After a long while, Charlemagne, who still had things weighing on his mind, was the first to break the silence.
"Alleria, tomorrow I'll ask our mentor for permission to formally join the Farstriders. After that, I'll be leaving Quel'Thalas for a while. You..."
Before Charlemagne could finish, Alleria pressed her index finger against his lips, stopping him.
"You don't need to say it. Wherever you go, I'll go with you. I've seen how anxious you've been these past few years. Though I don't know what you're keeping to yourself, at least let me share some of the burden."
Feeling his girlfriend's tender concern, Charlemagne couldn't help pulling her into his arms.
"Thank you, Alleria. I love you."
"Mm! I love you too, Charlemagne."
As the two embraced in happiness, Thas'alah, glowing in the night, seemed to offer its blessings to the young couple as well.
Thas'alah, the sacred tree of the high elves.
Although the high elves did not share their Night Elf cousins' zealous desire to protect nature, bolstered as it was by their Druids, the two races had come from the same roots, and certain customs still carried over in some respects.
The sacred tree Thas'alah had already existed when the first Sun King, Dath'Remar Sunstrider, led his people to settle in Eversong Woods.
As the magic of the Sunwell, formed from the waters of the Well of Eternity, spread through Eversong Woods and continued outward, the oldest tree in the forest began absorbing this pure energy.
Eventually, this tree became sacred to the entire high elf race and was named Thas'alah, meaning "light of the forest" in Thalassian.
From then on, its magic-filled branches spread over a vast area, and the entire woodland seemed to bask in an eternal spring.
Thas'dorah, the artifact passed down through generations of the Windrunner family, had been carved from a branch of Thas'alah. After being placed in the Sunwell to absorb its magical essence for several years, the longbow emerged brimming with arcane energy throughout.
The first ranger-general, Talanas Windrunner, accepted this precious gift from the Sun King and named the bow Thas'dorah, meaning "valor of the forest."
Every subsequent wielder of this artifact longbow had fought to defend Quel'Thalas, right up to the present day, thousands of years later.
The bow was now in the hands of Charlemagne's mentor, Lireesa Windrunner. Although her second daughter, Sylvanas, had already been chosen to succeed her as ranger-general, Lireesa still hoped the bow would eventually pass to her eldest daughter, Alleria.
Charlemagne, however, knew what would happen to this sacred tree. During the Scourge invasion, Thas'alah would be cut down, and Deatholme, the temple that had once guarded the sacred tree, would become the traitor Dar'Khan's base.
No one could have imagined that Dar'Khan Drathir, a current member of the Silvermoon Council, would one day betray the high elves.
With his lifespan nearing its end and his covetous gaze set on the Sunwell's power, this inherently treacherous elder elf would choose to betray his people and join the Scourge in hopes of gaining eternal life.
In the end, the Sunwell would be corrupted when it was used to resurrect Kel'Thuzad, the Lich who liked wearing skirts. Dar'Khan's hopes would come to nothing, and he himself would be killed by Lor'themar. After being raised as an undead, he would even die once more.
Charlemagne had once considered warning the Silvermoon Council and the Sun King ahead of time about Dar'Khan's intent to betray them, but after giving it some thought, he could only abandon the idea.
He was merely an insignificant ranger, while Dar'Khan held a lofty position. As a member of the Silvermoon Council, how could Dar'Khan possibly be brought down by Charlemagne's accusations? Saying anything would only be treated as slander against a council member.
Early the next morning, Charlemagne took Alleria along to bid farewell to his mentor, Lireesa. She had already taught him everything she could; he would have to walk the rest of the road himself.
"I have no objection to you joining the Farstriders, but you might want to look at this before you leave."
Hearing the young couple's request to take their leave, Lireesa calmly sipped her tea, then picked up a letter from the table beside her and waved it.
"This is the conscription notice His Majesty the Sun King sent yesterday, calling on all adult rangers to participate in this battle against the Trolls. Every family must send at least one person."
"Our Windrunner family has already decided that Sylvanas will answer the call. What about you, eldest son of the Theron family?"
"Will you take part yourself, or leave it to your younger brother, Lor'themar?"
Their mentor's words left both Charlemagne and Alleria somewhat stunned. Charlemagne stepped forward, took the letter from Lireesa, and began reading it.
The letter essentially said that the Amani Trolls of Zul'Aman had recently begun making unusual moves again and seemed to be planning another attack on Quel'Thalas. What followed was the formal conscription notice.
This notice addressed to Ranger-General Lireesa naturally could not be a fake, but it disrupted Charlemagne's original plans.
Although Lor'themar has also reached the intermediate rank, his skills clearly aren't quite polished yet. It looks like I'll have to be the one to fight this time after all...
After frowning in thought for a while, Charlemagne raised his head resolutely. "Mentor, I've decided. I'll answer the call for the Theron family this time. Let Lor'themar continue training for a while longer."
Hearing her lover's words, Alleria hurriedly spoke up as well. "In that case, I'll also..."
"No."
Lireesa interrupted her eldest daughter.
"Alleria, you have another important task. Regarding the birth of the Kingdom of Stormwind's young prince, His Majesty Anasterian has decided to send Prince Kael'thas, who is currently in Dalaran, to offer congratulations. You will join the entourage and accompany the prince."
"What? But..."
Alleria looked anxious as she tried to object, but Lireesa stopped her with a wave of her hand.
"Enough! The Windrunner family had already decided that your second sister would take part in this battle. This is also a good opportunity to build Sylvanas's prestige. You understand what I mean, don't you?"
With her mother putting it that plainly, how could Alleria fail to understand? If she stayed to fight, she would inevitably take a share of the military merits that belonged to Sylvanas, which would be highly detrimental to her younger sister's eventual succession as ranger-general.
Biting her lower lip hard, Alleria could only reluctantly agree to her mother's arrangements.
She had been the one to give up succeeding as ranger-general, so now she could no longer compete with her younger sister for the glory that belonged to that office.
Seeing her daughter agree, Lireesa finally nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good! The entourage teleporting from Silvermoon City to Dalaran will leave tomorrow. Go and make your preparations. The expeditionary force will also march in ten days. I need to make plans for this battle. You may go."
Looking at Lireesa, who had already lowered her head and begun writing and sketching, the two could only exchange a helpless glance and withdraw.
(End of chapter)