At noon the next day, Charlemagne brought Lor'themar with him to see Alleria off outside Windrunner Village.
Lireesa had also brought the Windrunner family over. To see her eldest daughter off on her first journey abroad, she had specially handed her work over to an adjutant for the time being.
"Alleria, be careful in everything you do on this trip to the human kingdoms. Humans may be a young race, but they have no fewer tricks up their sleeves than we elves do."
Before their departure, Lireesa continued to solemnly caution her daughter. Accustomed to behaving this way, she had no intention of hugging her daughter to express her reluctance to part, nor could she bring herself to do such a thing.
"Do your best to follow His Highness's orders along the way. He has lived in Dalaran for many years and knows far more about humans than fledglings like you. One last thing: do not disgrace our Windrunner family!"
With a confident smile, Alleria brushed back the long golden hair draped over her shoulders.
"Don't worry, Mother. Even without you saying so, I wouldn't tarnish the Windrunner name. This is also a good opportunity for me to take a close look at the other races."
A faint smile of approval finally appeared on Lireesa's face. "Very good. I'll leave the rest of the time to you youngsters. I'm heading back to the barracks."
With that, she turned and strode away without lingering.
Once their mother had left, Vereesa and Lirath surrounded their eldest sister like Hawkstriders freed from their reins, chattering away with reminders.
"Big Sister, you must be careful. I'll help you keep an eye on this rotten man. I won't let him go chasing other women."
As she spoke, Vereesa pointed at Charlemagne beside them with a look of distaste. Lirath and Lor'themar both turned their heads away, their shoulders shaking.
"...Come on, do you really have to put me down like that? We did grow up together, you know."
Charlemagne could do little about Vereesa's blatant hostility. The young elf, who had only just come of age, was still deeply attached to her sister. Naturally, Charlemagne, the elf who had stolen her sister's attention, had become a thorn in her side.
"Hmph!"
Vereesa turned her head away, looking as though she wanted nothing to do with him.
Alleria affectionately drew her younger brother's and sister's heads close and rubbed her cheek against each of theirs.
"Take good care of yourselves while I'm gone, and don't cause Mother any trouble. Sylvanas, look after them more when you're home, too."
Sylvanas smiled and nodded. "I know, Alleria. Just focus on your mission. Leave our little brother and sister to me."
After Lor'themar had also politely said goodbye to Alleria, Sylvanas tactfully pulled a reluctant Vereesa aside. Lirath followed them, looking as though he was waiting for a good show.
Once the four had stepped away, Charlemagne moved forward and rested his forehead against Alleria's, sharing a tender moment. Only after a long while did he speak, breaking the warmth of the silence.
"Alleria...I said everything I needed to yesterday. I'll be thinking of you all the time."
"So will I...You must be careful on your first campaign, too. Watch out for the Trolls' regenerative abilities."
Alleria had already followed her mother onto the battlefield many times, and she took this opportunity to tell her lover about some of the Trolls' traits.
Trolls did not possess the high elves' outstanding talent for spellcasting, but their racial traits made them natural-born warriors.
Trolls had remarkably strong regenerative abilities. As long as an injury did not involve a severed limb, they could recover in a very short time. Moreover, the more severely members of this savage race were injured, the stronger they became in battle, making them exceptionally difficult to deal with.
Although they lacked the high elves' highly developed magical civilization, Troll spellcasters could still use certain primitive forms of witchcraft. They were also said to worship primal deities known as Loa.
Trolls classified all supernatural beings as Loa, including Azeroth's Wild Gods.
According to Alleria's information, however, there seemed to be no Wild Gods among the Amani Trolls, only some nature spirits with faint traces of divinity.
As a transmigrator, Charlemagne naturally knew about the five primal deities in Zul'Aman. Although he did not know whether the Trolls had already usurped their power, he would remain exceedingly vigilant.
The Spirit of the Great Bear, the Spirit of the Eagle, the lynx spirit, the Dragonhawk spirit, and finally the serpent spirit—these were the five primal deities in Zul'Aman.
According to the history Charlemagne knew, all five nature spirits would have their power stolen by their respective followers. Their essences would be sealed within their strongest followers to provide them with power.
Fortunately, this campaign was only meant to repel the Troll offensive. They probably would not have to fight their way into Zul'Aman and face these animal deities.
Over the thousands of years since the end of the Troll Wars, the high elves and Amani Trolls had fought a protracted tug-of-war in the forests. Whichever side gained the advantage would do everything it could to suppress the other there.
Overall, however, the high elves held the upper hand. Most of the time, they kept the Amani Trolls firmly pinned near Zul'Aman, unable to advance an inch.
While the couple quietly exchanged information, a ranger came to inform Alleria that it was time to depart.
"It's time to say goodbye...Alleria, Al diel shala. (Safe travels.)"
Seeing the delegation arrive, Charlemagne reluctantly let go of his girlfriend and spoke the Thalassian farewell.
"Shorel'aran. (Farewell.) Charlemagne."
Alleria said one last reluctant goodbye to her boyfriend, then swung herself onto the pale yellow riding Hawkstrider beside her.
This carefully bred and trained Hawkstrider had long since grown accustomed to carrying elves. As Alleria's personal mount, she had even been given a name by the elven woman: Dudu.
These mounts, favored by rangers, were gentle, agile, fast, and small, and made very little noise as they ran. They could not have been better suited to elven rangers who liked to move stealthily through the forests.
Through long domestication, some Hawkstriders had even been bred to have elegant gaits. This had gradually endeared the mounts to many mages as well. Even Prince Kael'thas was said to own a carefully bred Hawkstrider.
With those below following the example of those above, most elves had begun promoting Hawkstriders, apart from a few plate-armored elven warriors who preferred riding sturdy Quel'dorei steeds.
"Everyone, take care of yourselves. Hyah!"
After one final goodbye to the younger siblings who had gathered around her, Alleria lingered no longer. Together with the other rangers accompanying her, she rode her racing Hawkstrider toward Silvermoon City.
Upon arriving in Silvermoon City, they would travel to Dalaran by teleportation magic and meet up with Prince Kael'thas. After resting and regrouping, they would teleport together to Stormwind City.
Once the visit was over, Alleria and the others would be free to act on their own. On the return journey, she planned to stop by Ironforge, the capital of the Bronzebeard Dwarves, and Gnomeregan, the gnomish capital, to broaden her horizons.
Then she would head north, visiting Stromgarde, Alterac, Gilneas, and Lordaeron in turn, before finally returning to Quel'Thalas through Stratholme, an important city in Eastern Lordaeron.
Charlemagne stared blankly in the direction Alleria had left. This was the first time in ten years that they would be apart for so long, and for a moment, he felt somewhat at a loss.
"Big Brother, we should head back. You need to get ready for the campaign, too, don't you?"
Understanding his elder brother's mood, Lor'themar stepped forward and gave his shoulder a firm pat as he reminded him.
"Mm...Yes."
Only then did Charlemagne come back to his senses. After one last look at his lover's departing figure, he walked resolutely toward home.
I can't fall behind, either. These Trolls will be just the thing to test the results of my ten years of training!
(End of chapter)