When it came to Sylvanas, Charlemagne had not had a particularly good impression of her in his previous life.
When she was a High Elf, she had undoubtedly been a Heroic figure who made sacrifices and great contributions for her people.
After she was transformed into the Banshee Queen, however, her actions grew increasingly excessive. Whether her mind had been affected by evil magic was unclear.
She had been confident she could control the Forsaken and Varimathras, only to be betrayed by both the Royal Apothecary Society and the Dreadlord.
She used the plague to attack the Gelkis and slaughter ordinary civilians, and attempted to imprison and control Eyir, Queen of the Val'kyr, in Stormheim, only to be stopped by the old wolf king, Genn Greymane.
It was said that she also seemed to have been secretly involved in burning down Teldrassil, the World Tree where the Night Elves lived, in 8.0.
But none of those events involving Sylvanas had happened yet. Right now, she was still just a fledgling being trained by her mother to become the next Ranger-General.
If history followed its original course, Charlemagne's mentor would die in the joint Orc and Troll assault on Quel'Thalas. Sylvanas would be appointed in that moment of crisis and shoulder the responsibility of defending Quel'Thalas alongside her eldest sister, Alleria.
Both would grow rapidly during the years of war that followed. After they both became Heroic figures, Sylvanas would remain behind to defend Quel'Thalas as Ranger-General, while Alleria, a Farstrider, would follow the Alliance Expedition in its attack on Draenor, leaving for decades.
Now that Charlemagne had come to this world, he would naturally do everything he could to prevent the death of Lireesa, his mentor and adoptive mother.
There were still about sixteen years until the Orc attack on Quel'Thalas in year six after the opening of the Dark Portal. He had to make good use of those years, at least establishing the beginnings of his own power base and trying his best to reach Heroic-level strength.
In the turbulent years to come, Heroic figures would hardly be an extraordinary force. Even setting aside the epic-level Orgrim and Grom Hellscream, and Gul'dan, who had reached the limits of mortals, the Horde's enormous contingent of Heroic-level Warriors alone would be more than he could handle.
Not to mention the Demigod Level Lich King, the true god-level Old Gods, and the Burning Legion's many powerful demons that would appear later. That was precisely why he had not dared waste a single moment since regaining his senses.
Although going from nothing to the intermediate tier in ten years was an unbelievable rate of advancement for most elves, it was still nowhere near enough compared with the powerful enemies to come.
Moreover, with vast armies supporting them, unless he truly possessed strength at the demigod level or above, it would be difficult for a single individual to turn the tide against an onslaught of enemies.
Establishing his own power base was essential. Although rangers held a respectable position in High Elf society, they were still a notch below Arcanists.
Charlemagne had once considered becoming an Arcanist, but after Lireesa asked an acquaintance to test him, they unfortunately discovered that he did not have much potential as a mage.
"If you really want to become an Arcanist, you can, but your strength will progress much more slowly than if you become a ranger. And there's no telling which circle you'll ultimately reach."
Perhaps inherited from the Theron family, whose lineage stretched back thousands of years, Charlemagne's talent as a ranger far exceeded his talent as an Arcanist. Already pressed for time, he naturally would not force himself to become a mage lord. A ranger was his best choice.
But for a ranger to have a voice in discussions with the upper ranks, he would have to become Ranger-General.
Yet that position had been held by the Windrunner family generation after generation, without exception in the thousands of years from the first Ranger-General, Talanas, to the present.
That left only one option: becoming the leader of the Farstriders. As it happened, their leadership position was currently vacant.
With their loose management structure, the Farstriders did not seem in any hurry to fill the position. A veteran ranger at the middle stage of the Advanced tier was currently serving as acting leader.
Much like Yawen, however, he had already passed his prime. Barring any surprises, he would probably begin to decline with age in a few years.
A loosely organized civilian group like the Farstriders naturally fell well short of a regular army like the ranger corps. Nevertheless, these rangers, who guarded the High Elves' borders year-round, enjoyed a good reputation among the people.
If he took charge of the Farstriders and then earned some merit, his suggestions should carry a certain weight before the Sun King and the Silvermoon Council.
As it happens, the Farstriders have come to the frontline camp this time too. I'll get in touch with them first and see how things stand.
The Farstriders Camp where Sylvanas was stationed had originally been established by the Farstriders as a forward base to monitor Zul'Aman. Over a hundred rangers were stationed there.
That number might seem small, but it was already considerable for the High Elves, whose population was sparse. Their entire population during the Troll Wars had only numbered in the tens of thousands, and even after growing until the present day, it had only just exceeded a hundred thousand.
Lireesa's ranger corps numbered only around a thousand, and it was already the largest regular military force in the kingdom.
The entire Farstrider force had only a little over three hundred rangers, many of whom were scattered throughout the Eastern Kingdoms and even Kalimdor. This time, virtually all those within the kingdom had gathered at the Farstriders Camp, including the acting leader, Sikelan Chenxing.
When he said goodbye to Lireesa, Charlemagne's mentor solemnly asked him to take good care of her second daughter.
"Charlemagne, I know my own daughter. Sylvanas has great potential, but she's still very inexperienced, and sometimes she's even prone to acting on impulse. You and Yawen must support her well."
Charlemagne and Yawen both nodded solemnly.
"No problem. Leave it to me, Mentor."
"General, I will do everything I can to assist the second young lady."
Hearing their assurances, Lireesa gave a rare smile and patted both of them firmly on the shoulder.
"Then I'll leave her to you. You should have more or less discerned my intentions this time. To draw the Trolls' attention, most of the mages must remain here. A small number of mages and half the Priests will accompany you. Once you arrive, be ready to strike at any moment."
"Yes!"
As they set out, Charlemagne was surprised to discover that the young master who had provoked the rangers, Sean Morningstrider, was also in their party. At that moment, he was riding a Hawkstrider along with the group, reluctance written all over his face.
"Why do I have to go play gatekeeper with these mudlegs?! As a member of Chenxingzhe, I want to earn merit for my family!"
His protests were clearly ineffective, however. Lianda Sunstrider, a member of a collateral branch of the royal family whose status was more distinguished than his, easily put him in his place.
"Stop whining! You're in the army now. Follow orders!"
"...Yes."
(End of chapter)