unkempt middle-aged man.
The man before him looked to be in his thirties. If Aaron hadn't repeatedly confirmed with their guide that this was Nathanos, he would never have imagined that this fellow, who looked no different from any other farmer, was the genius who had become the only human to earn Sylvanas's recognition and become a ranger lord.
Judging by Nathanos's large, rough hands, his appearance was certainly no disguise. He was probably genuinely working as a farmer. At the sight of Vereesa and Aaron, Nathanos visibly froze for a moment. "Vereesa? What brings you here? Are the Trolls of Zul'Aman stirring up trouble again?"
Nathanos had clearly recognized Vereesa. After all, as a ranger lord, especially one serving under Sylvanas, he had met Vereesa several times. At the sight of her, his brows furrowed, then relaxed, as though he had figured something out.
"Nathanos, how did you end up looking like this? You don't look like a ranger lord at all." Vereesa looked him over carefully. "You look like a real farmer now."
Nathanos gave a self-deprecating smile. "I really am a farmer now. I came back to my hometown after the defense of Silvermoon City. I stopped being a ranger lord long ago. That's probably exactly what Lor'themar and the others wanted."
Hearing this, Aaron's eyes immediately lit up. Why did A-Qiang dislike Nathanos? Did it have something to do with Sylvanas? Weren't Lor'themar and Liadrin supposed to be a couple? Were High Elf relationships really this messy?
"Why do I get the feeling you're thinking something very rude?" Vereesa gave Aaron a smack, stopping his thoughts from wandering any further.
"But who might you be, young man?" After briefly chatting with Vereesa, Nathanos turned to Aaron. "You look like a paladin?"
For convenience while traveling, Aaron wasn't wearing his flashy, gleaming golden armor, and naturally, his shield and longsword weren't at hand either. He was currently dressed in reasonably well-fitting clothes he had bought in Lordaeron, looking like the most ordinary of travelers. Except that this traveler was accompanying Vereesa, which was very unusual indeed.
Nathanos could swear on his years as a ranger in Quel'Thalas that elves generally had very little contact with humans, unless there was some special reason.
"Me? I'm just a passing paladin." Aaron casually cast a ray of Holy Light on Nathanos.
"A paladin? Are you on some sort of mission?" Nathanos nodded in realization. "Are you here for those Orcs conducting evil rituals nearby?"
"Evil rituals?"
"Orcs?"
Vereesa and Aaron looked at each other, momentarily at a loss as to what Nathanos was talking about.
Nathanos, however, continued. According to him, he had noticed a group of strange people roaming the area. In his spare time, he had investigated the vicinity himself and discovered traces left behind by profane rituals.
"I've seen the traces those Orcs leave after conducting evil rituals. They're much like what I've seen recently," Nathanos said with certainty. "I suspect a group of Orc spellcasters nearby is brewing some evil plan... What, isn't that what brought you here?"
"No, we actually just..." Vereesa said hesitantly.
"Cousin, are you planning to entertain your guests at the door?" the young man who had brought them over interrupted.
"Cousin?" Aaron looked the two of them over and found that they did indeed share some similarities. But that wasn't strange. After all, this was Nathanos's hometown. Running into a relative of his was hardly surprising.
Once inside Nathanos's cottage, they could see that he took great care of his home. What was a little puzzling, however, was why he kept a separate empty room in the house. Clearly, no one lived in it.
Aaron stood in the doorway of the empty room for quite a while. There didn't seem to be anything special about it. Aside from being able to tell that it was cleaned regularly and that no one lived there, he couldn't make anything else out.
Seemingly noticing Aaron's confusion, the young man who had guided them glanced at Nathanos, who was taking Vereesa to the sitting room, and whispered to Aaron, "A High Elf lady stayed here once, so my cousin... You get it, right?"
Aaron understood as soon as he heard that. Sylvanas had probably stayed here. So Nathanos had already been a perfectly qualified simp even before becoming undead.
Nathanos shot his younger cousin a somewhat irritated glare, but said little else before beginning to describe the suspected Orcs he had discovered.