Gale did not know Huln Highmountain's age during the War of the Ancients. However, Huln Highmountain was approaching adulthood, which foreshadowed the impending arrival of the Burning Legion.
He knew his time was short and he had to warn as many people as possible.
Arriving at the Temple of the Moon in Cenarius Grove, Gale met a still-young Garrosh. After many years, he seemed to have changed little, still full of passion. This invitation from Black Rook Hold was likely a gesture of goodwill from the Raven Case to Gale.
Imperial politics were treacherous and faction-ridden, and the Raven Case had gradually been marginalized. Black Rook Hold was once important because of its frontier location, serving as a frontline defense against the Bearfolk. However, with the empire's territory expanding to the western coast, Black Rook Hold had become an inland fortress.
Furthermore, with the demigod brothers Ursol and Ursoc being close to the Kaldorei, the Bearfolk had also changed their attitude towards the Kaldorei. Black Rook Hold's last purpose vanished, and it was naturally marginalized by Azshara.
Even because of Yue Nu's actions, Azshara held a deep dislike for military forces. If Yue Nu hadn't been the Lord of Darkmoon City, the military forces might have already withdrawn from the empire's political struggles.
Under these circumstances, the Raven Case was naturally unwilling to accept their fate. They wanted to return to the center of power, but relying on Azshara was not feasible, so they could only choose between Prince Farodis and Savis.
If they sided with Savis, they would be used as a bridgehead against Gale, and Gale would certainly use every means to deal with Black Rook Hold. The Raven Case was not foolish; they sought power, not to be cannon fodder for others.
Therefore, they showed goodwill towards Gale.
Black Rook Hold and Andu Talla were neighbors, and their relationship was relatively harmonious. As long as they found an intermediary to bridge the gap between them, the Raven Case's goal of seeking cooperation could be achieved.
Garrosh thus entered the Raven Case's sights, which is why he was invited to be the Captain of the Guard.
Garrosh, still unaware of the underlying reasons, was very happy about this invitation. Suramar had reached a bottleneck in its development; its social structure was fixed, and significant achievements were required for promotion. Suramar's position in the empire meant it was difficult for it to participate in wars. After supporting Heda'shal, the Suramar guards had not seen battle again.
The easiest way to gain military merit was unavailable, so other achievements were even more out of reach. Therefore, even if Black Rook Hold's conditions were not as good as Suramar's, Garrosh was willing to take up the post.
The Captain of the Guard was a mid-level military officer, a much higher position than a guard. As long as he accumulated experience, in a few hundred years, he might become a high-ranking officer.
Maiev was also very happy; Black Rook Hold was nearby, so the siblings could meet often in the future.
Gale inquired about Suramar's situation from Garrosh, then taught him the enhanced methods of Life Reinforcement and Arcane Absorption.
Maiev cautioned, "These are Gale's unique cultivation methods, taught only to his family and members of the Mage Tower. You must study them diligently."
Garrosh asked, "So, I'm also part of Gale's family?"
Hearing his teasing, Maiev flicked his forehead, "Don't talk nonsense."
"How is this nonsense?" Garrosh asked with a smile, "You two have been together for two hundred years, haven't you? When are you planning to get married?"
"We still have to wait!" Maiev said with a hint of melancholy, "You know, mages focus more on academics. Gale is also a Mage Lord, so he has even more responsibilities."
Garrosh expressed understanding, "No rush, we still have a lot of time anyway."
Not far away, Gale heard the siblings' conversation and sighed, thinking: I'm afraid time is not that long.
On the way here, Gale had re-read the intelligence on Sin'dorei that Kana had sent back. Since Azshara had toured the empire's territory, she had secluded herself in the Eternal Palace and had not appeared since. If she didn't send an envoy to participate in the annual Moon Goddess Festival, the Kaldorei might have thought Azshara had died suddenly.
Deep within the palace, all political decrees were relayed by the nobles.
Savis's strategy of deifying Azshara was very successful; both commoners and nobles revered Azshara as a goddess. And the nobles who could access Azshara became increasingly self-important, priding themselves on serving Azshara, and looking down on commoners who could not access her.
This caused great dissatisfaction among the commoners. Before, everyone addressed each other as brothers and sisters. Although there were class distinctions, they still showed mutual affection. Now, the nobles were putting on airs and no longer recognized them as "brothers and sisters"?
"We chose you to be nobles to serve the Queen and the Empire, but instead, you take pride in being able to meet the Queen? Then why did we choose you?"
Although this statement was somewhat biased, it was consistent with the facts.
Initially, Kaldorei society was egalitarian. Savis and others nominated Azshara for the throne, and the first batch of nobles were indeed chosen by commoners to serve Azshara. However, after that, those who became nobles were either Azshara's confidantes or had performed great deeds; the selection of nobles was no longer determined by commoners.
When society develops to a certain stage, conflicts are inevitable. The main contradiction in the Kaldorei Empire now was the contradiction of governance; nobles wanted to seize more benefits, which meant harming the rights of commoners. Commoners wanted to protect their rights, which meant resisting the oppression of nobles.
This was an omen, indicating that the Kaldorei Empire would move towards division, with nobles and commoners in opposition.
It was precisely because of this that after the Burning Legion appeared, the nobles continued to support Azshara, even though they knew the demons were slaughtering commoners. They wanted to use the demons to eliminate all the rebellious commoners who dared to resist their rule, so that the governance of the Kaldorei Empire could fall into their hands.
However, what they didn't expect was that the demons not only slaughtered commoners but also used them as energy, drawing their magic to maintain the portal, causing many noble mages to die of exhaustion.
Only then did they realize their mistake, but it was too late to resist. If Malfurion had not closed the portal, they would all have become sacrifices for the Burning Legion's entry into Azeroth.
This was also the main reason they were eventually tempted by N'Zoth and followed Azshara to become Naga.
Maiev chatted with her brother for a while, then walked over to Gale, "What are you thinking about?"
Gale snapped back, "Nothing."
This was a rare moment of leisure, and he didn't want to ruin this beauty with something that was destined to happen.
Maiev glanced at him sideways; she knew Gale had something on his mind. But if he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't press him.
Garrosh stayed at the Temple of the Moon for a month before heading to Black Rook Hold to take up his post. With her brother's good development, Maiev was also in a very good mood, and hearing that Gale wanted to go to Sin'dorei, she went along with him.
She had been away from the Sisterhood for a long time and wanted to go back and see it.
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