The Sun King's wisdom

Although the four differed somewhat in the details of their responses to the Sun King's overtures, their overall attitudes were much the same.

First was Xiao'en of the Morningstrider family. Given his family's good relationship with the royal house, he certainly would not go fawning over Dar'Khan.

Although his uncle's position as a member of the Silvermoon Council made it difficult for him to openly side with Anasterian in public, he still declared that he would firmly uphold the authority of the royal house.

Liadrin was the same. Her family had always been royalists loyal to the royal house, and unconditional support for it was something she had been taught since childhood.

As the heir to the position of Ranger-General, whose holders had served Quel'Thalas faithfully for generations, Sylvanas would not lose sight of what mattered and go follow Dar'Khan either. Like her mother, she firmly opposed any form of national separatism.

After all, in the ten thousand years since Quel'Thalas was founded, the Sunstrider family had committed no major wrongs, and Anasterian had been a wise and decisive ruler in his youth.

Although he had grown stubborn and unwilling to heed advice in his old age, that was no excuse for Dar'Khan to rebel. That man's reason for seeking power certainly had nothing to do with the future of the High Elves.

Charlemagne, who knew the history well, also immediately expressed his support for the royal house, even though he knew that Anasterian and Kael'thas would both later court disaster and vanish into the river of history.

But after arriving in the real Azeroth, Charlemagne had learned not to believe history blindly. Otherwise, what was the point of having a transmigrator like him here?

Since he had transmigrated, he naturally had to do his best to change things that should never have happened and save those whose deaths had been unworthy.

Since he had become a High Elf in this life, he naturally had to consider his own people. Where you stood determined how you thought. If he still foolishly abandoned his homeland to go fawn over humans now, there would definitely be something wrong with his head.

In Charlemagne's view, although the current Sun King, Anasterian, had made many mistakes, these had also resulted from the lack of information caused by the High Elves' years of isolation.

Kael'thas's fate was even more dramatic. Driven into a corner, the prince had almost no choice, and even at his death, he still firmly believed he was acting for the people of Quel'Thalas. The many Blood Elves willing to follow him to their deaths offered some indication of that.

Of course, Charlemagne did not approve of his decision to turn to Kil'jaeden. Using fel to alleviate mana addiction was no different from drinking poison to quench one's thirst.

Apart from being exiled by the Silvermoon Council and having his romantic advances rejected by Yama-cough, Jaina, the prince, whose life had been smooth sailing since childhood, still lacked some resilience. Once he encountered a situation he could not resolve, he began grasping desperately at any remedy.

Yet not one of those future events had happened now. Ten or twenty years would give Charlemagne enough time to gradually shift history's turning points and change the fate of all High Elves.

Anasterian was very pleased with the four's declarations. They represented the future of four different forces: the regular ranger troops, the independent ranger organization known as the Farstriders, the Church of the Holy Light, and the arcanists, who held the most honored position in Quel'Thalas.

Of course, saying that Xiao'en represented the future of all Quel'dorei arcanists was clearly giving him too much credit at present. Still, with his current drive to improve, if he continued working hard, he might well become a member of the Silvermoon Council someday.

After all... he still had an elder who served on the council.

Once Xiao'en expressed such an intention, the childless Aoxisi would certainly put all his standing on the line to pave the way for him. As long as Xiao'en himself was not too much of a good-for-nothing, becoming a council member would only be a matter of time.

Thanks to the four's declarations, the king's private banquet ultimately ended with host and guests alike well pleased. After confirming their attitudes, Anasterian was noticeably warmer toward them.

These will all be pillars of support after Kael'thas takes the throne...

The Sun King also knew that he did not have much time left. To keep his son from being held down by the Silvermoon Council after succeeding him as king, paving the way in advance was part of his duty as his royal father.

Taking advantage of Anasterian's good mood, Charlemagne cautiously raised the issue of the High Elves' melee troops.

A sharp glint flashed through the Sun King's eyes at Charlemagne's words, then they returned to normal.

Having keenly noticed this, Charlemagne inwardly stiffened. He felt that this Sun King might not have become as thoroughly muddleheaded as he had previously understood.

"In fact, I considered this issue before. Someone on the Silvermoon Council also proposed establishing our own melee troops, but in the end, I vetoed the proposal."

Anasterian spoke of his earlier decision with a gentle smile. This left Charlemagne somewhat puzzled, and he was just about to question him further when the Sun King raised a hand to stop him.

"Charlemagne, please hear me out."

"Of course I know that the development of the High Elves' military is lopsided. Having fought alongside humans back then, I understand better than anyone how important frontline classes are, but..."

At this point, Anasterian sighed sadly. "None of you have considered our population."

"Although we High Elves have long lifespans, nature always maintains a balance. The price of our longevity is an extremely low birth rate, and a class like warrior..."

At last, Charlemagne understood the Sun King's considerations and could not help interjecting, "Means a high death rate!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized he had been rude and hurriedly lowered his head in apology.

Fortunately, the Sun King smiled without taking offense and waved a hand to indicate that he need not worry.

"As you said, although warriors excel on the front line, they are not suitable for High Elves. Our population means that we cannot afford the high casualty rate among warriors."

"There is an old saying-I don't know whether you've heard it-'Heaven goes left, warriors go right.' Although that is somewhat extreme, to a certain extent, it also shows how dangerous being a warrior is."

Charlemagne and the other three all nodded in agreement. Warriors charged at the front. Without priests and other healing classes supporting them from behind, charging in would merely serve them up to the enemy.

Yet the High Elves had far too few priests to support an entire force of warriors...

"Besides, compared with dwarves, the Tauren of Kalimdor, or even... our distant kin, the Night Elves, we High Elves have unremarkable physiques. Warriors are simply too much of a luxury for us."

At the mention of Kalimdor, Sylvanas looked puzzled. She had never heard that name before.

Xiao'en's and Liadrin's expressions shifted, however, as though something had occurred to them. These children of former Highborne families had probably encountered some secret information about Kalimdor and the Night Elves.

Charlemagne, meanwhile, was considering a way forward for the High Elves, his head lowered in thought.

Sylvanas looked at the others, who had suddenly fallen silent, and somewhat hesitantly voiced her question.

"Your Majesty... what are Kalimdor, Tauren, and Night Elves?"

(End of chapter)