Azeroth Shadow Trail

Chapter 1052 148. Fandral Staghelmet: The Choice Begins

"Tell me, have we met somewhere?"

Bu Laike asked a strange question, and the archdruid, under the watchful eyes of the pirates, didn't give a damn. He responded with a rather gentle smile, saying:

"Perhaps. After all, I also feel that His Excellency Laike and I are very compatible. But now is not the time to talk about this, let's focus on the immediate issue.

After the qiraji threat is really 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 some things about Illidan. "

old fox!

Bu Laike complained in his heart.

He can now be sure that he and Malfurion met ten thousand years ago, but Tyrande should not have met him.

This is really strange.

What exactly was my "friendship rule" 10,000 years ago? Let a cute girl like Tyrande not get in touch, but play so well with Brother Stormrage.

Is there something serious about yourself?

This is a real headache.

While Braike and Malfurion were guessing riddles, in the remote Broken Isles, in the Luna Temple of Valshara, the sacred place of druids, Fandral Staghelmet was visiting here with his daughter-in-law and granddaughter .

At this time, almost two months have passed since Staghelmet stepped down as the Archdruid of the Cenarion Order, and he has been very low-key during this time.

Almost completely faded out of the leadership of the druid faction.

He lives in his hometown in Ashen Valley, with his family.

The tombs of his wife and son are there, and only his daughter-in-law Liana and granddaughter Istaria are left in his family. These two people have become the only ones between Old Staghelmet and this cruel world that treats him. contact.

Buckhelm loathes the world.

Because this world took away his most beloved person.

twice!

However, with the violent character of the old deer helmet coupled with his tragic experience, his mind and soul are nearly riddled with holes, and he can still maintain his deep connection with the natural force that emphasizes balance and healing. Terrible gift in the way of nature.

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

Today's deer helmets are showing their age.

In two months, the leader who was praised by other druids as "Iron Will" suddenly lost the support of his soul, and his whole state was extremely poor.

He knew that his mistake was almost irreparable, and he thanked Malfurion for not pursuing his mistake and giving him a decent exit.

Give him the time and opportunity to watch his granddaughter grow up.

That's what Deer Helmet intended.

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

The night elves did get the gift of immortality because of the blessing of the World Tree, but for people like Staghelm, once the heart dies, they are not far from the death of the body.

Even if he barely survived, he was just a walking dead.

"Father, the priests of the moon have agreed to your request to visit the holy relic."

Laiyana, who was wearing a long skirt, walked quickly into the inner hall of the Temple of the Moon God, and whispered to Old Staghelmet who was waiting outside the door:

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

"enough."

The old deer helmet with all white hair and bent body nodded. He looked at the little granddaughter Istaria next to him. He smiled, stroked his granddaughter's head, and said:

"Little cutie is waiting for me here, grandpa will be back soon."

"Uh-huh."

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

"Grandpa, go, I will wait here obediently for you to come back. Let's go see Lord Cenarius later, okay? The King of the Forest is giving a lecture in Valshara today.

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

I will protect you and mom! "

"So cute."

Lu Helmet chuckled, straightened his waist with effort, looked at his complex-looking daughter-in-law, and said:

"Aren't you coming in with me?"

"No, father."

Laiana lowered her head and wiped her eyes, saying:

"I'm just afraid. Another disappointment. I'm not as strong as you. I'll collapse after another loss."

"Then pray for me."

The old staghorn nodded, leaning on the flowery wooden stick in his hand, and said to Leyana:

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

"Grandpa, I will pray for you!"

The energetic little girl waved her fists, cheering for her most powerful grandfather, even though Istria didn't know why her family came to Valsharah from Ashenvale to worship today.

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

Lu Helmet smiled and patted 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 God Temple in front of him.

This is a hidden area that is not open to outsiders.

In this oldest temple of the Moon God, a Kaldorei relic is enshrined. It is called the Tears of Elune, one of the Pillars of Creation in Azeroth.

But unlike the Tidal Stone of Goganes, the Shield of Aggramar, the Holy Hammer of Kazgros, and the Eye of Aman'Thul, this Pillar of Creation has not been found for tens of thousands of years. Man knows its true usefulness.

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

Under the moonlight, a dazzling light of purification can bloom, but that's all.

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

Priests of the moon believe that by relying on the tears of Elune, they can have a closer connection with the moon god.

But in fact, this is just a consolation statement.

Both Tyrande and Maiev can attest that this holy relic does not strengthen the priest's connection with the moon god. It seems to have nothing but extreme sturdiness, beauty and holiness.

But is this really the case?

Old Staghelmet stared at the moonlight crystal floating 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 an archdruid who can destroy the world, but a soul that is riddled with loss and exhausted because of loss.

He had just suffered a complete heart failure.

At this moment, he was a little hesitant, a little apprehensive, and he couldn't hide his anticipation.

In the end, Old Staghelmet reached out and grasped the sacred object that the Priests of the Moon never allowed people to touch, and the moment he touched the Tears of Elune, his consciousness seemed to be separated from his body.

This has never been the case.

At least Staghelmet had never heard of the Tears of Elune's ability to create illusions. This strange experience made the old druid's tired heart thump.

He felt that he would get what he wanted today.

Luna.

please.

Please give me some hope.

I would give anything for it.

Under the guidance of the deer helmet's prayer and the strange power, he felt himself drifting, and came to a blazing blue dream in the gap between reality and illusion.

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

Lu Helmet looked around suspiciously.

This is an area that has never appeared in any druid's tome, and he even doubts whether he is still in the material world of Azeroth?

The natural forces here did not respond to him, they watched Buckhelm, an outsider, with cold eyes.

They are even resisting him.

This is the opposite of the life force of nature.

"Father!"

Just when the deer helmet was wondering why the vitality here was so indifferent, a call that almost caused the old man's heart to stop suddenly sounded behind him.

This is the voice!

Lu Helmet turned his head sharply, and what caught his eyes was not the son in his memory, nor the Vastann he had dreamed about, but a very strange creature.

He has a four-hoofed deer body like the guardian of the forest, and 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 eyes on the blue eyes. corner.

The black horns were mixed with blue fluorescent light, making him look extraordinarily strange and filled with a ferocious majesty of a guardian.

He is clad in vine-wood armor representing the power of nature.

The armor seemed to be alive, surrounded by dancing spots of light, making every step he walked leave a sparkling light like ripples in water.

He is holding a living wood halberd made of wood and blazing blue crystal in his hand, and he is carrying a flowery bow and shield on his back. He looks like a powerful guardian of natural forces.

This appearance is not similar to the son in Lu Helmet's memory, they are completely two kinds of creatures, but Lu Helmet still recognizes it in an instant, this is his son!

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

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

The expression on the old deer helmet'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 hadn't seen in a thousand years, but he raised his hand and clenched it into a fist the next moment.

"do not come!"

The gray-haired deer helmet scolded:

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

Facing the rather strange reaction of the deer helmet, the elite Vokai warriors of the Blazing Immortal Wilderness Hunting Group who were walking towards him did not show any disappointment or anger.

Instead, his blue eyes were full of compassion and gentleness.

He stopped five steps away from the deer helmet, and said softly:

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

Everything you have done is due to your dissatisfaction with me, and your sins should be borne by me, but unfortunately, father, although we have much to share with each other, we can't say much today.

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

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

"The Winter Queen? Who is that?"

The old deer helmet's eyes sharpened suddenly, he straightened his waist 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 that the old father suddenly became murderous, Vastan was also a little helpless.

It was only during the long "cooling-off period" after his death that he realized that the relationship between himself and his father was actually slightly distorted. His father doted on him too much. After his mother died, his father regarded him as the only concern in his life.

He loved his son too much, which caused Staghelm to suffer during the millennium.

No matter how good things are, too much is too much.

"No, father, the Queen of Winter did not imprison me. In fact, it was the Blazing Blue Fields under her rule that accepted me without reservation, which allowed me to escape the desperate situation of being controlled by the evil god.

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

You can understand this realm as the afterlife paradise for all nature walkers. "

Vastan leaned on his live wooden war halberd, and said to the old father in a gentle tone:

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

The existence of Nordrassil is both lucky and unfortunate for Kaldorei.

Maybe that's why the Winter Queen hates us. After all, the existence of the World Tree does interfere with the cycle of life and death belonging to the night elves, but that's not the point. "

He shook his head, and said to Buckhelm:

"The point is, father doesn't need to worry about me anymore!

I have lived in the Blazing Blue Fairy Field for a thousand years, and as far as I can see, I am living a good life here. I am not a lonely ghost, but I am also serving the will of nature after death.

same as you.

Though it is a sin to reminisce about the living in the world of the dead, I have thought of you and Lyanna every day and night that have passed.

It is you who gave me the courage to fight 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 have a lovely daughter back home, and you can't imagine the joy I felt when I heard the news.

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

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

Varstein smiled.

Although this weird face no longer had the bright and handsome face that Lu Helmet remembered, it could be seen that his smile was genuine. He stepped forward with all four hooves, reaching out to hug the old staghelm who was already crying.

He slapped the Archdruid on the back.

Just like his father comforted himself when he was a child, he comforted his old father.

He said:

"At the end of your destined glorious life, we will finally meet in this great quiet woodland, my father, Blazing Lane will have a place for you, and this will be our new home.

I will be here waiting for the day when I will be reunited with you, time is always kind to the dead.

You should go back.

Go after your own greatness.

Let me be proud of you in this world too. "

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

The old deer helmet hugged his son tightly, he couldn't make a sound, and said in a begging tone:

"Life without you means nothing to me, and I'd rather die than live in a world that treats me so cruelly."

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

Varstein said gently to Old Staghelmet:

"This is my last request, please take care of them instead of me.

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

I spend a lot of time sculpting it.

I will dedicate it to you when you come.

go, father.

The world I still love still needs you

However, don't let this fall into the hands of Laike 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 every reason to be cautious.

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

go, father.

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

"No, son, don't!"

Under the impetus of Vastanen, Old Staghelmet felt that his will was quickly leaving the world of the dead, and he tried his best to keep it.

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

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

He looked around blankly, as if in a dream.

How satisfying the dream is, how painful it is when waking up.

It is the pain of lost and found and lost again, the most desperate of all pains, and the pain that follows is the desire, even if you sacrifice everything, you must get it.

A choice was placed in front of the deer helmet.

Now, he had to make a choice.

(end of this chapter)