Setting Sail for a New Home

A month later, at Eresal Fort, which Prince Tortheldrin had built.

A joint force of Druids led by Fandral Staghelm and Moon Guard led by Elisande had arrived.

"Truly a marvel. This fortress can protect the portal well and serve as our supply station."

Elisande spoke as she looked around.

"Of course. Here you can get all the supplies you need, and this place will also be expanded into a military stronghold."

Prince Tortheldrin came down from the walls and approached the expedition.

"A military stronghold? Why will it be expanded into a military stronghold?" Fandral Staghelm asked, puzzled.

"Sir Druid, that is an internal matter. Forgive me, but I cannot say more."

Prince Tortheldrin had no fondness for the Night Elves led by Malfurion. He was only working with Fandral Staghelm because Snyder had ordered it, so it would have been strange for him to treat Fandral Staghelm warmly.

"I was being presumptuous." Fandral Staghelm realized he had asked something he should not have and quickly apologized.

"Prince Tortheldrin, Mr. Fandral Staghelm didn't mean any harm. Besides, we still need him to bring the Druid profession to our people."

Elisande hurried to mediate between them. She did not want her mission to fail; this was a chance for her to prove her loyalty to Snyder.

Hearing Elisande lay out what was at stake, Prince Tortheldrin stopped making things difficult for Fandral Staghelm and took the two of them on a tour of the fortress.

The fortress had been built around the portal. It was hexagonal, with mages patrolling its walls and squads of soldiers patrolling inside.

Prince Tortheldrin envisioned building it into a place like The Nighthold, with another wall around the outside to divide it into an outer city and an inner city.

"This is where you'll be staying. Get some rest. The exploration will begin in three days. This is a rough map of the new continent; you can study it yourselves."

Prince Tortheldrin gave them the map he had prepared and left.

The two sent their subordinates to rest and went to the conference room Prince Tortheldrin had prepared for them to study the map.

Elisande spread the map on the table, revealing a continent shaped like the character 品.

Snyder Rain had sketched the rough terrain of this map using elemental power, while the details had been verified over the past month by rogues sent out by Prince Tortheldrin. The map had been completed by combining the two.

"It seems Prince Tortheldrin put a great deal of thought into this map."

Fandral Staghelm admired the mountains, rivers, plains, and valleys marked on it.

"Indeed. This map is incredibly detailed."

"Lord Snyder requested that the tree be planted in the center of the continent. Let's go inspect the center in three days."

Elisande pointed to the area at the center of the map.

"I have no objections. I can use the next few days to study the soil structure of this continent."

After drawing up a rough plan, the two went back to rest.

In the middle of the Great Sea, beneath The Maelstrom, lay the city of Nazjatar.

The city had been built by Azshara, the former queen of the Highborne, and her followers, who had already transformed into Naga.

Deep in the palace, the queen lay on her bed, admiring her face in a mirror polished from crystal beside it. Though she had become a Naga, the queen was still beautiful, even if she could not compare to her former self.

"My queen, you sent for me?" A female Naga entered the queen's palace.

"Vashj, my favorite handmaiden. Am I beautiful today?" the queen asked, caressing her reflection in the mirror.

"You are as beautiful and captivating as ever," Vashj answered her queen, her body trembling all the while.

"But why do I feel so ugly?!" The queen swam down from the bed, seized Vashj by the throat, and roared.

Vashj struggled desperately. Since the day she became a Naga, Queen Azshara had often flown into a rage over her appearance, and several unlucky souls had already been executed by the queen.

Azshara watched Vashj struggle and released her. Vashj lay weakly on the floor, struggling to breathe.

"My beauty is long gone, and the same is true of all of you," Azshara said, stroking Vashj's hair of snakes, her eyes filled with longing for the past.

"Vashj, I have a task for you."

Azshara returned to her bed and continued looking at herself in the mirror.

"As you command." Vashj hurriedly got up from the floor.

"The elemental brat has raised a new continent and is preparing to establish a new kingdom. When the kingdom has been established, take some gifts and congratulate him."

"Your will be done."

Vashj accepted the task and withdrew. Unable to bear the sight of her ugly reflection any longer, Azshara shattered the mirror with a punch.

"How are the arrangements for the first group of migrants coming along?" Snyder asked Thalyssra beside him.

With Prince Tortheldrin and Elisande both away on missions, Thalyssra and Oculus had temporarily taken their places as Snyder's assistants.

"Everything is ready. I'll lead them to the northernmost part of the continent to establish the second major city," Oculus said.

"Good. This city will become a holy land for the pursuit of knowledge. The books brought from Eldre'Thalas, Suramar, and Darnassus will be sent there, so you must plan the use of the land carefully."

"The new city will be named Sulages, meaning the City of Knowledge. Its main functions will be training spellcasters and pursuing knowledge."

With Snyder's decision, the second major city had come into being.

Looking at the two cities on the map on his desk, made tangible through elemental power, Snyder turned his gaze to the last of the three corners.

"Here we will build a port city to develop our navy and commerce."

Seeing the puzzled expressions on his two assistants' faces, Snyder explained.

"With the explosion of the Well of Eternity, the world was shattered, and seawater flooded most of the land. Aside from magical teleportation, sea travel has become the main way for the continents to stay connected."

"Therefore, a powerful navy is essential."

The two assistants were still puzzled, but Snyder offered no further explanation. Instead, he decided to begin preparations for building the port city once the City of Knowledge was complete.

Snyder planned to build other towns on a large scale after the three major cities were complete. Until then, he would establish settlements around the three cities to ease the pressure currently on Suramar City. These settlements would also form the foundation for the future expansion of the three major cities.

It's still too slow. We have to speed up the migration. Watching the elves coming and going outside the city, Snyder fell into thought.