Materials for New Weapons

Anasterian watched the astonishment on the young elves' faces below with satisfaction. Thori'dal had gone unseen for so long that many had forgotten its power.

"This is Thori'dal's special ability. Its wielder can not only fire physical arrows, but also draw directly on its own wondrous power to form energy arrows made of pure arcane energy. They are more powerful than ordinary physical arrows."

Anasterian now explained Thori'dal's abilities to some of the people who still understood the circumstances. This was also an opportunity to show off the royal family's treasured collection.

In recent years, his repeated concessions had allowed the Silvermoon Council to all but climb over his head. Not only had they driven the prince out of his own country, but they had also seized control of the kingdom's border wardstones.

Anasterian was not made of clay. How could he not be angry? Having Thori'dal's new master demonstrate its power before the masses today would also remind the people of the royal family's deep reserves.

Although Dar'Khan and the other councilors knew what the Sun King was planning, this was an entirely open stratagem. They could hardly find a reason to stop it and ultimately had to let it happen.

While Anasterian took the opportunity to win the people's hearts, Charlemagne was dwelling on the strange sensation he had felt when firing an arrow from Thori'dal.

When he drew the bow fully, he could feel the energy flowing into his body suddenly surge. The Aimed Shot he finally released had been at least thirty percent more powerful than usual. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy to leave such a conspicuous mark on that sturdy wooden target.

The award ceremony, attended by the king himself, ultimately fulfilled Anasterian's expectations. The crowd's final cries of "For the Sun King! For Quel'Thalas!" were clear proof.

Dar'Khan had worn a dark expression ever since the ceremony ended. After forcing a polite smile and bidding farewell to the king and queen, he hurried away.

The other four councilors also found excuses to leave one after another, but Aoxisi stayed behind alone. He slowly walked over to Xiao'en and patted his shoulder with gratification.

"Child, you've grown up. I'm proud of you, and I believe your father would feel the same."

Somewhat moved, Xiao'en lowered his head in a bow. "Thank you for your praise, Uncle. I'll keep working hard."

After Anasterian and the queen returned to the royal court together, Charlemagne and the others followed Lireesa back to the ranger square in the XC District to stay for the time being.

Before they left, however, the Sun King invited those he had just rewarded to dinner. He wanted to get to know these promising young elves in person and see whether he could win them over.

Since this was a private dinner, there were not too many rules. At a public banquet, rangers like Charlemagne and Sylvanas, who had never learned social etiquette growing up, would probably embarrass themselves.

After returning to their quarters, Lireesa called her pupil and second daughter over.

"I originally didn't want you entering social circles too early, lest it distract you. I never expected you two to enter the public eye so soon. Once we return, I'll teach you some etiquette and dancing."

Although Charlemagne and Sylvanas had little interest in such tedious etiquette or ballroom dancing, these were skills they would certainly need in the future.

As the new master of the artifact Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury, Charlemagne had undoubtedly caught the attention of the upper echelons. As the next Ranger-General, Sylvanas would inevitably have to deal with occasions that required interacting with them as well.

There was still plenty of time before dinner with the Sun King, so Charlemagne planned to take the opportunity to explore Silvermoon City and see whether he could find any suitable ore.

His twin blades had been damaged in his last battle with Halazzi, so he would have to forge another pair. Although Silvermoon City was not open to outsiders, it was still the capital of the high elves. Surely it would have some precious ores.

Before this trip, his younger brother Lor'themar had taken out a portion of the Theron family's wealth for him to carry.

After all, expenses were bound to be higher in the capital. Upon learning that Charlemagne's twin blades had been damaged, he had also strongly urged his older brother to use better ore to forge two new ones.

"Brother, you don't want this happening again, do you? Having your weapons break at a critical moment can be fatal. For your own safety, you should choose better ore."

Charlemagne had made little use of the inheritance his parents had left him. Most of the time, he bought ore with the pay he earned serving in the ranger forces.

In his plans, his half of the inheritance would most likely go toward recruiting troops and buying horses in the future. As for Lor'themar's share, he would certainly never touch it. That was a matter of personal principle.

This penny-pinching approach had left him without enough money to commission a good pair of melee weapons, but he probably could not afford to skimp this time.

Just as Lor'themar had said, if his weapons failed at a critical moment, he would be gambling with his own life.

I'll see whether there's any thorium or something similar. With Northrend yet to undergo large-scale development, titansteel will probably be hard to get...

Sources for many rare ores had yet to be found. Felslate ore from the Broken Isles would actually be the easiest to locate, but it was hard to say whether anyone even knew where the Broken Isles were right now...

When Sylvanas learned that Charlemagne wanted to go shopping, she hesitated for a while. Just then, Liadrin came to invite her out shopping, so the second daughter took the opportunity to agree.

A first visit to a big city naturally held great appeal for women with an innate desire to shop. With Liadrin, who knew the city, leading them, the two would be spared many unnecessary detours in Silvermoon City.

Thanks to the Sun King's promise, Xiao'en was currently at the Arcane Academy, selecting the mages he would take to garrison Tranquillien. After all, there were quite a few arcanists who had failed to make a name for themselves in Silvermoon City and wanted to try their luck elsewhere. There were simply too many people vying for too few opportunities.

Yawen and Skarren had no interest in shopping. After lunch, they went off together to visit old friends around the city.

Lireesa did not intend to join the youngsters' gathering either, as she still had many matters to handle. In the end, Charlemagne, Sylvanas, and Liadrin formed a group and strolled the streets together.

Since Charlemagne had the specific aim of buying ore, Liadrin led her two friends straight to the Royal Trade District in eastern Silvermoon City.

"The goods sold here are more varied and higher-end than those in the western commercial district. The precious ores you want, Charlemagne, can only be found here, but the prices will be higher."

Charlemagne smiled and nodded at Liadrin's well-meant reminder.

"I expected that already. I brought quite a lot of money this time, so it should be enough."

With Liadrin guiding them through the familiar streets, the three first arrived at a rare mineral shop called Strange Stone.

(End of chapter)