Shadow Trails in Azeroth

"Tell me, have we met somewhere?"

Black asked a strange question, but the archdruid did not reveal any clues under the pirate's gaze. He responded with a rather gentle smile and said:

"Maybe. After all, I also think Lord Black and I are very compatible. But now is not the time to talk about this. Let's focus on the issue at hand.

After the Qiraji threat is truly eliminated, maybe we can have a chat.

I think we can be friends, just like you and my brother. By the way, I also want to ask you for confirmation about some things about Illidan. "

Old fox!

Blake complained in his mind.

He was now certain that he and Malfurion had met ten thousand years ago, but Tyrande probably had not met him.

This is really strange.

What were the "rules of making friends" that I had 10,000 years ago? If you don't interact with a cute girl like Tyrande, she will play so well with Brother Stormrage.

Do you have any serious illness?

This is a real headache.

While Black and Malfurion were guessing riddles, Fandral Staghelm was visiting with his daughter-in-law and granddaughter in the Temple of the Moon in Val'sharah, the holy land of druids in the remote Broken Islands.

At this time, almost two months had passed since Staghelm resigned as the Archdruid of the Cenarion Order, and he had lived a very low-key life during this period.

The leadership of the Druid forces has almost completely faded away.

He lives in his hometown in Ash Valley, accompanying his family.

The graves of his wife and son are there, and the only remaining members of his family are his daughter-in-law Leyana and his young granddaughter Istaria. These two people have become the only ones between Old Staghelm and this world that was extremely cruel to him. contact.

Staghelm hated the world.

Because this world took away the person he loved most.

twice!

And with Old Staghelm's fiery personality coupled with his tragic experience, his mind and soul are nearly riddled with holes, he can still maintain his deep connection with the force of nature that emphasizes balance and healing, which has proved that deer Helm's terrible talent in the ways of nature.

This talent is not even much weaker than that of his mentor Malfurion Stormrage.

Today's deer helmet is showing its age.

Within two months, the leader who was praised by other druids as having an "iron will" suddenly lost the support of his soul, and his entire condition deteriorated to the extreme.

He knew that the mistakes he had made were almost irreversible, and he was grateful to Malfurion for not pursuing his mistakes but for giving him a decent exit.

Let him still have time and opportunity to watch his granddaughter grow up.

That was Staghelm's original plan.

He has lost interest in everything except his family. One experience of being tempted by evil to do wrong things is enough. Now he just wants to live peacefully until the day when death calls him.

The night elves did receive the gift of immortality due to the blessing of the World Tree, but for people like Staghelm, once their hearts die, their physical death is not far away.

Even if he barely survives, he is just a walking corpse.

"Father, the Moon Priests have agreed to your request to worship the holy relics."

Layana, wearing a long skirt, walked quickly into the inner hall of the Temple of the Moon and whispered to Old Staghelm waiting outside the door:

"But they asked for no more than ten minutes."

"enough."

Old Staghelm, who had all white hair and a stooped body, nodded. He looked at his little granddaughter Istaria beside him. He smiled, stroked her granddaughter's head, and said:

"Little cutie, wait for me here. Grandpa will be back soon."

"Uh-huh."

The young elf Istaria let go of her grandfather's hand and grabbed her mother's wrist. She said:

"Grandpa, go ahead. I will wait here for you to come back. Can we go see Lord Cenarius later? The King of the Forest is giving a lecture in Val'sharah today.

I also want to learn the power of nature and become a druid as powerful as my grandfather!

I will protect you and mom! "

"So good."

Lu Helmet chuckled lightly. He straightened his back hard, looked at his daughter-in-law, who had a complex expression on his face, and said:

"Won't you go in with me?"

"No, father."

Leyana lowered her head and wiped her eyes, and said:

"I'm just afraid of another disappointment. I'm not as strong as you. If I experience the pain of loss again, I will collapse."

"Then pray for me."

Old Staghelm nodded, leaning on the flowery wooden staff in his hand, he said to Leyana:

"Pray for me that I will see him again, but I will persevere even if I am disappointed. I have nothing left to lose except you."

"Grandpa, I will pray for you!"

The energetic little girl waved her fists and cheered for her most powerful grandfather, although Istaria did not know why her family came to Val'sharah from Ashenvale to worship today.

"Well, with the little cutie's prayers, grandpa's wishes will definitely come true."

Lu Helmet smiled and touched his granddaughter's head. Amidst the little girl's laughter, Old Lu Helmet took a deep breath and walked towards the inner hall of the Moon Temple in front of him.

This is a secret area not open to outsiders.

In this oldest Temple of the Moon, a Kaldorei sacred object is enshrined. It is called the Tears of Elune and is one of the Pillars of Creation in Azeroth.

But unlike Golganeth's Tidestone, the Shield of Aggramar, the Holy Hammer of Khaz'goros, and the Eye of Aman'Thul, this Pillar of Creation has not been found for thousands of years since it was found. Man knows its true use.

It cannot give the holder any strength enhancement, and its existence is far less powerful than the other four holy objects. It seems to be an ordinary teardrop-shaped gem.

It can bloom with dazzling purifying light under the moonlight, but that's all.

However, the significance of the Tears of Elune to the Kaldorei elves does not lie in how powerful it is. The fact that this holy object comes directly from the moon god Elune is its most important feature.

The Moon Priests believe that through the Tears of Elune, they can have a closer connection with the Moon God.

But really, this is just a comforting statement.

Both Tyrande and Maiev can attest that this relic does nothing to strengthen the priest's religious connection with the moon god. It seems to be nothing but extremely sturdy, beautiful, and holy.

But is this really the case?

Old Staghelm stared at the moonlight crystal suspended on the altar in front of him.

He walked to the crystal step by step. The crystal clear Tears of Elune reflected his old and haggard face, and his once sharp eyes became cloudy.

What exists here is not a great druid who can destroy the world, but a soul that is riddled with holes and exhausted by loss.

He had just suffered a heartbreaking defeat.

At this moment, he was a little hesitant, a little uneasy, and also had an expectation that he couldn't hide.

Finally, Old Staghelm reached out and grasped the sacred object that the Moon Priests had never allowed anyone to touch. The moment he came into contact with the Tears of Elune, his consciousness seemed to leave his body.

This has never been the case.

At least Staghelm had never heard that the Tears of Elune had the effect of creating illusions. This strange experience made the old druid's tired heart beat loudly.

He felt that he would get what he wanted today.

Moon God.

please.

Please give me a little hope.

I would give anything to get it.

Guided by Staghelm's prayer and that strange power, he felt himself drifting, caught in the gap between reality and illusion, and came to a blazing blue dreamland.

It was a completely different world from the Emerald Dream that the druids were familiar with. Although they were both born from nature, their attributes were almost completely opposite.

Staghelm looked around suspiciously.

This was an area that had never appeared in any druid's classics. He even wondered if he was still in the material world of Azeroth?

The natural forces here did not respond to him. They looked on with cold eyes at the outsider Staghelm.

They even resist him.

This is the opposite of the life force of nature.

"Father!"

Just when Staghelit was wondering why the life force here was so indifferent, a call that almost caused the old man's heart to stop sounded from behind him.

That's the sound!

Staghelm turned his head sharply, and what caught his eye was not the son he remembered, nor the Vastann he dreamed of, but a very strange creature.

He has the body of a four-hoofed deer like the guardian of the jungle. His upper body maintains a human form, but his cheeks are more like a mixture of elves and beasts. There are no sharp teeth under the black deer nose, but there are strange things above the blue eyes. corner.

The black horns were mixed with blue fluorescence, making him look particularly strange and full of the ferocious majesty of a guardian.

He is clad in vine armor, which represents the power of nature.

The armor seemed to be activated, surrounded by dancing light spots, leaving a shining light like ripples on water with every step he took.

He holds a living wood halberd made of a mixture of wood and blazing blue crystal in his hand, and carries a flowery war bow and shield on his back. He looks like a powerful guardian of the power of nature.

This appearance had no resemblance to the son in Lu Helm's memory. They were completely two different creatures, but Lu Helm still recognized him in an instant. This was his son!

This is the son he lost in the Battle of Quicksand a thousand years ago.

"Vastin, oh my God, it's really you. My son, oh my God."

The expression on Old Staghelit's face was very complicated.

The powerful druid was at a loss at this moment. He stretched out his hand, wanting to touch the child he had not seen for a thousand years, but his hand was raised and clenched into a fist the next moment.

"do not come!"

The white-haired deer helmet scolded:

"I must confirm you. I have already made a mistake once. I almost committed an irreparable sin. I must confirm it!"

Faced with Staghelm's rather strange reaction, the elite Vokai warriors of the Ardenweald Wilderness Hunting Group who were walking towards him did not show any disappointment or anger.

On the contrary, his blue eyes were filled with compassion and gentleness.

He stopped five steps away from Staghelm and said warmly:

"I heard about your experience from Bwonsamdi, father. I never thought that my death would cause you so much pain. Maybe I should have considered your feelings more before making my choice.

Everything you have done stems from your reluctance to give up on me, and I should bear your sins. But unfortunately, father, although we have a lot to share with each other, we cannot say too much today.

The realm of the Winter Queen does not belong to the living.

You can't stay here too long, we have to make a long story short. "

"The Winter Queen? Who is that?"

Old Deer Helmet's eyes suddenly became sharp. He straightened his back and asked:

"Is she the one who turned you into this? Is she the one who imprisoned your soul so that you can't return to the World Tree? Tell me, son, how can I save you."

Seeing his old father become murderous all of a sudden, Valstein felt helpless.

It was only during the long "cooling off period" after his death that he realized that his relationship with his father was actually a little twisted. His father doted on him too much. After his mother died, his father regarded him as his only concern in life.

He loved his son too much, which caused Staghelm's pain for these thousand years.

No matter how good a thing is, it's too much.

"No, father, the Queen of Winter did not imprison me. In fact, it was the Arden Fairyland under her rule that accepted me without reservation, which allowed me to escape the desperate situation of having my soul controlled by the evil god.

But it is difficult for me to explain to you the complex relationship between Ardenweald, Shadow Realm and the material world in a short time.

You can understand this realm as the paradise of all nature walkers after death. "

Valstein held his living wood halberd and said to his old father in a gentle tone:

"You and the other druids should have come here after encountering misfortune, but Nordrassil, the world tree, gave us the power of immortality to cut off death.

The existence of Nordrassil is both a blessing and a misfortune for the Kaldorei.

The Winter Queen may hate us for this reason. After all, the existence of the World Tree does interfere with the cycle of life and death belonging to the night elves, but this is not the point. "

He shook his head and said to Staghelm:

“The point is, dad doesn’t need to worry about me anymore!

I have lived in Ardenweald for a thousand years. What I see now is that I live a good life here. I am not a lonely ghost, but I am still serving the will of nature after death.

Same as you.

Although it is a sin to dwell on the memories of one's life in the world of the dead, I have thought of you and Leyana every day and every night.

It is you who gave me the courage to be extremely brave when fighting against those twisted evil things. No matter where I am, every time I look back on the battlefield, I can feel that you are by my side.

You never left.

I heard from Bwonsamdi that I already had a lovely daughter in my hometown. You can't imagine the joy in my heart when I learned this news.

What I want to say is that you should let go of the heavy past, Dad.

My death has caused you pain to this day, but you still have a great future to pursue. You can't punish yourself for living in the past because of me. This will also make me uneasy. "

Valstein smiled.

Although this strange face no longer had the cheerfulness and handsomeness that Lu Kei remembered, it could be seen that his smile was sincere. He stepped forward with four hooves and reached out to hug the old Staghelm who was already crying.

He slapped the archdruid on the back.

Just as his father comforted him when he was a child, he comforted his old father.

He said:

"At the end of your destined glorious life, we will eventually meet in this great quiet woodland. My father, there will be a place for you in Ardenweald, and this will become our new home.

I will wait here for the day of reunion with you. Time is always very tolerant to the dead.

You should go back.

Chase your own greatness.

Make me proud of you in this world too. "

"No! Valstein, don't leave me again."

Old Staghelm hugged his son tightly. He burst into tears and said in a pleading tone:

"Life without you is meaningless to me. I would rather end my life than live in a world that is so cruel to me."

"Istaria and Leyana still need your care, father."

Valstann said gently to Old Staghelm:

“This is my last request, please take care of them on my behalf.

I will pray for you in this world. I have found a wooden house for our family in the river forest not far from the Rebirth Woodland.

I spend a lot of time sculpting it.

I will give it to you when you come.

Go ahead, father.

The world I still love still needs you

However, don’t let this fall into the hands of Black Shaw, and I thank him for giving us the opportunity to reunite father and son. But if even the cunning Bwonsamdi fears him, you have plenty of reasons to be cautious.

You have made a mistake because of me, don't step into the same river because of me again.

Go ahead, father.

The Veil Wanderers are about to patrol here, and you can't stay any longer. "

"No, son, don't!"

Driven by Valstann, Old Staghelm felt that his will was quickly leaving this world of the dead, and he tried his best to retain it.

Like a greedy child trying to grab every delicious candy in sight.

But the next moment, he opened his eyes in the Moon Temple.

He looked around blankly, as if he was dreaming.

How satisfying it is in the dream, how painful it is when you wake up from the dream.

It is the pain of losing something again and again, and it is the most despairing kind of pain. What follows the pain is the desire, the desire to gain even if you sacrifice everything.

A choice lay before Staghelm.

Now, he must make a choice.