Shadow Trails in Azeroth

A thousand years ago, the Qiraji broke out of their own territory. They marched out from the Silithus Desert in an attitude of flooding the world. As a result, they were encountered by the overlord of the Kalimdor continent, the Kaldorei Moon Kingdom. A head-on blow.

The elves dispatched a large army to block the insect attack at the edge of the desert. After the druids joined the battle, they quickly reversed the situation with the power of nature.

At that time, it was the archdruid Staghelm who led the elven army to a glorious victory.

His tactics are complex and changeable, and his strategy is very clear. He never underestimates the enemy and advances aggressively, choosing to rely on the establishment of elven villages to advance the defense line in a steady and steady manner.

He also mobilized natural allies, relied on the ruins of the ancient Elf Empire city as a garrison point, and also weakened the power of the Zerg by restricting the flow of magic power. A multi-pronged approach, with the full assistance of Silver Wing Sentinel Commander Shandis Feathermoon, Once the insect people were beaten back to their territory.

The Insects, who had been losing consecutive battles, were afraid of him. They couldn't find Staghelm's weakness in war, so they called him "Kasis" in awe, which means "the undefeated hand of the earth".

From this point of view, Staghelm should be regarded as the "god of war" among druids. Not only is he powerful, he also has his own art of war at the level of commander-in-chief.

But it is a pity that no matter how strong people are, they have their own weaknesses.

There are also deer helmets.

And his weakness was quickly discovered by the twin emperors of the Insect Empire, his only son Vastan Staghelm. Fandral valued his son very much and loved him very much.

This love has even reached the level of doting.

On the one hand, he hopes that his son will make a career, but on the other hand, he is unwilling to let him run into a trap.

But Vastann is not a fool. Although he did not inherit his father's strong natural talent, he has made himself an excellent elf druid and warrior through his own efforts.

He hopes to share his father's worries, especially during the war between the elves and the bugs, and he is also eager to repel the bugs and protect the people.

The outstanding young man volunteered to go to the front line to support a stronghold that was besieged by bugs. Fandral was very reluctant but he finally agreed to his son's request.

The besieged stronghold was in Nanfeng Village, and Vastann never returned.

A few days later, when the bugs returned, in front of the two armies, a brutal bug general tore Fandral Staghelm's son to pieces in front of his face.

Staghelm collapsed.

The elven coalition was also in danger of being defeated.

At the most critical moment, the dragons, the ancient allies of the elves, appeared. With the assistance of several powerful dragons, the elves and the dragons paid huge casualties before sealing the insect army behind the beetle wall.

It was an epic battle. The elves paid tens of thousands of casualties to win. The dragon who assisted them sacrificed himself to build the Beetle Wall, and the elves' "god of war" Fandral Staghelm lost his life. He gave birth to his only son.

He felt no joy.

Only the pain and anger of loss.

If it weren't for the fact that Valstann still had his unborn child in Ashenvale, Staghelm would have gone crazy on the spot.

In fact, he was close to madness at that time. When the dragon handed him the quicksand scepter related to the seal of the Beetle Wall, Staghelm smashed the scepter into pieces because of his own pain and hatred of the insect people. Before sealing.

After the Quicksand War, the Archdruid seemed to have become another person.

The druids all know this sad story, and no one will criticize Staghelm for his extremeness and indifference. He dedicated his son to the glory of Kaldorei. All elves should remember this great sacrifice.

But Blackshaw is no elf.

He didn't stop at being grateful for Staghelm's sacrifice, he had other plans for Staghelm.

A month ago, when the stinky pirate Black and the stinky woman Maiev teamed up to kill the Nightmare King Xavius ​​in Highmountain, they "conveniently" solved the "little crime" of the archdruid Fandral Staghelm.

Let the old druid who almost did something evil repent at the last moment and keep his moral integrity. But obviously, the stinky pirate has no intention of giving up on Lord Staghelm just like that.

If a bastard like Xavius ​​could control Staghelm to do evil with a clumsy nightmare vision, then Black thought he could do it too.

And his methods are definitely much better than Xavius.

Staghelm's son died a thousand years ago, and his weakness seemed to be gone, but in fact, in the eyes of the pirates, this weakness was so obvious that it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Vastann died in battle in the territory of the fallen god. His soul was too far away from the World Tree to return. As the son of the Archdruid, he must have powerful natural blessings.

A thousand years ago, C'Thun's seal was not as weak as it is now.

The Fallen God did not get his soul, otherwise with C'Thun's cunning, it would have used this soul to lure Fandral Staghelm into the void.

In other words, Valstein's soul "disappeared" out of thin air.

So where can he go?

For Blake, who is familiar with the characteristics of the four major kingdoms of the Shadow Realm, this answer is almost a no-brainer. He must be somewhere in Ardenweald.

As long as he could find Valstann, he was absolutely sure that Staghelm would obey him.

Maybe not doing anything bad, but having an ally in the upper echelons of the Luna Kingdom would definitely benefit Black a lot.

"I feel like you're thinking about something rude, and every time you're about to do something bad, you have this weird smile on your face."

Outside the ruins of Nanfeng Village, which was the turning point of the Quicksand War thousands of years ago, Blake, who was standing in the yellow sand, heard a cold voice behind him.

The pirate suppressed his smile and looked back, only to find Windrunner's mother wearing a long black hood and carrying a war bow jumping down from the back of her Magic Saber.

Under the hood that covered his face, his eyes burning with soul fire were as sharp as ever.

But Blake could sense that there was something more complicated.

"What are you talking to me about here?"

General Lilesa asked straight to the point:

"I'm very busy at the fortress. I want to reintegrate the hunters of the Secret Path, examine them more deeply, and then make a plan for the Hunter's Temple to rise again.

I want to strengthen their combat effectiveness, and this work must begin now.

So, Blake, my disciple, waste no time. "

"I just want to know why you seem to be avoiding me, my chief retainer, after our reunion."

The pirate shrugged and replied:

"Is it because I did something wrong? Let me remind you that although you are my retainer, I respect you very much. When I offend you, you can put forward your opinions and I will correct them."

"I don't."

Windrunner’s mother denied it. She said:

"I think our relationship is the same as before. There is no change. Maybe it's because you think too much?"

"Yeah?"

The pirate blinked.

He swooped up to General Lilesa and put his hand on her shoulder. This action made Windrunner's mother feel like an electric shock. She twisted her body and moved a few steps to the side like a ghost, avoiding the pirate's hand.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Actual actions have shown that Windrunner's mother is lying, and she is indeed resisting this contact.

"So what happened?"

Blake said helplessly:

"Mentor, you are currently an extremely important combatant under my command, and you also command the secret passage. There will be more cooperation between us in the future, and you also occupy an important position in my plan.

And that thing I instructed you to push forward

You should be knowledgeable enough to understand the importance of that matter, and it wouldn't be a good thing for either of us if we drifted apart for some mysterious reason.

Even as a collaborator, I had to figure out the reasons for this resistance.

You should be very clear about your inner thoughts, so, mentor, I deliberately chose this deserted place just to make this matter clear.

Please tell me why. "

"I"

General Lilesa would be very embarrassed. Her inner thoughts were a little hard to express.

But what the pirate said made sense, and Windrunner's mother couldn't refute it.

Whether it was in terms of loyalty to the monarch or in terms of what she was instructing her two daughters to do, she had to maintain a certain tacit understanding with Blake, otherwise it would lead to very bad consequences.

"well"

After hesitating for more than ten seconds, Windrunner's mother decided to confess.

They are all people who have died once, so there is nothing that cannot be said.

"come here!"

Lilesa said something to Black in a cold voice, and the pirate stepped forward without any resistance and stopped three steps away from Windrunner's mother.

"Closer."

She said again.

Blake was a little confused and stepped forward again.

"Closer!"

Windrunner's mother's body began to tremble.

She continued to ask until the pirate was almost touching her, which made Blake feel prepared and aware that something was not quite right. He noticed that as he got closer, the soul fire in Lyressa's eyes burned more intensely and vividly.

Windrunner's mother raised her head and looked at her disciple. She pointed at her eyes and said:

"Have you ever seen such a look in your eyes when you and Alya Blue Moon were alone?"

"Well, I really didn't pay attention before."

The pirate blinked and recalled the scene when he came into contact with Dean Lanyue. He said with some uncertainty:

"It seems, it seems there is."

"When she gets along with you, will she regain some of her 'humanity', and her lost emotions will be more vivid than when she faces other people?"

Lilesa asked again, and Blake bit his lip.

He seemed to have guessed some facts that he had always ignored.

He looked at the mentor in front of him with a complicated expression, while Windrunner's mother said in a dull tone:

"Don't think too much, this is not some kind of love. She and I were reborn as undead because of you. I'm not sure about the connection yet.

But obviously, your existence is special to me and Lan Yue.

You are the link between us and the world of the living. I am a little better, I still have children and family, but Blue Moon only has you. So, try to avoid being alone with Lan Yue in the future, okay?

I'm not afraid of her hurting you.

I'm just afraid that some of her uncontrollable actions will affect your relationship. "

"Is it so scary?"

Blake took a step back and asked in a low voice:

"Will this condition get worse? How serious will it be?"

"I do not know either."

General Lilesa closed her eyes and shook her head. She said in the same embarrassed tone:

"In the quiet midnight, in the strange thoughts that occasionally arise in me, I have thought about tying you up and hiding you in a place only I know, so that you can always belong to me.

I thought so.

Blue Moon’s idea is definitely more radical.

But this is just my guess, do you know what I mean? Lan Yue is a spell caster after all, and she may have other ways to suppress this abnormal and twisted possessiveness.

Undead, the birth of a cursed life is naturally accompanied by a curse. All good things have nothing to do with us. This may be a warning to this world.

My disciple, after I help you complete your career, I hope that you will give me liberation with your own hands.

Let me go to where I belong, to live at peace in the world of the dead instead of now, tormented by twisted desires that turn me into a monster.

I am fighting with myself, a war of desires that I have little hope of winning.

In short, until I find a solution, you have to keep your distance from me. This is for your own good and for my own good, you know? "

"Understand."

Blake nodded, and then he asked again:

“Can this ‘craving’ be alleviated?”

"Um"

Windrunner’s mother thought for a while and said:

"Maybe, but I haven't tried it. This is a good place to experiment. Close your eyes!"

"Well, mentor, I want to remind you that my love life has been very chaotic recently. I really can't afford any more. Don't do anything weird to me."

The pirate said something with rare fear, but was scolded by General Lilesa:

"I told you it's not what you think! It's just the nature of the undead. You close your eyes and I'll give it a try."

"All right."

The stinky pirate closed his eyes, and then felt his mentor's cold hands touching his face, holding his face in his hands, but did not take any further action.

After maintaining this action for nearly half a minute, Windrunner's mother withdrew her hand. Blake opened his eyes and saw his chief retainer stroking his heart.

The soul fire that danced in her eyes had returned to normal.

"Is this enough?"

The pirate asked cautiously, and Windrunner's mother was a little confused. She replied:

"That's enough, that's enough for now. We must find a way to eliminate it before it breaks out next time. I don't want to become a monster."

"Well, maybe we can seek help from the Death Knight."

Blake patted his mentor on the shoulder and said:

"They are professionals in this area. It just so happens that I invited them to come to Silithus. Maybe soon, we can return to the normal mode of getting along with each other."

"well"

Windrunner's mother let out a sigh of relief. She looked worriedly at the ruins of Nanfeng Village in front of her and said:

"I hope so."