Upon returning to Lordaeron, Jiang Jie immediately sought out Princess Calia and presented his suggestion. Princess Calia readily agreed, expressing her hope that Tirion Fordring would rejoin the Order of the Silver Hand, as Lordaeron now desperately needed every member of its forces.
The following day, all the high-ranking members of the Order of the Silver Hand, along with the powerful nobles of Lordaeron who had not joined the Cult of the Damned, convened a council, presided over by His Majesty the King and with Princess Calia in attendance, to decide the fate of Lordaeron.
At the start of the meeting, Princess Calia requested that Tirion Fordring return to the Silver Hand. Although some nobles objected, arguing that Tirion had already been expelled from the Silver Hand and was therefore unworthy to return.
But after that night of arrests, the nobles are now on edge, most of them remain silent, and some astute ones have decisively chosen to support Princess Calia.
The leaders of the Order of the Silver Hand all expressed their approval and welcome. Uther offered to personally preside over the ceremony at Lordaeron Cathedral after the meeting to reappoint Tirion Fordring as Highlord of Hearthglen.
Ultimately, the council decided that Uther the Lightbringer would guard Lordaeron, with Magroth the Defender, Harak the Orcs Slayer the Lifebringer, Dagran, and their respective squads assisting Uther in defending the city. Also responsible for the defense would be two other High-Ranking Paladin: Lord Nicholas and Sir Gregory.
Alexandros Mograine, along with High General Abbendis, Isillien, Fairbanks, and the Arcanist Doan, traveled to Tirisfal Monastery to oversee the purification of the Tirisfal Glades Undead Scourge.
Tirion Fordring guards Hearthglen, Gavinrad Doom travels to Chillwind Camp to work together on purifying Andorhal, Scholomance, and the surrounding areas from the Undead Scourge.
Dathrohan traveled to Light's Hope Chapel to join Lord Valdelmar of Tyr's Hand, along with the Darrowshire security forces and a detachment of the Order of the Silver Hand, to take full responsibility for monitoring and combating the Undead in Stratholme and the surrounding area.
Jiang Jie was not qualified to attend a meeting of this level; Princess Calia told him all of this later.
" Princess Calia, I think you should consider becoming a Priest. All the leaders of the Seven Kingdoms are powerful professionals, and you should be too," Jiang Jie said with a smile while busy finishing the rest of " The Tides of Darkness " and then continuing to copy the new official novel " The Dark Portal."
" Nicholas, I am not the leader. My father is, and so is Arthas." Princess Calia was clever and understood Jiang Jie's implied meaning. She placed her hands on the table and frowned, saying, "What are you implying? Why do you seem to know so many things? Things that others don't even know!"
"There are many prophets in this world, and I am not one of them, but I have met one, a mysterious prophet who can transform into a blood raven. He told me many things." Jiang Jie looked up at Princess Calia, his eyes mainly focused on her twin breasts before moving to her stunningly beautiful face. "In any case, with the blessing of the Holy Light, your body and spirit will be in better condition, and you can also heal the sick and save lives. There are many benefits, aren't there?"
Perhaps because he was a little tired, he emphasized the word "body" a bit.
"I'll consider it, Nicholas." Calia glanced at Jiang Jie, then straightened up and nodded. "Where's Lilian?"
"I sent her back to Tirisfal Monastery with Highlord Alexandros. I heard her teacher, One-Armed Invar, has returned, and she needs to undergo higher-level training. Perhaps the next time I see her, she'll be a high-ranking rogue." Jiang Jie couldn't help but smile as he recalled Lilian clinging to his clothes that day, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Just received news,"
Alexandros led his men to breach Baron Rivendare's territory, but Baron Rivendare has disappeared. It's said he went to Stratholme and became the Death Knight Lord Stratholme. Calia picked up a document, reading as she spoke, " Rivendare was originally just a High-Ranking Paladin, but after being transformed into Death Knight, no high-ranking knight was his match. Death Knight... they're truly terrifying." Death Knight are terrifying, Baron Rivendare is even more terrifying.
He later became one of the first generation of the Four Horsemen, the true leader of the Death Knight, and one of the most famous Death Knight...
The weakest one!
Nevertheless, he was already incredibly powerful. Death granted him power far greater than he had in life, a power many people dream of, and... eternal life!
If the Undead are considered life.
"There's nothing to worry about. With Commander Dathrohan here, Baron Rivendare is no threat. The real enemy is in the north," Jiang Jie said meaningfully.
" Nicholas, Jaina's back in Dalaran, and you've sent Fenna to Ironforge again. I'm dealing with so many things every day, I'm completely overwhelmed. You need to give me some advice." Princess Calia rubbed her temples, yawned, and looked tired.
She was really tired!
King Terenas's health deteriorated further after that night; he remained conscious for less than half the day and spent most of his time in bed. According to Isillien...
He won't live much longer!
With Arthas gone, all the burdens fell on her shoulders. If it weren't for Uther helping to share the load, she really wouldn't have been able to bear it.
The nobles are unreliable, and she doesn't have many people she can rely on. Jiang Jie... is actually one of the people she trusts the most.
"I will, Your Highness." Jiang Jie chuckled, tilting his head to look at the princess. "In fact, I've already made a suggestion, haven't I?"
A few days ago, he suggested to Princess Calia that the Order of the Silver Hand to include more commoners, people of other races and nations, but this was met with unanimous resistance from the nobles of Lordaeron.
The reason is simple:
The Order of the Silver Hand must favor the nobility, recruiting noble sons first before considering commoners. As for people from other countries or races...
Recruiting is possible; we've done it before. Paladin exist in Stormwind City, Kul Tiras, and even Ironforge and Silvermoon City, but their numbers are limited.
Because Paladin are Lordaeron's trump card, they must be firmly held in Lordaeron's hands!
There was no other way; even King Terenas had to consider the feelings of the nobles and was subject to their constraints. Not to mention that Princess Calia lacked the qualifications, prestige, and skill to do so, so she had no choice but to compromise.
Ultimately, while enrollment was expanded, the quality and quantity... were both unsatisfactory.
Of the hundreds of thousands of people in the entire Lordaeron, fewer than a thousand new Paladin recruits were made, and most of them came from noble families!
On the contrary, Hearthglen and Tyr's Hand contributed 1,000 new recruits each!
Although less than one-tenth of these recruits will eventually become true Paladin, it's already quite an achievement! Once they complete their training, the Paladin ranks will be greatly expanded!
"Your Highness, although the other nations are unwilling to send troops to help, at least Dalaran can be persuaded, and Archmage Antonidas is quite enlightened. Furthermore, you might consider sending someone to Stormwind City for assistance; the Royal Palace of Lordaeron is practically King Varian's second home, and he would be willing to send troops to help. Ironforge and Aerie Peak might also be willing to send troops to assist."
Jiang Jie finished writing the last word, put down his pen, stood up, and smiled, "I'll have Daphne take these manuscripts to Master Don Quixote later; they'll be enough for him for a while. Now, I should go for my medicinal bath."